Law and Public Safety

A History and Overview

Our Beginnings

St. Louis County was established in a proclamation by Governor William Clark in 1812, as an area bounded on the east by the Mississippi River, on the north by the Missouri River, on the south by the Meremac River and the west by the foothills of the Ozark Mountains.

The region grew with communities rising up to feed the needs of those early travelers migrating west. Initially the population remained centered near the area known now as the City of St. Louis. By the mid 1800's the City, with its dense population had moved to separate themselves from the County.

At the close of WW II, the population began shifting and by 1960 both the City and County were each nearing a population of 725,000.

In response to this growth the citizens of St. Louis County voted to create, develop and maintain a professional police agency. In 1955, the Saint Louis County Police Department was established to serve and protect the rights of all citizens within our borders.

Our Mission

We of the St. Louis County Police are unique in both or origin and mission. We remain to this date the only County Police Department within the State of Missouri.

Our Department began with 95 police officers and 18 civilian employees. We have since grown to become the third largest provider of local law enforcement in the State and now have an authorized strength of over 835 commissioned officers as well as over 250 civilian members. This growth is a reflection of our commitment to Neighborhood Policing.

Neighborhood Policing is a philosophy - one of a partnership between police and law-abiding citizens - to create permanent solutions to problems that lead to crime. We express these ideals for all to see as we display our motto:

To Serve and Protect

Our Organization

To assure that the County Police remain responsive to our citizens, the organization is divided into four Divisions specifically designed to meet the growing needs and demands of the over one million men, women, and children we have sworn to serve and protect.

Patrol

The Division of Patrol maintains a uniform presence 24 hours a day and provides our citizens with highly trained officers who respond to any emergency and call for service. Our officers incorporate the concepts and ideals of Neighborhood Policing into their daily activities. To complement the patrol officers, the division maintains our Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officers whose efforts and instruction now reach more children than any other program in the State. Our School Resource Officers serve students, teachers and families through early intervention and problem solving as well as investigate and monitor all reports received through the safe schools hotline (889-SAFE).

The Division of Patrol has seven precincts that are strategically located throughout the county to serve our citizens. They are; North County precinct, Central County precinct, Affton Southwest precinct, South County precinct, Fenton precinct, Wildwood precinct and the West County precinct. Each precinct is assigned a Captain as its Commander and over 400 uniformed officers work within the Division.

Maintaining a close relationship with neighborhoods across the county is critical to our mission. The Neighborhood Policing initiatives of the 1990s spawned many innovative ideas. Currently each precinct has Neighborhood Police Officers (NPO's) assigned who work directly for the Commander of the precinct. They play an integral part in working closely with quality of life concerns and assist in forming and working with neighborhood citizen groups to attain these goals.

The Division of Patrol maintains 285 fully marked patrol cars equipped with state-of-the-art radios, radar guns, digital video cameras, wireless in-car computers and GPS technology. Many of these cars are utilized as part of the Resident Officer Program that allows officers to take their patrol cars home to their neighborhoods. At any given time during a 24-hour period there are between 80 and 100 on-duty officers patrolling the neighborhoods and business areas, alert for any criminal activity and responding to calls.

Special Operations

The Division of Special Operations complements the Division of Patrol by maintaining units of specially trained officers to respond to unusual situations. Among these are the Tactical Operations Unit, comprised of select officers trained to execute high risk search warrants and conduct hostage negotiations. Other units under the Bureau of Patrol Support include our Canine Unit, which utilizes specially trained dogs to locate drugs, explosives and other evidence; the Highway Safety Unit was created to reduce the number of injury accidents on state highways throughout St. Louis County; the Metro Air Support Unit which flies both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters in an airborne law enforcement support role; and our Airport Liaison who coordinates services provided at both Lambert International and Spirit of Saint Louis Airports.

Other specialized units include our MetroLink officers, who are assigned to ensure the safety of passengers that are traveling via the region's light rail transportation system, and the Office of Emergency Operations that works with local, state and federal agencies to prepare for and coordinate responses to emergency situations.

Criminal Investigation

The Division of Criminal Investigation serves as the formal investigative branch of our Department. Years of experience culminate in an assignment to the Bureau of Crimes Against Persons. These detectives are responsible for the successful investigation and apprehension of perpetrators who have committed murder, rape and robbery, as well as other violent acts against the family and society.

Their counterpart in the division is the Bureau of Crimes Against Property. These detectives, along with securing the arrest of criminals, are responsible for reuniting the victims of larcenies, burglaries and auto theft with their property. The bureau also contains the Arson and Explosives Unit which is manned with members trained by the FBI and the National Fire Academy, who with the benefit of training, technology and state-of-the-art robots safely dispose of explosive devices and work with local fire districts to investigate fires of a suspicious nature.

Detectives are also assigned to the Bureau of Drug Enforcement where members work locally as well as with the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal task forces targeting drug dealers and capturing information for multi-use computer systems to actively combat the influences of drug trafficking in our community.

The Division is rounded out with the Bureau of Criminal Identification. Detectives assigned to the Crime Scene Unit have a mission to develop, photograph, collect and package any and all physical evidence that will forever link the perpetrator to the offense.

To assist in identifying criminal suspects the Department utilizes a highly advanced Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) which holds the fingerprint records of those arrested in both St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis. The system is designed not only to identify local offenders but is also capable of searching all the fingerprint records maintained by the State of Missouri.

The Bureau's other technological advancements are evidenced by the nationally accredited Police Crime Lab, offering photographic processing, computerized Drug-fire firearms and ballistic examination as well as the DNA/PCR laboratory and serology work - all of which are made available to any police agency in St. Louis County or elsewhere in the Midwest United States.

Operational Support

The Division of Operational Support leads the Department in terms of developing technological innovations for contemporary law enforcement. The design and use of our Computer Aided Dispatching (CAD) system along with the successful multi-jurisdiction integration of the 911 system has significantly reduced the time to locate and send the closest available police unit for an emergency call for service.

Working in tandem with the CAD system is the award winning and nationally recognized Computer Assisted Report Entry (CARE) system that has organized and consolidated the report writing process. This allows the officer to quickly dictate a report to a live operator and return to service. At the same time, the CARE system not only allows the Department to collect data for crime analysis and the efficient deployment or redeployment of its officers, CARE sites are now located in the store fronts of neighborhood businesses where the uniform officer patrols. This allegiance with the business community demonstrates our resolve and commitment to neighborhood policing and shows that long-term solutions are found with the help and cooperation of businesses and citizens.

Also recognized as a forerunner in the area of police training is our St. Louis County and Municipal Academy whose Project 48 model of the 1990s set the education standard for the State of Missouri POST program's continuing education requirement. This CALEA-certified academy continues to exceed the State requirement by providing over 900 hours of intense physically and mentally demanding basic recruit police training, to not only our employees and those of other departments, but to candidates in the Open Enrollment Program. This program affords individuals an opportunity to enter the law enforcement job market as trained and certified peace officers ready for a career of service to their community.

There are several other units within this division. One is the Planning and Analysis Unit, which has the job of insuring that the organization maintains the highest level of professionalism by coordinating and developing both a written directive system as well as participation in a national accreditation process.

In 1998, the St. Louis County Police Department was awarded accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). CALEA accreditation provides the Department and its members with recognition of their professionalism. In addition, accreditation provides the Department a framework within which it can continue to improve the services offered to the citizens of St. Louis County.

Another unit within the division is the Personnel Services Unit. Their mission, along with requiring the continuation of ongoing training for all Department members, is to provide exemplary standards for the employment selection process that not only welcomes, but encourages the very best from all walks of life to join and grow with us as we continue to serve and protect our community.

Office of the Chief of Police

In addition to the four divisions within the Department, the Intelligence Unit and the Municipal Services Unit report directly to the Chief of Police. The Intelligence Unit focuses on organized crime, public corruption and terrorism, as well as groups that seek to cause public disorder. The unit also functions in a support role to other units, providing monitoring and surveillance equipment as needed to conduct investigations.

The Municipal Services Unit serves as a liaison between the Department and other area agencies. In addition, the unit is responsible for preparing and maintaining contracts for a variety of services throughout the county. The Department Media Relations Officer is also a member of this Unit and acts as a liaison between the Department and all print, radio, and television media sources.

Historic Photos

For other photographs depicting early years of St. Louis County Police Department click below:

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