| Riverside Police Department (RPD) | |
| Common name | Riverside PD |
| Abbreviation | RPD |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| General nature |
|
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | 4102 Orange Street, Riverside, CA 92501 |
| Chief responsible | Sergio G. Diaz |
| Facilities | |
| Detention Centers | 1 |
| Website | |
| [1] | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Sub division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Riverside Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible for the city of Riverside, California.
Contents |
The Riverside Police Department was founded in 1896 and has grown from a small frontier town police force to a large metropolitan police department with over 409 sworn police employees and 200 civilian employees. A leader in developing innovative officer safety tactics and emergency response approaches, Riverside PD has long provided training materials to police academies and other law enforcement agencies across the nation. For example, the current method of initiating a traffic stop on a high risk offender in a moving vehicle, known in law enforcement as a "felony traffic stop", was first put into use by Riverside officers. This safety technique spread throughout the police profession with nearly all law enforcement agencies in the nation utilizing it. Today, this tactic and many others are credited to the RPD.[1]
The RPD has been very successful in reducing both violent and property crime. A comparison of Part I Crime in 2005 to Part I Crime in 2010, shows a DECREASE of over 25%.[2] In addition to traditional crime-fighting, the RPD has been recognized for devising resourceful means to include community partnerships and collaboration. Some of the more recent acknowledgements include: IACP/Motorola Webber Seavey Award for Quality in Law Enforcement (Top 25 Programs in the Nation (2010, Youth Court); MetLife Foundation for Community-Police Partnership Neighborhood Revitalization Award (2009); California Highway Patrol - Law Enforcement Challenge, 1st Place (2008 & 2009, for agencies having 251-500 sworn officers); and, IACP Civil Rights Award (2006) for a multi-agency program to educate the community about hate crime, arson, and civil rights violations.
In 2010, Sergio G. Diaz was sworn in as the new Chief of Police, replacing Russ Leach. Chief Diaz has publicly expressed his commitment to "Integrity, Service, and Excellence" in policing. Recent surveys collected for the department's strategic plan found that a high percentage of community members believe the RPD does an excellent job. In the last 5-years, its Neighborhood Policing Center deployment has allowed police and community members to work together to solve the issues of crime, social disorder, and neighborhood decay.
The RPD is situated in several police buildings. The downtown headquarters building houses the Office of the Chief of Police, Community Services Bureau, Administrative Division (Personnel), Records Bureau, Communications Bureau, and the Emergency Operations Center.
The Field Operations Division, Patrol and Traffic Services, are at the Lincoln Police Station (8181 Lincoln Ave). Internal Affairs, General and Special Investigations offices are located in the Magnolia Police Station (10540 Magnolia Avenue).
The Department is led by:
| Chief | Name |
|---|---|
| Chief of Police | Sergio G. Diaz |
| Assistant Chief | Christopher O. Vicino |
| Chief of Operations | Jeffrey Greer |
| Chief of Administration | Michael Blakely |
The Riverside Police Department website