KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Kannapolis police have been in a building that was supposed to be a temporary home, but it's been more than 20 years and they're still waiting for a new department to be built.
The building on South Main Street may look more like a house than a police department, but then again, it was never supposed to be one.
In fact, for a long time, it was a funeral home.
"Everyone takes pride in what they do, especially police officers,” said Kannapolis Police Chief Woody Chavis.
But Chavis said being able to operate as a police department is becoming more of a challenge.
Chavis showed Eyewitness News the small, cramped and overcrowded areas his officers have to deal with every day. He said in some parts of the building, they have up to eight officers working in an area the size of a living room.
But too many people in too small a space isn't the only concern. Structurally, they've had issues with the roof leaking.
Because the building was never designed to be a police department, it's not a secured area. That means prisoners can't be left alone in any area of the building; they even have to be escorted to the restrooms.
Chavis said in many cases, interviews are done in an open room, giving investigators and victims little privacy.
"We just have to think about space first -- ‘Where are we going to do it?’" Chavis said.
The police department moved into the building in 1989. They were only supposed to be there for 5 years while a new facility was built. Now, more than 20 years later, they're still working out of the same old funeral home and every time talk of a new facility has come up, the funding hasn't been there.
At this point, there's no date for when one will be built.
Chavis said his department has the support of the city to build one, but they still need to figure out where the funding will come from.