Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
Common name	Charlotte Police Department
Abbreviation	CMPD
Patch of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
Agency overview
Formed	1993
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	City of Charlotte in the state of North Carolina, United States
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian police
Operational structure
Sworn members	1,849 (2014)
Agency executive	Kerr Putney, Chief of police (29,Jun.)
Units	List Aviation S.W.A.T. K-9 Scuba Team Bomb Squad Highway Interdiction Traffic Safety Cyber Crimes Crime Scene Search Auxiliary Police Street Crimes Bike Unit Animal Control & Animal Care
Commands	List Central North Tryon North Eastway Metro Westover Providence University City Steele Creek South Independence Hickory Grove Freedom
Facilities
Divisions	13
Website
CMPD
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is the police department of the City of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, US. With 1,849 officers and 473 civilian staff as of 2014, covering an area of 438 square miles (1,130 km²) with a population of nearly 900,000, it is the largest police department between Washington D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia. The CMPD is unique in that it was formed in 1993 with the merger of the former Charlotte City Police Department and the Mecklenburg County Rural Police Department. Mecklenburg and neighboring Gaston County were the two counties out of the state's 100 counties to have county police in addition to the sheriff's offices. County police perform law enforcement tasks in the county with police powers anywhere in the county just like the sheriff, but the sheriff primarily handled the courts and jails. The North Carolina General Assembly approved legislation combining the two agencies. Though they are by statute "county police" in that they have jurisdiction anywhere in Mecklenburg County. The unique status of the situation made them "metro" police, in that the City of Charlotte has no municipal police department.

The CMPD is organized into the Office of the Chief of Police and five deputy chiefs.

Patrol services fall under the Field Services Group, headed by a deputy chief. The Field Services Group is divided into four service areas, each headed by a major. Each service area comprises three to four patrol divisions, each headed by a captain. Each patrol division consists of two response areas, each headed by a lieutenant.

Some groups contain bureaus, headed by majors. Each bureau is also organized into divisions, commanded by captains, and units, commanded by sergeants.

As of June 2014, the department consisted of 1 chief of police, 5 deputy chiefs of police, 16 majors, 38 captains, 46 lieutenants, 148 sergeants and roughly 1550 officers.

CMPD officers are issued the Smith and Wesson M&P .40.

Formed in 1971 through a Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Administration grant program. The department purchased a helicopter and initially trained 3 officers, adding 3 more officers within the first three months of operation. The unit was staffed 7 days a week, and covered 20 out of 24 hours a day.