Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
| Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) | |
|---|---|
| Common name | Metro, Metro PD |
| Abbreviation | LVMPD |
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department patch
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| Motto | "Partners With the Community" |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | July 1, 1973 |
| Preceding agencies |
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| Employees | 5,000+ |
| Annual budget | FY 2011–2012: $501,307,011 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Size | 8,061 sq mi (20,878 km²) |
| Population | 2,027,868 (2013) |
| Legal jurisdiction | Clark County, Nevada (excluding cities of Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City and Mesquite). |
| General nature |
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| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | 400 S. Martin L. King Boulevard Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Police Officers | 2,600+ |
| Sheriffs responsible |
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| Facilities | |
| Area Commands | 8 |
| Airbases | 1 |
| Detention Centers | 3 |
| Marked and Unmarked Cars | 2000+ |
| Motorcycles | 160+ |
| Helicopters | 7 |
| Planes | 1 |
| Boats | 3 |
| Dogs | 42 |
| Horses | 12 |
| Website | |
| Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's website | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Sub division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (also known as the LVMPD or Metro) is a joint city-county police force for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada. It is headed by the Sheriff of Clark County, elected every four years. The current Sheriff of Clark County is Joe Lombardo, who became sheriff on January 5, 2015. The sheriff is the only elected head law enforcement officer within the county, and, as such, the department is not under the direct control of the city, county or state.
Metro is the largest law enforcement agency in the state of Nevada, and one of the largest police agencies in the United States.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) was formed on July 1, 1973, by merging the Las Vegas Police Department with the Clark County Sheriff's Department. Metro serves the city limits of Las Vegas and the unincorporated areas of Clark County.
In the early 1970s, both the Las Vegas Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff's Department struggled with jurisdictional and budgetary problems. Oftentimes, people living in the metropolitan area would call the wrong agency to report crimes in progress, which would delay police response. Both agencies were also strapped for manpower, yet used a lot of it duplicating record-keeping and administrative functions in both of the agencies. The idea of consolidating the two law enforcement agencies into one metropolitan department began to circulate among the top officials in both agencies, likely due to the close working relationship between the Clark County Sheriff and the Las Vegas Police Chief at that time. It was said that even police officers on the Las Vegas Police Department could see that it would be better if the agency were run by the Sheriff, due to the fact that he was an elected official. Legislation to merge the Las Vegas Police Department with the Clark County Sheriff's Department was passed by the Nevada State Legislature, and the merger became effective in 1973.
In 1999, an outside audit, commissioned by the City of Las Vegas and conducted by DMG-Maximus, commended the department for having fewer managers and supervisors than are typically found in large police agencies. The audit also said that the managers, both sworn and civilian, were of "excellent quality." The auditors found that the recruitment and selection program was "among the best we have encountered in recent years." Although the city had planned to commission a second phase of the study, DMG-Maximus auditors said they were so impressed with the department that further study was unnecessary, saving the city $180,000 that had been allocated for the audit.
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Wikipedia