Ocean City's new police substation offers a surprising appearance

From the outside, the two-story police substation overlooking the Boardwalk at Eighth Street might be mistaken for one of the large, upscale seashore-style homes or duplexes that are popular in Ocean City.

Four columns decorated with red-brick accents dress up the front entrance. A gray-and-white color scheme gives the building a refined appearance. Outdoor decks, pointed roofs and framed windows are other eye-catching architectural flourishes.

“We wanted it to look like something at the seashore and not something that is a militaristic building and screams ‘police.’  It fits in with the surroundings and doesn’t look like a police building. It’s something that blends in with the fabric of the Boardwalk and the overall climate of the city,” Police Chief Bill Campbell explained.

Campbell noted that Mayor Jay Gillian was influential in creating a design for the building that was inviting, not intimidating.

Despite its attractive appearance, the $6.1 million building will serve a very serious purpose as the new Boardwalk substation for the Ocean City Police Department.

The department’s patrol units are expected to move into the substation by the end of February. Inspectors from the city and the New Jersey Department of Corrections still must give their final approval for the building’s certificates of occupancy, Campbell said.

“Once we’re in here, it’s going to be occupied 24 hours,” he said.

    Police Chief Bill Campbell stands in the front lobby of the substation.
  

Overall, the police department has 68 full-time officers. About 60 to 65 seasonal officers are hired to help out during the busy summer tourism season.

Currently, the police department’s patrol units and administrative operations are split up in two locations. The city’s public safety building at 835 Central Ave. continues to serve as the department’s main headquarters. A block away, Campbell and his administrative staff occupy two floors of the former Crown Bank building at 801 Asbury Ave.

The city’s overall plan for the police department is to demolish the antiquated public safety building and construct a new police headquarters on the same spot.

The city will seek bids for the demolition contract after environmental inspections are completed to see if there is any asbestos contamination that needs to be removed from the building, which dates to 1884.

City spokesman Doug Bergen said the tentative schedule for completing the designs for the new public safety building is May. At that point, the city will develop the estimated cost of the project. Construction would begin by the end of the year, with completion before the summer of 2028, Bergen said.

During construction of the new public safety building, the police substation on the Boardwalk will take on even more importance by temporarily serving as the department’s main headquarters for the patrol units. Campbell and the department’s administrative operations will continue to be located at the former Crown Bank building.

    A side view of the police substation on Eighth Street reveals some of its architectural touches.
  

Lt. Mark Pancoast, who oversees the police department’s IT operations, said the substation and the administrative operations will be linked by a high-tech “umbilical cord” featuring the latest in fiber-optics.

The department’s communications, operations, computer systems, body cameras, patrol vehicles and more will all be linked by wireless technology, Pancoast explained.

“It’s state-of-the-art,” he said.

During a tour of the building, Campbell pointed out the many features that make it very clear that on the inside, at least, this is definitely a police substation.

Underneath the building is a sally port that serves as a secure, controlled entryway that will allow police officers to safely move criminal suspects from the patrol cars into the substation.

In the main part of the building is a secure holding cell where suspects will be temporarily placed in custody before they are released or moved to a regular jail.

Police will be able to fingerprint suspects at the substation and also give them breathalyzer tests if they are brought in for impaired driving.

There are also areas of the building for safely storing evidence and weapons.

The largest room is a conference room. There is also an area for the department to conduct “roll call” at the start of each work shift.

    Construction workers Tyler Okazaki, left, and Rob Bernhart stand in the building's conference room.
  

Cameras placed throughout the building will allow police to keep an eye on everyone inside the substation and outside of it as well, Campbell said.

The building’s front entrance overlooking the Boardwalk leads to a lobby. Members of the public will be allowed inside from the front entrance, after they push a button and speak to the desk sergeant about the reason they are there.

Campbell said he wants to install signs that will direct the public to the front entrance. He expects that the substation will draw a lot of foot traffic from the Boardwalk, especially during the peak summer tourism season.

The substation immediately gives the police department a much-larger presence on the Boardwalk. During the summer, the Boardwalk can serve as a hotspot for groups of teenagers or young adults creating trouble, including fighting, shoplifting and drinking in public.

In 2024, police arrested a teenager on attempted murder charges for a stabbing on the Boardwalk during a tumultuous Memorial Day weekend of fighting and other crimes.

As part of their crime-fighting strategy, Campbell and the police department saturate the Boardwalk with a heavy police presence to prevent rowdy teens from disrupting the summer tourism season.

    Ocean City's antiquated public safety building will be demolished and a new one will be built in its place.