Police Department
Administration, Patrol, 911 Dispatch and Communications, Special Operations
OVERVIEW
The Menlo Park Police Department is responsible for general public safety and order for our residents and visitors. The Police Department operates a full-service police agency administering public safety - committed to protecting lives and property, preventing crime, maintaining public order, thoroughly investigating crimes, enforcing municipal codes, traffic enforcement and partnering with our community. The members of the Menlo Park Police Department are dedicated to providing high quality service to the public through swift response, fairness, and equity towards every person we contact.
Operationally, this department provides the following services:
ADMINISTRATION
The Administrative Division consists of department command staff, records, property & evidence, police training and emergency preparedness personnel. This includes department operations where records staff processes citations subpoenas, parking permits, crime statistics reporting, property and evidence management, coordination with the District Attorney’s office and preparing case information. Additionally, this division is responsible for the professional development of police employees by planning and implementing training that meets or exceeds legal mandates. The division coordinates with the Menlo Park Fire Protection District on emergency preparedness plans and training.
PATROL
The Patrol Services Division is the most visible part of the Police Department, consisting of uniformed officers and professional staff who are making contact with residents, business owners and visitors on a daily basis. Patrol Services provides the first level of police response to a myriad of emergency and non-emergency calls. During fiscal year 2019– 2020, the Patrol Services Division handled over 23,000 calls for service and over 16,000 officer initiated incidents. Patrol Services include: traffic and parking enforcement, community service and community safety police officer programs, code enforcement, special events coordination, SWAT, field training, traffic collision investigation team and the crisis intervention team.
INVESTIGATIONS
The Investigations Division is comprised of the General Investigations Unit and the Special Investigations Unit. The General Investigation Unit handles all assigned general criminal investigations while assisting patrol services at major crime scenes or with other complicated cases. Cases range from burglaries and robberies to large-scale frauds including identity theft, crimes against children, sexual assaults and homicides. Additionally, it conducts periodic probation and parole checks undercover operations, coordinating and working collaboratively with other law enforcement organizations and task forces on a variety of quality of life concerns.
DISPATCH
The public safety dispatch center is operational 24/7 including holidays and weekends in order to receive service calls from the public (and other agencies) as well as support officers via radio communications, and is considered an area Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). Dispatchers run suspect and premise checks, verify identification and enter various other information into statewide databases, i.e., stolen vehicles, stolen property or missing persons. Our state-of-the-art dispatch center receives 911 calls from landline, VOIP and cellphone callers, and “text to 911” calls. In the past year, ninety percent of the nearly 10,000 emergency calls were answered in 10 seconds or less.
2020-21 Highlights
- The Police Department published the following information via the web detailing what we do daily to maintain community trust and transparency. Building Community Trust
- The Police Department Facilitated Implicit Bias Training for all Police Department Personnel and assured all policies were in compliance with the latest legislation and best practices involving use of force. Policies are all available online as required by law. The department also began plans to begin mandated stop-data reporting by putting technical assets in place to collect, process and relay this data to the state, as well as protocols and training to assure officers are ready to comply with this new requirement at the beginning of 2022.
- Even though City buildings closed, records was able to navigate transitioning many duties to an electronic platform in order to serve the public, i.e. records requests, clearance letters, permit requests, etc. via email. Those items that could not be done electronically were handled by our dispatch center that was fully staffed at all times. Menlo Park also successfully installed a new records counter that is both a security measure and aesthetically pleasing.
- The department prepared for and facilitated “Community Listening Sessions” to solicit feedback on how the organization is perceived and how the department is meeting community expectations.
- Amidst the COVID Pandemic, in these uncertain and unprecedented times, Police field units continue to patrol and respond to a myriad of calls for service with little to no discretion or control of person-to-person (human to human) interaction. Despite soaring temperatures of Summer, inclement weather of Winter and the choking smoke of extended fire season all coupled with the ever-present risk or COVID exposure, P.D. staff continue to answer the call. Despite shelter-in-place orders and reduced public dining and shopping, MPPD Officers still responded to over 20,000 calls for service from the public. Police Department staff continue to provide superior public safety services to the Menlo Park Community including miscellaneous service calls, medical aid calls, emergency responses and various critical incidents.
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