Common name Riverside PD | Abbreviation RPD | |
Preceding agencies Riverside Police Department
Riverside Sheriff's Department Legal personality Governmental: Government agency General nature Law enforcement
Civilian agency Headquarters 4102 Orange Street, Riverside, CA 92501 | ||
The Riverside Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible for the city of Riverside, California.
Contents
History
The Riverside Police Department was founded in 1896 and has grown from a small frontier town police force to a large metropolitan police department with over 409 sworn police employees and 200 civilian employees. A leader in developing officer safety tactics and emergency response approaches, Riverside PD has long provided training materials to police academies and other law enforcement agencies across the nation. For example, the current method of initiating a traffic stop on a high risk offender in a moving vehicle, known in law enforcement as a "felony traffic stop", was first put into use by Riverside officers. This safety technique spread throughout the police profession with nearly all law enforcement agencies in the nation utilizing it.
In 2010, Sergio G. Diaz was sworn in as the new Chief of Police, replacing former Chief Russ Leach, who left after a drunken driving incident. Chief Diaz has publicly expressed his commitment to "Integrity, Service, and Excellence" in policing.
The RPD is situated in several police buildings. The downtown headquarters building houses the Office of the Chief of Police, Community Services Bureau, Administrative Division (Personnel), Records Bureau, Communications Bureau, and the Emergency Operations Center.
The Field Operations Division, Patrol and Traffic Services, are at the Lincoln Police Station (8181 Lincoln Ave). Internal Affairs, General and Special Investigations offices are located in the Magnolia Police Station (10540 Magnolia Avenue).
Organization
The Department is led by: