| St. Louis County Police Department | |
| Common name | St. Louis County PD |
| Abbreviation | SLCPD |
| Patch of the St. Louis County Police Department. | |
| Motto | To Serve and Protect |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1955 |
| Preceding agency | St. Louis County Sheriff's Office |
| Employees | 1,053 |
| Annual budget | $87,561,609 (2010)[1] |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | County (US) of St. Louis in the state of Missouri, United States |
| Map of St. Louis County Police Department's jurisdiction. | |
| Size | 524 sq mi (1,360 km2). |
| Population | 1,015,000 (2000 Census) |
| Legal jurisdiction | St. Louis County, Missouri |
| Governing body | County Council |
| Constituting instrument | Yes |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | 7900 Forsyth Boulevard St. Louis, Missouri 63105 |
| Sworn members | 801 |
| Unsworn members | 252 |
| Agency executive | Colonel Timothy E. Fitch, Chief of Police |
| Facilities | |
| Precincts | 7 Precincts, 12 sub-stations |
| Helicopter/Airplanes | 6 Helicopter, 1 Fixed Wing |
| Website | |
| St. Louis County Police Department official website | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The St. Louis County Police Department (SLCPD) is the primary and largest law enforcement agency serving St. Louis County in the U.S. state of Missouri. The current police chief is Colonel Timothy E. Fitch. According to the Charter of St. Louis County, the county police chief has all of the duties of the sheriff of St. Louis County, except for the operation of the St. Louis County Jail, which is handled by the St. Louis County Department of Justice Services (civilian), court bailiff and service of civil process. Court bailiff/civil process duties are provided by a court-appointed sheriff and his employees, none of whom have law enforcement powers.
This change in law enforcement services occurred in 1955, when the St. Louis County Charter was amended by the voters to restrict the duties of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office. The position of elected Sheriff was eliminated. St. Louis County is the only county in Missouri that does not have an elected sheriff. With the Charter amendment, all law enforcement services were assigned to a new police agency, the St. Louis County Police Department. The department is primarily responsible for law enforcement and investigations within unincorporated St. Louis County and contract municipalities, however, it has full police authority throughout the county, including its 91 municipalities. Additionally, St. Louis County police officers are authorized to enforce Missouri law in all counties in the state having a government of the first classification, which includes the independent City of St. Louis.
The St. Louis County Police Department was established in 1955. The department was created with 95 officers and 18 civilian employees.[4] The department is divided into four divisions: Patrol, Operational Support, Special Operations, and Criminal Investigation. It is the third largest local police agency in the state, the only county police department in Missouri and one of only a few in the United States. The SLCPD is Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. CALEA is the only international body that accredits law enforcement agencies. Only seven percent of all U.S. law enforcement agencies are accredited. In 2010, CALEA recognized the St. Louis County Police Department with it distinguished Tri-Arc Award. The Tri-Arc Award is reserved for those police agenices that have successfully accredited their law enforcement services, police academy and communications division. Only six agencies in the world have achieved this status.
The SLCPD is divided into seven police precincts, two of which are contracted cities, Fenton and Wildwood (5th & 6th). Each precincts' cars are issued plates with a letter corresponding to the assigned precinct. On November 1, 2010, the SLCPD took command of the City of Jennings Police Department under contract. The agency contracts with another 16 municipal governments to provide full-time police protection. Although the agency has full police authority of the sheriff in the entire county, including all municipalities, direct service population for the SLCPD is over 400,000 residents. A majority of these 400,000 residents are located in South St. Louis County and Affton, both of which are unincorporated but heavily populated and suburban. The division fields 33 School Resource Officers (SRO) to various school districts in the county. A volunteer Reserve Police Unit provides uniformed support to the division. The Division of Patrol is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Cox.
County Police Precincts
Vehicles marked with plates "T" are Tactical Unit vehicles or are used for the SWAT Unit; vehicles with plates "E" are for administration, D.A.R.E., K-9 Units, MetroLink, or other special non-patrol units. [5][6]
In 2004, the St. Louis County Police Department, the St. Louis Police Department, and the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department joined together to share resources and created the Metro Air Support. Metro Air Support, as of July 2, 2007, boasts 6 helicopters, 1 fixed wing airplane, 6 pilots, and 8 Crew Chiefs.[7]
In addition to Metro Air Support, the Division of Special Operations staffs a full-time Tactical (SWAT) Unit consisting of 21 members, as well as nine K-9 Units trained to detect narcotics, locate missing persons and apprehend suspects. Special Operations is also responsible for entrance security at the County Jail, Family Court and St. Louis County Courthouse in Clayton, the Crisis Intervention Team, DARE, Highway Safety Unit, Chaplains, MetroLink Unit and the Office of Emergency Management. The Division of Special Operations is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Gregory.
The SLCPD has the largest investigative unit in the state. Nearly 200 detectives provide county-wide services for the crimes of homicide, child abuse, bomb & arson, domestic violence, sexual assault, fugitive apprehension, auto theft, burglary, fraud, robbery, drug abuse, and child exploitation. The SLCPD also has a full-time ASCLAD-Lab accredited Crime Laboratory, Intelligence Unit, Fingerprint Unit, Prisoner Conveyance Unit, Crime Scene Unit (CSI) and Polygraph Unit. The Division of Criminal Investigation is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Terry Roberds.
The SLCPD provides a wide range of support services for the department and community which include the following:
The Division is commanded by the highest ranking agency civilian, Executive Director William Howe.
Commissioned/Sworn = Power of Arrest
| Title | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Colonel/Chief of Police | |
| Lieutenant Colonel / Assistant Chief of Police | |
| Major (Eliminated in 2009) | |
| Captain | |
| Lieutenant | |
| Sergeant | |
| Detective | |
| Police Officer | |
| Probationary Police Officer |
To date, the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP) lists nine line of duty deaths in the St. Louis County Police Department. The Officer Down Memorial Page also reported that 4 were from gunfire, 2 from heart attacks, 1 from being struck by a vehicle, and 2 as the result of vehicular assaults (Vehicular Homicide).[8]
Officers Killed in the Line of Duty:
Detective Wayne Bradford McClelland
Officer James R. Reifschneider
Officer Robert T. Jordan
Officer Kenneth A. Koch
Detective Lawrence J. McCormack
Officer JoAnn Virginia Liscombe
Officer Willie Neal Jr.
Officer Thomas G. Smith Jr.
Sergeant Richard Eric Weinhold