Wilson Estes Police Architects was founded exclusively for the purpose of providing excellent planning services to law enforcement, and since 1978 has dedicated all professional efforts to the planning and development of public safety buildings. We have contracted public safety facility planning services to scores of communities nationwide. This unusual depth of experience is applied to each new project.

Our experience avoids the need to subcontract a specialist consultant, a requirement for general practitioner architects who complete public safety projects. We are familiar with facility standards, including those of CALEA, the Committee on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

James Estes and Cliff Wilson are nationally recognized experts in the specialty of public safety facilities. They provide facility planning instruction for the Police Facility Planning Institute.

We are sensitive to the relationship between the public safety facility and management goals. We strive to plan for buildings that allow greater manpower efficiency and respond to concepts like community policing.

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Wilson Estes Police Architects develops buildings for just one client type, Public Safety Departments. Careers are stable and networking widespread in the public safety industry. One dissatisfied department seriously threatens future work.

Wilson Estes Police Architects contracts services only to local government. Your services will be provided with an understanding of the fragile nature of municipal decision-making. Costs will be controlled, a formal approval process will be established, and staff and council will be kept informed of project details.

Wilson Estes Police Architects is committed to the involvement of local professionals. A qualified local professional will have a significant role in your project. A portion of the engineering consulting work is often completed by a local engineer. If deemed necessary, a qualified local architect can be contracted to work in association with our firm or to provide observation during the construction phase of work.

Wilson Estes Police Architects daily coordinates the work of experienced consulting engineers for this one building type. Your building security, radio rooms, crime labs and special HVAC requirements will perform as required.

Wilson Estes Police Architects works daily to understand and accommodate public safety operations. Your department management will work with professionals that are both experienced architects and public safety specialists. There is no need for the limited role and questionable accessibility of a specialist consultant.

Wilson Estes Police Architects is aware of current and emerging trends in public safety practices, often leading the development of how facilities can respond to and reinforce those trends. Your new facility will benefit with longevity, an ability to serve its' community for decades.

Wilson Estes Police Architects has served over three-hundred public safety agencies. This diversity enables the development of a unique response. The subtleties and special character of your community and public safety operations will be reflected in your new facility.

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A needs study is undoubtedly the most important part of the planning process. Through this phase, the architect works closely with the client, ensuring that the planning process is proceeding in the right direction. Real problems in your existing facility are identified and solutions are explored from the beginning. The needs study seeks to find objective answers to problems without addressing questions involving facility appearance or style.

The needs study arms the client with powerful decision making information, allowing the client to enter into the more involved design phases with confidence as to the project's final outcome. Space needs should be determined not only by the unique needs of the client but also based on national standards for what the typical public safety department should be expected to have to deliver services to the community in an effective and efficient manner.

The needs study also establishes a preliminary cost for the new facility. This preliminary cost estimate is developed from the most accurate and comprehensive data available on public safety facilities. This data has been collected over decades of service to public safety agencies.

Some of the items that are addressed in a typical needs study are:

• Existing facility analysis is completed, outlining the exact deficiencies and needs for the department.
• Population trends and anticipated department growth is used to plan a facility that will serve the community for many years.
• Facility adequacy is defined by deriving the function-based space needs and room adjacencies.
• Land area requirements are determined and properly sized sites are ranked with regard to their relative ability to serve user functions (optional study element).
• Construction cost estimate will be produced based on functional requirements of the client.

The presentation of space needs, land area requirements and cost estimate from an objective third party makes the project more tangible and therefore more supportable. Support of the project can be built by presenting the results of diligent research in an open and verifiable way. Problems can be avoided by proper and prudent planning before the design process begins.

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