Police Department Organization Essay

There are three different types of police departments they individually have their own jurisdictions nonetheless their structure is very similar. For bigger departments the structure is going to be more in depth mainly because of all the moving parts in its system. For those smaller departments it will be smaller due to fewer personnel on shift and tasks at hand. In the Unites States we have three different types of police departments local, state, and federal. In this paper you will find a brief description of all three. In the city of El Centro California we have a smaller department due to the population here in El Centro. El Centro Police Department was established in 1908 it involves 58 sworn officers and 26 civilian employees. The structure is made up of the Police Chief, Commanders, Lieutenants, Sergeants, field officers, and civilian employees. This department comprises of three sub-divisions patrol, traffic, and Crisis Response Unit. Patrol is in charge of patrolling the city and making police presence known. Traffic division handles city traffic and makes sure that residents and visitors alike are respecting all speed limits and traffic signals. Crisis Response Unit is a specialized unit that has been established to handle critical field operations. It manages sensitive calls such as those where negotiations are needed; it is also capable of deploying specialized units where highly trained officers are need. Investigations Division accounts for two sergeants, seven detectives, one community service officer, and a secretary. Four of the seven detectives are assigned to handle multi-jurisdictional narcotics enforcement and one detective is allocated to juvenile crimes. Evidence and property is controlled by the community service officer. The person responsible for the Investigation Divisions smooth operations is the division secretary. The Chief, Executive Commander, and Staff assistant lead the Administration Division. Police Chief Jim McGinley is the current chief for El Centro police department. Chief McGinley has 32 years of law enforcement practice; previously he served as Commanding Officer for San Diego Police Department. Prior to retirement in 2005 Chief McGinley headed the Investigations Divisions 2. Chief McGinley was in charge of elder abuse, auto theft, financial crimes, robbery, gangs, and homicide. California Highway Patrol was formed August 14, 1929. It consists of eight different divisions throughout California. Their structure is very similar to a military unit. At the top of its structure is the Commissioner which has the following offices under it Office of Special Representative, Office of Inspector General, and Office of Employee Relations. Deputy Commissioner follows with the Office of legal affairs, Medical Relations, and Equal Employment Opportunity. After that the structure branches of into two different components one being administrative and the other being the officers on the beat. Assistant Commissioner Staff has several departments like Administrative Service Division, Information management, Enforcement & Planning, Office of the Academy, Internal Affairs, Office of Employee Assistance & safety, and the Office of Organization Development. Assistant Commissioner Field is the other branch that I mentioned. This office also has various divisions and offices like Protective Service Division, Office of Air Operations, State Security Division, and all of it different patrol divisions in the state. The state is broken down into eight different divisions I will name them form southern California to northern California; Border Division, Southern Division, Inland Division, Central Division, Costal Division, Valley Division, Golden gate Division, and Northern Division. California Highway Patrol has two main missions the primary one is to make sure that all traffic and transportation along freeways and state routes. CHP officer still maintain police authority out of state route and freeways. CHP’s secondary mission is to aid and assist to any emergencies that exceed local capabilities. A federal police agency is the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and it was founded in July 1973 formed by President Richard Nixon. He established this agency to combat the war on drugs and not only nationwide but worldwide as well. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration web page the DEA has nearly 5,000 Special Agents and a budget of $2.02 billion. The Administrations structure is very complex and consists of many different divisions. At the top of its enormous structure it has its Administrator and Deputy Administrator followed by five different branches forming the top of this structure. It has Executive Equal Opportunity & Employee Assistant Staff (ADE), Executive Policy & Strategic Planning Staff (ADS), Office of Administrative Law Judges (LJ), Office of Chief Council, and Office of Congressional & public Affairs. Drug Enforcement Administration has many other divisions and departments that they account for a whole thirty one of them to be exact with the last one being field operations. DEA has a much larger structure mainly because it not only fights the war on drugs and terrorism in the United States but it also must do it worldwide. References www.chp.ca.gov www.cityofelcentro.org/police/ www.justice.gov/dea