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	447,489
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 447,489 people within 497.3 square miles (1,288 km²) of jurisdiction within Virginia Beach, VA.

Special Operations Bureau

Marine Patrol Unit 146 operating in Lynnhaven River

Special Operations is a bureau under the Police Operations Division. Officers are responsible for specialized traffic enforcement, maintaining and deploying rapid response teams for handling unusual occurrences, and conducting law enforcement actions. Tactical units used to accomplish this include:

Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) - Responsible for the resolution of situations requiring unique actions, tactics, or equipment. The goal of the unit is to resolve situations while limiting hazards to citizens and police personnel.
Bomb Squad - Founded in 1991 as the Tactical Explosives Unit, with the singular role of explosive breaching/entry techniques for the SWAT Team.
Canine Unit - Assist in a patrol capacity and can be used for: all felonies in progress; occurrences involving weapons; violent persons; prowlers; area searches and tracking; alarm calls; searches for evidence; building searches and clearing; support for SWAT and tactical operations.
Mounted Patrol Unit.
Crisis Negotiation Team - Use intervention techniques to defuse situations involving individuals who are suicidal, barricaded , or holding hostages.
Fatal Crash Team - Conduct accident investigation and reconstruction.
Hit and Run - Investigate accidents involving hit and run and/or leaving the scene.
Traffic Safety Unit - Addresses the city's increasing fatality and alcohol-related accident rates.
Motor Carrier Safety and Environmental Crimes 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 - Primarily responsible for reducing traffic-related incidents and deaths within the City of Virginia Beach through aggressive RADAR enforcement.
Aviation Unit / Helicopter Operations - Primary mission is to support police ground units through air patrol, search and rescue, surveillance, crime scene photos, and damage assessments. Its secondary missions are to support other city departments, and support other jurisdictions in the tidewater area.
Marine Patrol Unit / Dive Team - Attend meetings of the Port Security, Homeland Security Committees, and the Safe Boating Coalition. Boat Captains present 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.^[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

Rank structure

Title	Insignia	Duties
Police Chief		Chief of Department
Deputy Chief		Bureau Commander
Captain		Commander of Patrol Districts
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Master Police Officer
Police Officer

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 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
Roger L. McClung	December 19, 1968	Drowned
Robert R. Monette	December 19, 1968	Drowned
Jimmy Wayne Mobley	July 11, 1979	Aircraft accident
William Douglas Black	July 11, 1979	Aircraft accident
Daniel T. Maloney	December 27, 1981	Gunfire
George Wayne Starr	August 31, 1991	Struck by vehicle
Rodney Fredderick Pocceschi	June 23, 2003	Gunfire
Michael Smith Phillips	August 7, 2008	Gunfire

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.