FACILITIES
Southwestern College Police Cut Ribbon on New Safety Building
CHULA VISTA, CA – Southwestern College’s (SWC) police department recently celebrated the opening of its new facility with a ribbon-cutting recently on the Chula Vista, CA, campus.
The new College Police Building gives police and their staff a new lobby that can serve more students, a modernized dispatch center, expanded offices, storage space, community space, an evidence processing facility, locker rooms, a secure armory, secure parking and an emergency operations center.
“We want to commend Chief Davis Nighswonger and his team for overseeing the construction of this facility,” said SWC Superintendent/President Dr. Kindred Murillo. “This facility is reflective of the professionalism of our officers and police personal and helps us demonstrate their philosophy of openness and inclusion.”
The 7,077-gross-square-foot facility was built by Balfour Beatty and designed by Tucker Sadler Architects of San Diego. The new building cost $8.4 million and is part of Southwestern College’s Facilities Master Plan, funded by Propositions R and Z, that will reimagine the district’s campuses and upgrade its facilities to better serve students and the community.
The College Police department promotes the safety and security of every Southwestern College campus, including the Higher Education Centers in National City, Otay Mesa and San Ysidro. The department has 12 sworn police officers and 15 non-sworn personnel.
The police department provides a number of services to the campus community and students, including parking services, escort services around campus, victim services, lost and found, jump-starting students’ cars and more.
Chief Nighswonger is hoping the building becomes a community resource. He has reached out to the Chula Vista Police Department to offer the facility as an office space for officers patrolling the east portion of the city. The chief also is hoping to bring a drop-off box for unused prescription drugs to the facility.
About Southwestern College
Established in 1961, Southwestern College is one of 115 public community colleges in California and the only institute of higher education located in south San Diego County.