Virginia Beach Police Department

Virginia Beach Police Department
Abbreviation	VBPD
Agency overview
Formed	1963
Employees	972
Annual budget	$86.6 million
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	City of Virginia Beach in the state of Virginia, USA
Map of Virginia Beach Police Department's jurisdiction.
Size	497.3 square miles (1,288 km2)
Population	437,994
Governing body	City
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	Virginia Beach, Virginia
Police Officers	840
Civilians	132
Agency executive	James A. Cervera, Chief of Police
Facilities
Stations	4 precincts
Helicopters	2
Website
Official Website
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD) is the primary law enforcement agency servicing 437,994 people within 497.3 square miles (1,288 km²) of jurisdiction within Virginia Beach, VA.

Contents 1 Special Operations Bureau 2 Support Services 3 Investigative Division 4 Operations Division 5 Awards 6 Fallen officers 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

Special Operations Bureau

Special Operations is a bureau under the Police Operations Division. Highly trained officers are responsible for specialized traffic enforcement, maintaining and deploying rapid response teams for handling unusual occurrences and conducting dedicated law enforcement actions. In order to accomplish these responsibilities, members contribute with a number of various tactical units.

Special Operations:

• Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) The Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) is responsible for the resolution of situations requiring other than normal police actions, tactics, or equipment. The demonstrated goal of the unit is to resolve situations while limiting hazards to citizens and police personnel.
• Bomb Squad The Virginia Beach Police Bomb Squad began in 1991 as the Tactical Explosives Unit (TEU), with the singular role of explosive breaching/entry techniques for the SWAT Team.
• Canine (K9) Unit The canine unit performs its duties with twenty-four hour coverage. Acting in a patrol capacity, canine teams respond to and can be utilized for: all felonies in progress, any case where there is a weapon involved, violent persons, prowler calls, area searches to locate suspects, missing persons and fleeing felons for tracking purposes, alarm calls, article searches for evidence recovery, insecure buildings to conduct building searches when necessary, SWAT and tactical operations to maintain perimeters and clear buildings
• Mounted Patrol Unit The Virginia Beach Mounted Patrol Officers have the same responsibilities as other police officers on patrol while employing a very distinctive tool.
• Crisis Negotiation Team The Crisis Negotiation Team uses proven intervention techniques to defuse situations involving suicidal or barricaded individuals or those persons who may hold hostages.
• Fatal Crash Team The Fatal Crash Team (FaCT) is highly trained in accident investigation and accident reconstruction.
• Hit and Run The Hit and Run Unit is responsible for investigating accidents involving hit and run and/or leaving the scene.
• Traffic Safety Unit It is to address the city's increasing fatality and alcohol- related accident rates.
• Motor Carrier Safety and Environmental Crimes Unit The Motor Carrier Safety Unit conducts roadside inspections of commercial motor vehicles to locate and enforce equipment defects, logbook violations, hauling permit violations, overweight vehicles, and hazardous material violations.
• Motorcycle Unit The primary responsibility of the Virginia Beach Police Department Motorcycle Unit lies in the reduction of traffic related incidents and deaths within the City of Virginia Beach through aggressive RADAR enforcement.

• Aviation Unit - Helicopter Operations Their primary mission is: to support Police ground units. The areas this support is rendered are but not limited to: Patrol in support of the ground units, Apprehension of Criminal Suspects, Search and Rescue, Homeland Security, Surveillance, Crowd Surveillance, Crime Scene Photos, and Damage Assessments of Manmade and Natural Disasters. Its secondary missions are: To support for other city departments and support for other jurisdictions in the tidewater area.
• Marine Patrol Unit / Dive Team Members of the Marine Patrol unit serve and attend meetings of the Port Security - Home Land Security Committees and the Safe Boating Coalition. Boat Captains are also available for presentations about the unit and boating safety.^[1]

Support Services

The Virginia Beach Police Department’s Support Services Division provides administrative support to the department. The division is made up of the following units: Automated System Support, Budget Office, Central Records Unit, Crime Reporting Unit, Office of Planning & Analysis, Payroll Office, and Logistical Support (Property & Evidence Unit and the Uniform & Supply Unit).^[2]

Investigative Division

The Investigative Division of the Virginia Beach Police Department oversees the Detective Bureau and Special Investigations. Click the links to the right to go to the Detective Bureau Home Page or the Special Investigations Home Page.^[3]

Operations Division

Includes the following units:

• Animal Control The mission of the Virginia Beach Bureau of Animal Control is to balance the health, safety and welfare needs of the people and animals in the City.
• Auxiliary Police
• First Precinct
• Second Precinct
• Third Precinct
• Fourth Precinct
• Special Operations
• The Crime Prevention Unit^[4]
• Community Service Officers

Awards

The Life Saving Medal Awarded to any sworn or ancillary member of the Department of Police or any other law enforcement agency who distinguishes himself by performing extraordinary physical acts or renders life saving techniques to aid in the preservation of a human life. Only one award can be given for each instance, regardless of the number of lives saved.

The Silver Cross Award Awarded to any sworn or ancillary member of the Department of Police or other law enforcement agency who distinguishes himself themselves by extraordinary bravery not justifying the Medal of Valor award.

The Special Commendation Award Awarded to any member of the Department of Police or any other law enforcement agency for an act or achievement above that which is normally required or expected.

The Medal of Merit Awarded to any sworn or ancillary member of the Department of Police or other law enforcement agency who distinguishes themselves by performing his duties in a manner that clearly exceeds what is normally required or expected or for a highly creditable police accomplishment.

The Medal of Valor Awarded to any sworn or ancillary member of the Department of Police or other law enforcement agency who distinguishes themselves conspicuously by gallantry and at the risk of their his life. The Medal of Valor is a Maltese cross medallion.

The Blue Star Medal Awarded to any sworn or ancillary member of the Department of Police who has been killed, wounded or injured in the performance of their duties. The Blue Star is similar equivalent to the U.S. Government's Purple Heart.^[5]

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Virginia Beach Police Department, 8 officers have died in the line of duty.^[6]

Officer	Date of Death	Details
Police Officer Roger L. McClung	Thursday, December 19, 1968	Drowned
Detective Robert R. Monette	Thursday, December 19, 1968	Drowned
Detective Jimmy Wayne Mobley	Wednesday, July 11, 1979	Aircraft accident
Police Officer William Douglas Black	Wednesday, July 11, 1979	Aircraft accident
Police Officer Daniel T. Maloney	Sunday, December 27, 1981	Gunfire
Auxiliary Officer George Wayne Starr	Saturday, August 31, 1991	Struck by vehicle
Police Officer Rodney Fredderick Pocceschi	Monday, June 23, 2003	Gunfire
Detective Michael Smith Phillips	Thursday, August 7, 2008	Gunfire

See also

• List of law enforcement agencies in Virginia

References

External links

• Virginia Beach Police Department official weblink
• Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office official weblink
• Virginia Beach government official website