Abbreviation RPD | Employees 851 | |
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Legal personality Governmental: Government agency Operations jurisdiction* City of Raleigh in the state of North Carolina, USA Size 144.24 square miles (July 2012) Population 416,468 (July 2012 estimate) |
The Raleigh Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Contents
Overview
The Raleigh Police Department is a full service police department, serving all areas in the city limits of Raleigh, and some properties which are owned by the City and situated outside the city limits (such as Lake Wheeler Park). Though RPD has jurisdiction at all locations inside the city limits and all properties owned by the City, other agencies sometimes take on first responder responsibilities at certain locations. For example, NC State University Campus Police respond initially to any emergency police calls on the campus of North Carolina State University, even though the main campus is located in the Raleigh city limits. Some law enforcement support tasks are outsourced to other agencies in the county. Crime scene processing is handled by City/County Bureau of Identification, and the county jail is operated by the Wake County Sheriff's Office.
Organization
The Raleigh Police Department is organized into five divisions:
Vehicles
All marked Raleigh Police Department vehicles are a distinct blue and white, though unmarked vehicles are also used. The standard patrol vehicle is the Ford Crown Victoria, while many officers within Special Operations units utilize the Chevrolet Tahoes, upfitted for police work. The Departments Motor Unit utilizes BMW R1200RT-P motorcycles for traffic enforcement. Several other vehicles, including bicycles, ATV's, Segways, horses, and others are also fielded by the department. The Raleigh Police Department does not currently have aviation or marine units. The Department is currently testing several vehicle makes and models to determine the best vehicle to eventually replace the discontinued Ford Crown Victoria. Vehicles being tested include the Chevrolet Caprice, the Ford Intercepter (Taurus), The Chevrolet Impala, and the Ford Explorer. Most marked units are outfitted with some or all of the latest in police technology such as Mobile Computer Terminals (MCTs) with internet connectivity, LoJack receivers, Digital Video Recording, 800 MHz radios, GPS, and other technologies.
Equipment
The Patrol Officers standard duty belt includes:
Raleigh also has three full-time Selective Enforcement Unit (SEU) Teams, which is Raleigh's equivalent of a SWAT Team. Officers assigned to SEU carry a wide variety of specialized equipment and weaponry including the M4 Carbine, Heckler and Koch MP5, and UMP-45. Additional specialized units within the department often field other items and pieces of equipment specific to the task which they are designated to perform.