Durham Police Department (North Carolina)

Durham Police Department
The Patch of the Durham Police Department
Abbreviation	DPD
Motto	"To minimize crime, promote safety, and enhance the quality of life in partnership with our community."
Agency overview
Employees	672
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Durham, North Carolina, USA
Size	110.5 square miles (286 km2) (July 2016)[1]
Population	254,620 (July 2016)[2]
General nature	• Local civilian agency
Headquarters	505 W Chapel Hill Street, Durham, North Carolina
Officers	548[3]
Civilians	119[4]
Agency executive	Cerelyn J. Davis, Chief
Facilities
Substations	5
Notables
Award	CALEA Accredited
Website
Durham Police website

The Durham Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency of Durham, North Carolina.

Overview

The Durham Police Department is a full service police department, having primary responsibilities for law enforcement and investigation within the city limits of Durham, North Carolina. The department was established in 1869 to provide policing services to the residents of Durham and has undergone many changes in its structure and operations since. The most notable change occurred in the 1970, when the City of Durham combined both the Durham Police Department and the Durham Fire Department to create a joint public safety agency. The agency was soon split again in 1985 to form separate police and fire services.^[5]

The Durham Police Department operates its own Police Academy through Durham Technical Community College. While the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Standards Commission requires a 16-week Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) course, the Durham Police Academy is 26 weeks^[6].

Organization^[7]

The Durham Police Department is organized into five bureaus:

• The Office of the Chief contains the Professional Standards Division, Public Affairs Unit, Staff Inspections, the Police Attorney, and support staff.
• Administrative Service Bureau provides many necessary functions to support and serve both police officers as well as citizens. It contains the Information Technology Division, the Training Division and Recruiting Unit, the Fiscal Services Division, the Employee Services Division, and the Planning & Research Division.
• Field Operations consists of the Patrol Services Bureau and the Support Services Bureau. The Patrol Services Bureau includes four of the five police districts (districts 1-4), each of which consist of four patrol patrol squads and a district investigation unit. District 5 (downtown area) uniform patrol and district investigations are among the Canine Unit, Traffic Accident and Collision Team (TACT), and the Motor Unit in the Special Services Division under the Support Services Bureau. The Community Services Division, the Special Projects/Logistics Division, and the Analytical Services Division are also under the Support Services Bureau.
• Investigative Services Bureau consists of the Organized Crime Unit, the Criminal Investigations Unit, and the Forensic Services Division. This Criminal Investigations Unit differs from the district investigation units in that there are five specialized investigative teams: the Homicide Unit, the Domestic Violence Unit, the Special Victims Unit, the Financial Crimes Unit, and the Robbery Unit.

District information^[8]

Durham Police Department Headquarters

The Durham Police Department's headquarters is currently located at 505 West Chapel Hill Street, though construction of the new 4.5 acre site located at 603 E Main Street is scheduled to be completed by Fall 2018 at a cost of $71,468,126^[9]. The new headquarters complex will include all existing features and house District 5 operations and the Forensic Services Unit. Currently, there are five district sub-stations located throughout the city.

Vehicles

Durham Police Crown Victoria

The Durham Police Department utilizes many different types of vehicles to accomplish its mission. The primary marked patrol vehicle of the Durham Police Department is the Dodge Charger. Uniform patrol sergeants and K9 units are equipped with a Chevrolet Tahoe. While the Ford Crown Victoria has almost been completely phased out of the fleet, a number remain as spare line cars. Similarly, the Department still employs many Chevrolet Impalas for assignments not requiring marked vehicles as it continues the transition to a Dodge Charger and Ford Explorer Interceptor unmarked fleet. Downtown units use Trek bicycles and Polaris EFI 500 UTVs for patrolling nearby trails and special events downtown. The motor unit utilizes Harley-Davidson Electra Glide motorcycles.

The marked units are equipped with Mobile Computer Terminals (MCTs) with internet connectivity, LoJack receivers, Coban Digital Video Recording, Motorola 800 MHz radios, and GPS. The marked vehicles are also equipped with both red and blue overhead emergency lights. Having red lights is not common among many law enforcement agencies in North Carolina, but the red signifies the department's previous history as a public safety agency.

Equipment

The Durham Police Department issues each officer standard equipment. Certain additional equipment or accessories may also be carried, but are not issued by the department.

• Peerless handcuffs, hinged
• Saber defensive spray (OC/CS)
• ASP Friction-Loc 21" steel expandable baton
• Maglite rechargeable flashlight (3-Cell D size)
• Motorola APX 6000 radio
• Glock 17 9mm
• Taser X2 Electronic Control Device
• Remington 870 Police Magnum (optional for carry)

The Durham Police Department's Selective Enforcement Team (SET) utilizes special weapons including M4 carbines, Heckler and Koch MP5s, various non-lethal chemical agents as well as special armor and protective equipment.

Patches and uniforms

The Durham Police Department's Uniform Patrol wears navy blue uniform shirts and matching pants. The shirts have police patches on both shoulders. Officers utilize a gloss leather Sam Browne belt to carry equipment.

The current patch has been in service since 1985. It has a navy blue background with a red center and gold trim. The navy blue represents law enforcement while the red represents the department's history as a public safety agency. The center displays an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows which is reminiscent of the Great Seal of the United States. The center of the eagle has a gold shield and blue "D"-shape with the Rod of Asclepius over the top representing one of Durham's nicknames, "The City of Medicine".^[10]

Older patches include a round patch with tobacco leaves representing Durham's history as a major producer of tobacco products. The Public Safety era patch was used from around 1970 to 1985 while the Durham Police and Fire Department's merged.

Fallen officers^[11]

See also

• List of law enforcement agencies in North Carolina

References

External links

• Durham Police Department website