Celina is booming, and the local police department is keeping pace with the city’s growth by expanding its police headquarters, eyeing even more development in the future.
Located about 43 miles north of Downtown Dallas, Celina has grown from a small community of 17,808 in 2020 to a city of more than 51,800 residents in 2024, an increase of roughly 191% over four years. City spokesperson Joe Monaco told NBC 5 DFW that growth will continue in the coming years as the city anticipates an influx of about 10,000 residents annually.
However, with population growth comes increased crime. In 2019, the city recorded 378 police incidents. In 2023, that number had swelled to 1,160 incidents, and so far in 2024, there have been 938 incidents — primarily drug, theft, and burglary calls.
The City of Celina is proactively equipping its police force to face these added challenges by building a new $37 million state-of-the-art police headquarters on a 27-acre campus. The new facilities currently encompass 32,000 square feet, but there is room to expand to 75,000 square feet in the future.
Despite its high-tech security measures, the main building offers a natural-light-filled, calming, and welcoming environment with wood accents and large wall art installations. The facility also includes a large indoor/outdoor gym space for officers to work out and a large shaded courtyard area with lounge chairs and picnic tables for relaxing.
In contrast, the Dallas Police Department has been laboring under a significant staffing shortage. Although a prior analysis of Dallas’ public safety needs by population recommended a police force of around 4,000 officers, DPD fields only around 3,000.
DPD also lacks funding compared to other high-crime jurisdictions. New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago leaders have allocated far higher sums to police than the Dallas City Council, which approved a DPD budget of just $654 million this fiscal year.
The new facilities in Celina were designed specifically with officer wellness in mind, according to Celina Chief of Police John Cullison.
“When you go to a scene where someone is injured or maimed in an accident, or someone’s the victim of domestic violence or assaulted out on the street, there’s a lot of human emotion,” Cullison told NBC 5. “Subsequently, that bleeds back into our officers, and having a facility like this allows them to decompress and deal with those moments and be better servants for our community.”
Future plans for the campus include a shooting range, a new dispatch center, a new jail facility, a new fire station, and a ‘safety town’ for children.