Several years ago, we toured the Dallas Police Department’s training facilities and left deeply struck by, and touched, by our experience. The space was cramped, run down, outdated, and unworthy.

There is no better way to reaffirm our commitment to making Dallas the safest big city in America than to dream and build a next generation training facility that will establish a new standard for police training.

Today, Dallas is no longer just imagining the future of policing — we are breaking ground to make this vision a reality.

Thanks to years of collaboration among the City of Dallas, the University of North Texas at Dallas (UNT Dallas), city leadership, and a broad coalition of community and private sector partners, the Dallas Police Department Law Enforcement Training Center at UNT Dallas is moving forward with tremendous energy and purpose.

City, law enforcement, university and community leaders gather for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the new Dallas Police Department Law Enforcement Training Center at UNT Dallas. The project brings together public and private investment to create a next-generation training facility in southern Dallas.

Photo Credit: Allyn Media

This new, comprehensive training center is not just a response to past challenges — it’s a bold investment in the future. It reflects our city’s commitment to public safety, community trust, and the next generation of law enforcement professionals.

Integrated into the UNT Dallas campus in southern Dallas, the center is designed with cutting-edge training spaces, immersive simulation environments, and the capacity to support recruits and officers throughout their careers. It’s a facility that meets the growing and evolving demands of 21st-century law enforcement, and more.

But it’s not only the infrastructure that sets this project apart — it’s the philosophy behind it.

This training center is being integrated directly into the UNT Dallas campus, forming a powerful bridge between public safety and higher education. Cadets will earn college credit while training, and they’ll share hallways with students studying criminal justice, social work, public service, and other disciplines. This unique structure promotes collaboration, fosters respect, and exposes future officers to diverse ideas and perspectives from day one.

Dallas leaders turn the first ceremonial shovels of dirt for the Dallas Police Department Law Enforcement Training Center at UNT Dallas, marking a major milestone in what project leaders describe as a generational investment in the future of public safety.

Photo Credit: Allyn Media

It also opens exciting doors for the community — especially for young people in southern Dallas. Students from Carter High School’s early college program will have access to real-world pathways into law enforcement and public service. UNT Dallas students will find opportunities for both sworn and non-sworn careers, building a diverse pipeline of future leaders. By embedding the training center in a vibrant academic setting, we’re sending a clear message: policing in Dallas is not something done to the community, but with the community.

The results of this vision are already taking shape. Over $100 million has been committed to the project from a mix of public and private sources, including $50 million from the 2024 Dallas Bond Program, $25 million in state grants, and over $30 million from private donors and community foundations.

This is the kind of thoughtful, future-forward project that Dallas is known for. We’re not simply building a facility – we’re creating a new standard. A center where officers are trained in both tactical excellence and community understanding. A place that fosters accountability, professionalism, and innovation. A space where the values of service, equity, and integrity are reinforced from the very beginning of an officer’s journey.

It’s no secret that the role of law enforcement is evolving. Officers today face more complex challenges than ever before — from mental health crises to cybercrime to growing calls for transparency and reform. Our training must evolve too. And Dallas is meeting that moment head-on. Instead of continuing to rely on a temporary facility in use since 1990, we are making a generational investment — one that reflects our commitment not only to safety but to smart, ethical, and community-connected policing.

Dallas Police Department officers and community stakeholders attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Law Enforcement Training Center at UNT Dallas. The facility is designed to strengthen officer training while creating closer connections among law enforcement, higher education and the southern Dallas community.

Photo Credit: Allyn Media

This comprehensive training center stands as a testament to what we can achieve when we come together with vision and resolve. It’s an opportunity to set a national example, to lead with purpose, and to deliver something every Dallas resident can be proud of.

We’re not waiting. We’re building. And we’re building something that will shape the future of public safety in Dallas for decades to come.

Chairman, Honorable Tennell Atkins, Honorable Jennifer Gates and Lynn McBee are members of the DPD Law Enforcement Training Center Task Force responsible for raising private funding for the project.