THE DEPARTMENT ON THE MAP
Police work had addresses.
Precinct stations, bureau offices and headquarters organized the geography of police work. A patrolman reported from a neighborhood station; specialized investigators could work from headquarters or a bureau office and move across precinct boundaries as an assignment required.
Places such as McGraw Station and 1300 Beaubien matter because they connect a personnel record to an actual Detroit building. The Map Room can then show how those institutional locations related to neighborhoods, courts and case geography.