The U.T. Police department is welcoming what they say is a much needed renovation officers hope will prevent a tragedy like the one at Virginia Tech in April of 2007.

The campus police station is completely renovating its building including its control room which has gone high tech.

"I think the biggest thing that we have right now is having to have two seperate stations that are mirror images of each other," says Captain Don Verett of the U.T. police department.

Before last month dispatchers were squeezed into a tiny space but now the control room is three times the size of what it used to be.

The control room also boasts of high-end computers which are now touch screen.

One of the more signifcant changes is that now students and staff members who dial 911 will be connected directly to U.T. Police instead of the calls going to Austin/Travis County 911.

"It speeds up the emergency response whether it be medical, police or fire related. We're able to answer those calls much more quickly as opposed to those calls going to the Austin/Travis County 911 answering then they have to kick it back to us," says Verett.

U.T. Police hope to have the renovations completed by the end of this week in time for the first of a series of graduation exercises.