St. Louis County Police Department | |
---|---|
Common name | St. Louis County PD |
Abbreviation | SLCPD |
Patch of the St. Louis County Police Department
|
|
Motto | To Serve and Protect |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1955 |
Preceding agency | St. Louis County Sheriff's Office |
Employees | 1,085 (2015) |
Annual budget |
$87,561,609 (2010) |
Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction* | County of St. Louis in the state of Missouri, United States |
jurisdiction of St. Louis County Police Department | |
Size | 524 sq mi (1,360 km2). |
Population | 1,001,444 (2013 Census) |
Legal jurisdiction | St. Louis County, Missouri |
Governing body | St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners |
Constituting instrument | Yes |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | 7900 Forsyth Boulevard St. Louis, Missouri 63105 |
Sworn members | 835 (2015) |
Unsworn members | 250 (2015) |
Elected officers responsible |
|
Agency executives |
|
Facilities | |
Precincts | 8 Precincts, 12 sub-stations |
Helicopter/Airplanes | 6 Helicopter, 1 Fixed Wing |
Website | |
St. Louis County Police Department Official Website | |
Footnotes | |
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. |
$87,561,609 (2010)
$87,673,800 (2011)
The St. Louis County Police Department (SLCPD) is the primary and largest law enforcement agency serving St. Louis County in the U.S. state of Missouri. The current Chief of Police is Colonel Jon Belmar. According to the Charter of St. Louis County, the county police chief has all of the criminal law enforcement duties of the sheriff of St. Louis County, except for the operation of the St. Louis County Jail, which is handled by the St. Louis County Department of Justice Services (civilian), court bailiff and service of civil process. Court bailiff/civil process duties are provided by a court-appointed sheriff and his employees, none of whom have law enforcement powers.
This change in law enforcement services occurred in 1955, when the St. Louis County Charter was amended by the voters to restrict the duties of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office. The position of elected sheriff was eliminated. St. Louis County is one of two counties in Missouri that does not have an elected sheriff. With the charter amendment, all law enforcement services were assigned to a new police agency, the St. Louis County Police Department. The department is primarily responsible for law enforcement and investigations within unincorporated St. Louis County and contract municipalities, however, it has full police authority throughout the county, including its 90 municipalities which are also served by 58 local police departments, some of them very small. Additionally, St. Louis County police officers are authorized to enforce Missouri law in all counties in the state having a government of the first classification, which includes the independent City of St. Louis. Chief Jon Belmar was appointed to the position of Chief of Police on January 31, 2014 by the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners.
The St. Louis County Police Department was established in 1955. The department was created with 95 officers and 18 civilian employees. The department is divided into four divisions: Patrol, Operational Support, Special Operations, and Criminal Investigation. It is the third largest local police agency in the state, the only county police department in Missouri and one of only a few in the United States. The SLCPD is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. CALEA is the only international body that accredits law enforcement agencies. Only seven percent of all U.S. law enforcement agencies are accredited. In 2010, CALEA recognized the St. Louis County Police Department with it distinguished Tri-Arc Award. The Tri-Arc Award is reserved for those police agencies that have successfully accredited their law enforcement services, police academy and communications division. Only six agencies in the world have achieved this status.