MOORPARK : Alternate Sites Sought for Police Center

Its tiny, downtown police storefront already overcrowded, the Moorpark City Council is looking for alternate sites that will keep a police presence on High Street and keep costs down.

The storefront--known as the Moorpark Police Resource Center--has been staffed by volunteers since it opened in October, 1994. The center where volunteers answer questions on crime prevention, fingerprint children, and where patrol officers can write crime reports, has been so successful that it has outgrown its space.

Situated in a small, donated office in the front of a former bank building at Moorpark Avenue and High Street, the Resource Center is in a highly visible location. But there is no room to expand in the existing building, which is occupied by the city Building and Safety Department.

A much larger space was donated at the Town Center shopping mall on Moorpark Avenue a few blocks away, but City Council members expressed concern that the new site was too far from High Street.

Wednesday, the council ordered city staff members to look at city property for other possible sites. They also asked the staff to look into any potential costs associated with a larger office space.

The storefront has about 20 volunteers who work Monday through Friday. On average, about 10 people drop by the center each day.