Metro-Dade Police Department

Miami-Dade Police Department
Common name	Miami-Dade P.D.
Abbreviation	MDPD
Patch of the Miami-Dade Police Department
Seal of Miami-Dade County
Badge of a Miami-Dade Police Department officer
Flag of Miami-Dade County
Agency overview
Formed	1836
Employees	4,162
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	County of Miami-Dade in the state of Florida, U.S.
Size	2,431 sq mi (6,300 km2)
Population	2,478,745
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian agency
Operational structure
Headquarters	Doral, Florida
Officers	Apprx. 2,900
Facilities
Stations	8
Website
http://www.miamidade.gov/police
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), formerly known as the Metro-Dade Police Department (1981–1997), Dade County Public Safety Department (1957–1981) and the Dade County Sheriff's Office (1836–1957) is a Full Service County Police Department serving Miami-Dade County's unincorporated areas, although they have lenient mutual aid agreements with other incorporated municipalities, most often the City of Miami Police Department. The MDPD has approximately 4,700 employees. The Department is still often referred by its former name, the Metro-Dade Police or simply Metro. Miami-Dade Police officers are easily identified by their taupe/brown colored uniforms. Miami-Dade Police vehicles are identified by their green and white livery. MDPD officers carry silver badges, while officers with the ranks of sergeant and above carry gold badges.

The MDPD operates out of eight district stations throughout Miami-Dade County and several specialized bureaus. The MDPD is internationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, as well as at the state level by the Florida Commission for Law Enforcement Accreditation. The current director of the department is Juan J. Perez, who succeeded J.D. Patterson. The department's headquarters are located in Doral, Florida.

The Dade County Sheriff's Office was created in 1836 to serve the newly created County of Dade, which originally consisted of the area comprised by the present-day counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Martin. In the early years, the entire area was policed by as few as three deputies on horseback, and Dade’s sheriffs were appointed by the governor. In 1899, the office of the sheriff became an elected position. By 1915, the jurisdiction area had been reduced to its present size of approximately 2,139 square miles.