Prince William County Police

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Prince William County Police Department
Established 1970
Jurisdiction County
Sworn 517
Non-sworn 184
Stations 2
Police boats 1
Chief Charlie T. Deane

Prince William County, Virginia is situated approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC in Northern Virginia. Prince William County encompsses a total area of 348 square miles. Prince William County includes within its boundaries the independent cities of Manassas and Manassas Park. Prince William County also includes four incorporated towns, Dumfries, Haymarket, Quantico and Occoquan. As of Sept. 15, 2007, the estimated population of the county was 383,644.

The Prince William County Police Department began operations on July 1, 1970. The Department has been fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) since 1987. The Police Department is divided into two districts, Eastern District and Western District. Eastern District Station is located in Woodbridge and Western District Station is located in Manassas. Prince William County Police Department has jurisdiction over all towns within county including Dumfries, Occoquan, Haymarket and Quantico. However these towns all have their own Police Departments and these town Police Departments use East OPS or Channel 2 on PWC Police radios when patrolling and like PWC Police they use Channel 1 for Records/Vehicle/Driver/Want-Warrants information while doing things like traffic stops. PWC Police also has jursdiction over independent city of Manassas through Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Contents

[edit] Radio Communication

Channel 1, Records/Info County-wide. Channel 2, East Patrol (Woodbridge Gar-Field Substation) Channel 3, West Patrol (Manassas Headquarters) Channel 4, This channel is often used on Friday/Saturday nights being reserved for Dale City and Lake Ridge units of East patrol as these neighborhoods are busier areas and cause a higher volume of radio traffic especially on Friday and Saturday nights. A big reason for needing this extra channel stems from problems over the weekends during the evening in the area of and at Potomac mills mall where officers step up their presence as needed and tend to engage younger crowds choosing to loiter, use/sell narcotics, and even fight each other.

Channel 5 is a frequency that is somewhat unspecified, however it is used for VICE type and SWAT type details. Channel 6 is an officer to officer talk around channel that when using any typical scanner over the years could always be heard on the frequency of channel 2. Before the new digital radios were in place this channel was the equal of a TAC type channel. During a "High Incident" further suspect descriptors as well as perimeter searches could be heard, during normal patrol times this channel was always meant to be a place where officers could talk back and forth to each other. To set up in-field meetings, for a supervisor to set up a station meeting, to find a good lunch break location, etc...

[edit] Divisions & Bureaus

[edit] Chief of Police

The Chief of Police is the commanding officer of the Department and has the obligation to provide efficient and effective police service to the citizens of Prince William County. The Chief is responsible for the planning and direction of all Department activities, and is the final authority in all matters of policy, operations and discipline. Falling within the Office of the Chief are the Planning and Budget Office, the Public Information Office, the Internal Affairs Office, the Chaplain Program, the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) Team and the Citizen Police Academy Alumni.

    • The Planning and Budget Office manages the accreditation process, provides all computer services to the Department, and oversees its purchasing and payroll functions.
      PWC Police Patches
      PWC Police Patches
    • The Public Information Office coordinates news releases to the media concerning Department activities and criminal incidents, maintains the Department’s Web site, supervises the Crime Solvers Program and produces the Annual Report.
    • The Internal Affairs Office investigates allegations of misconduct by Department personnel and all use-of-force incidents.
    • The Chaplain Program assists police officers in making notifications to families, assists those families as needed, and also assists police officers as needed.
    • The CISD Team helps emergency services workers handle stress after critical incidents.
    • The Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association is an interactive organization linking police officers and the citizens they serve.


[edit] Administrative Division

The Administrative Division provides support services to the Operations Division and the Criminal Investigations Division. Falling within the Administrative Division are the Administrative Services Bureau, the Identification Bureau, the Personnel Bureau, the Criminal Justice Academy and Public Safety Communications (which is jointly administered by the Department of Fire & Rescue).

    • The Administrative Services Bureau handles all evidence and property coming into the possession of the Department, enforces the Taxicab Ordinance and the Solicitor/Peddlers Ordinance.
    • The Identification Bureau provides fingerprint identification services, crime scene investigation services and photographic services; collects and processes evidence from crime scenes; participates in the Northern Virginia Regional Identification System (NOVARIS), as well as the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and LiveScan equipment.
    • The Personnel Bureau is responsible for the recruiting, processing and selection of applicants to the Department, coordination of police volunteers and the career development program, department physical examinations and supervision of the polygraph function.
      PWC Police Dodge Charger & Cadillac Escalade
      PWC Police Dodge Charger & Cadillac Escalade
    • The Criminal Justice Academy conducts all basic and in-service training for police officer candidates and police officers. It also coordinates all citizen training such as the Citizen Police Academy.
    • Public Safety Communications is responsible for all aspects of communication for public safety employees, including 9-1-1.

[edit] Operations Division

The Operations Division is responsible for maintaining police officers in constant operational readiness for immediate response to any call for service requiring police presence. Nearly two-thirds of the Department’s personnel are assigned to the Operations Division, which includes the Patrol Services Bureau, the Special Operations Bureau, Evening Operations, the Animal Control Bureau and the Crossing Guard Bureau.

    • The Patrol Services Bureau provides 24-hour patrol officer coverage throughout the County. Patrol officers are generally the first response to any type of police call for service and are prepared to respond to any emergency. The Bureau is divided into an Eastern District, a Western District and Evening Operations.
      PWC Police Cruiser
      PWC Police Cruiser
    • The Special Operations Bureau manages the activities of the Department’s specialized operational units which include the Mounted Patrol Unit, K-9 Unit, Traffic Safety Team, Search & Rescue Team, Crash Investigation Unit, Honor Guard, the SWAT Team, SCUBA Team, the Civil Disturbance Team, the Marine Unit and the Crime Prevention Unit.
    • The Animal Control Bureau enforces animal welfare laws, conducts animal education seminars, houses stray and unwanted animals in a clean and safe environment and coordinates the adoption of housed animals.
    • The Crossing Guard Bureau is responsible for traffic direction at school crossings and conducts parking enforcement.


[edit] Investigations Division

The Criminal Investigation Division investigates major criminal offenses and manages the Department’s juvenile education programs. Falling within the Criminal Investigations Division is the Vice and Narcotics Bureau, the Criminal Investigations Bureau and the Juvenile Bureau.

    • The Vice and Narcotics Bureau investigates illicit drug activity in the County and participates in drug enforcement task forces at the local, state and federal levels.
    • The Criminal Investigations Bureau investigates major offenses such as burglary, robbery, rape, homicide, auto theft, aggravated assaults and domestic violence complaints.
    • The Juvenile Bureau investigates offenses committed against juveniles and manages the Be Aware Program and the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program.

[edit] Police Department Facilities

Eastern District Station
15948 Donald Curtis Drive
Woodbridge, VA 22191
(703)792-7200

Western District Station
8900 Freedom Center Blvd.
Manassas, VA 20110
(703)792-6515

Criminal Justice Academy
13101 Public Safety Drive
Nokesville, VA 22123
(703)792-6599

Animal Control
14807 Dumfries Road
Manassas, VA 22111
(703)792-6465

[edit] See also

Virginia Portal


[edit] External links