Raleigh Police Department

The Raleigh Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency of Raleigh, North Carolina.

Raleigh Police Department
Badge of the Raleigh Police Department
AbbreviationRPD
Agency overview
Employees855
Annual budget$112 million (2021)[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionRaleigh, North Carolina, USA
Map of Raleigh City Limits
Size145 square miles [2]
Population470,509 (2018)
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersRaleigh, North Carolina
Officers802[3]
Civilians104[4]
Agency executive
  • Cassandra Deck-Brown, Chief
Divisions5
Facilities
Districts6
Notables
Award
Website
Raleigh Police website

Overview

The Raleigh Police Department is a full service police department, serving all areas in the city limits of Raleigh, and some properties which are owned by the City and situated outside the city limits (such as Lake Wheeler Park). Though RPD has jurisdiction at all locations inside the city limits and all properties owned by the City, other agencies sometimes take on first responder responsibilities at certain locations. For example, NC State University Campus Police respond initially to any emergency police calls on the campus of North Carolina State University, even though the main campus is located in the Raleigh city limits. Some law enforcement support tasks are outsourced to other agencies in the county. Crime scene processing is handled by City/County Bureau of Identification, and the county jail is operated by the Wake County Sheriff's Office.

Organization

The Raleigh Police Department is organized into five divisions:

  • The Chief's Office contains Internal Affairs, Inspections, the Police Attorney, and support staff.
  • Field Operations is the backbone of the department, as most of the officers responding to 911 calls report to the Field Operations Division. The Division is commanded by a Major.
  • Special Operations houses many specialty units, such as K-9, Animal Control, Selective Enforcement Unit, and Gang Suppression Unit, among others.
  • Investigative Division is responsible for investigating most of the crimes that require follow up after the initial officer response.
  • Administrative Division contains personnel that support the rest of the department, such as Records, Quartermaster, Information Technology, and the Police Service Center, who maintains the fleet of police vehicles.

District Information
District Name Station Location District Size
Northwest 8016 Glenwood Avenue 33 sq mi
North (Headquarters) 6716 Six Forks Road 28 sq mi
Northeast 5230 Greens Dairy Rd 26 sq mi
Southeast 1601 Cross Link Road 27 sq mi
Downtown 218 West Cabarrus Street 5 sq mi
Southwest 601 Hutton Street 21 sq mi

[5]

Rank structure
Title Insignia Notes
Chief of Police
The Chief of Police reports to the City Manager
Deputy Chief
Deputy to the Chief of Police.
Major
With the exception of the Chief's Office, each Division is commanded by a Major.
Captain
In the Field Operations Division, each District is commanded by a captain. There are also captains assigned to the other Divisions of the department.
Lieutenant
Most districts have four lieutenants as deputy commanders. Lieutenants are also assigned to the other Divisions of the department.
Sergeant
Generally, each district has 8 sergeants (2 per squad) assigned to Field Operations. A sergeant supervises a team of officers. At least one sergeant also supervises each specialized unit throughout the department.
Detective
An officer may apply to be promoted to detective.
Senior Officer
Most officers with 6 years of service to the Raleigh Police Department are eligible to be advanced to Senior Officer. This is not considered a promotion, and no test is required.
Master Officer
Most officers with 4 years of service at RPD, or similar experience at another police agency, are eligible to test for the Master Officer classification. This is not considered a promotion.
First Class Officer
Most officers with 2 years of service at RPD, or similar experience at another police agency, are eligible to test for the First Class Officer classification. This is not considered a promotion.
Officer
This title is given to new officers upon being sworn in. It is also regularly used to refer to any First Class, Master, or Senior Officer.
Recruit

[6]

Vehicles

All marked Raleigh Police Department vehicles are a distinct blue and white, though unmarked vehicles are also used. The standard patrol vehicle is the Ford Explorer Police Interceptor Utility, while many officers within Special Operations units utilize the Chevrolet Tahoes, upfitted for police work. The Departments Motor Unit utilizes BMW R1200RT-P motorcycles for traffic enforcement. Several other vehicles, including bicycles, ATV's, Segways, horses, and others are also fielded by the department. The Raleigh Police Department does not currently have aviation or marine units. Most marked vehicles are outfitted with some or all of the latest in police technology such as Mobile Computer Terminals (MCTs) with internet connectivity, LoJack receivers, Digital Video Recording, 800 MHz radios, GPS, and other technologies.

Raleigh PD 2014 Ford Police Intercepter Utility
  • Older Raleigh Police Car Front
  • Older Raleigh Police Car Rear

Equipment

The Patrol Officers standard duty belt includes:

  • Smith & Wesson or Peerless handcuffs, either chain or hinged
  • Sabre Red Oleoresin Capsicum (OC Spray) 2,000,000 SHU "Pepper" Spray
  • Asp Friction-Loc 21" steel expandable baton
  • Streamlight Strion rechargeable LED Flashlight
  • Motorola APX Series Radio
  • Smith & Wesson M&P pistol, .45ACP
  • Taser X2 Electronic Control Device (Issued to selected Officers once they complete the required training/exposure)
  • Patrol Officers may also carry a long gun which can be either a Smith & Wesson M&P15, AR-15 Platform, chambered in .223/5.56, equipped with a Surefire M500A Weaponlight, or a Remington 870 Police Magnum 12-Gauge shotgun also equipped with a Surefire light.

Raleigh also has three full-time Selective Enforcement Unit (SEU) Teams, which is Raleigh's equivalent of a SWAT Team. Officers assigned to SEU carry a wide variety of specialized equipment and weaponry including the M4 Carbine, Heckler and Koch MP5, and UMP-45. Additional specialized units within the department often field other items and pieces of equipment specific to the task which they are designated to perform.

Fallen officers
Officer Name End of Watch Incident Type
Detective Tom G. Crabtree 9/1/1922 Gunfire
Patrolman Robert Earl Sparks 3/8/1968 Motorcycle Crash
Patrolman James Wade Allen 12/5/1968 Vehicle Crash
Patrolman James Gale Lee 12/5/1968 Vehicle Crash
Officer Delma Devon Adams 2/3/1980 Gunfire
Officer Denise Holden 8/4/1995 Vehicle Crash
Detective Paul Andrew Hale 7/11/1997 Gunfire
Officer Charles Radford Paul III 9/10/2002 Motorcycle Crash

[7]

See also

References
  1. Sullivan, Carl; Baranauckas, Carla (June 26, 2020). "Here's how much money goes to police departments in largest cities across the U.S." USA Today. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020.
  2. Raleigh Demographics
  3. Raleigh Police Chief's Office
  4. Raleigh Police Chief's Office
  5. Raleigh Police Districts
  7. "Raleigh Police Department". Officer Down Memorial Page. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.