May 19, 2024
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Photos: Peru Police Department hosts an open house of the new Public Safety Complex

The department has been moving operations over to the new facility over the last few months

By Jayce Eustice

The Public Safety Complex has a garage. It is multifaceted to suit the department's changing needs. (Jayce Eustice)

The Peru Police Department held an open house on Saturday to welcome members of the community into the state-of-the-art Public Safety Complex. For many in the Illinois Valley, this event marked their first opportunity to view the 30,000-square foot facility.

Members of the Peru Police Department, including Chief Bob Pyszka, led tours through the complex. Office spaces, a multi-purpose community room, detention center and garage were on the itinerary.

Pyszka said the department was excited to welcome in community members and that the turnout was a good one. Only an hour in he had seen between 100 to 200 visitors.

“It’s awesome having everyone come through,” Pyszka said. “We’re pretty much letting everyone freelance and see the whole place, and if they have any questions, we’re answering them.”

Pyszka said that he feels community-based events are important to a police department. His officers participated in the open house, as well as, a car seat inspection at Peru HyVee parking lot.

For Pyszka and the Peru Police Department, the move to the new facility has been taking place over the last few months. The transfer to the Public Safety Complex is complete.

“We’ve been in here 100 percent for roughly about a month now,” Pyszka said. “We’re still working out little bugs here and there. It’s a new building and that’s going to happen, but functionality wise, we’ve been here for about a month.”

Peru Mayor Ken Kolowski was in attendance and said the building was designed with the future in mind. The city hopes this building will be in use for the next century or more.

“There’s been a lot of positive response from the public that has been through,” Kolowski said. “It’s breathtaking. It’s amazing what has been accomplished here in Peru.”

One main focus for the building was to make sure that everything can serve multiple purposes and be flexible for whatever services may be required of it in the future.

Coming from the small office the Police Department shared with Illinois Valley Regional Dispatch in downtown Peru, it’s no doubt that the city, community members and police officers will certainly enjoy the new Public Safety Complex.

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Community members check out one of the big boards that uses GPS to track officer locations and alerts the police department when calls come in. (Jayce Eustice)