Arizona Department of Public Safety
| Arizona Department of Public Safety | |
| Common name | Arizona Highway Patrol |
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| Patch of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. | |
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| Badge of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. | |
| Motto | Courteous Vigilance |
| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | July 1, 1969 |
| Employees | 2,005 (as of 2004) [1] |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | State of Arizona, USA |
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| Arizona DPS District map | |
| Size | 295,254 square kilometres 113,998 square miles |
| Population | 6,338,755 (2007 est.)[2] |
| Legal jurisdiction | Arizona |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Officers | 1052 (as of 2011) |
| Civilians | 880 (as of 2004) |
| Agency executives |
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| Districts | 12 |
| Website | |
| http://www.azdps.gov/ | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
Arizona Department of Public Safety is a law enforcement agency with its usual focus being protection of all Arizona highways. The current Director is Robert C. Halliday, a previously retired DPS commander, who began his 5-year term in February 2010. Its headquarters are in Phoenix.[3]
Contents |
[edit] History
Pursuant to legislation in 1968, the Arizona Department of Public Safety was established by the executive order of Arizona Governor Jack Williams on July 1, 1969. This mandate consolidated the functions and responsibilities of the Arizona Highway Patrol, the Law Enforcement Division of the state Department of Liquor Licenses and Control and the Narcotics Division of the state Department of Law.
In its 30-plus years of sustained progress and service, the Department has accepted many additional responsibilities and has become a multi-faceted organization dedicated to protecting and providing state-level law enforcement services to the public while developing and maintaining close partnerships with other agencies sharing similar missions.
The Department consists of three divisions - Highway Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Technical Services. Together these three divisions provide an immense and extensive range of vital scientific, technical, operational and regulatory services to Arizona residents and to the state's criminal justice community;one of the more famous subdivisions of the Criminal Investigations Division is the Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission task force (better known as "GIITEM"), which was formed to combat the growing gang infestation problems mainly in Maricopa County (the Phoenix area), even though their jurisdiction is (like the AZ/HP) statewide.
The vehicle of choice for the Arizona DPS/HP is the Ford Crown Victoria with the Police Interceptor package, and the Chevy Tahoe police package SUV. Their department issue weapons are, for handguns, Sig Sauer P226 chambered in .40 S&W (or the alternative issue Sig Sauer P229 in 40 S&W), for long guns, the Patrol rifle 223 caliber Colt AR15A2 Colt M16A2 or Colt M4 supplied with fifteen 30 round magazines and the 12 gauge Remington 870 shotguns.
[edit] Rank Structure
| Title | Insignia |
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| Director - Colonel |
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| Deputy Director - Lt. Colonel |
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| Assistant Director - Lt. Colonel |
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| Major |
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| Captain |
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| Sergeant I,II |
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| Officer I,II,III |
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[edit] Old Ranks
The ranks of lieutenant and commander were abolished and converted to major and captain in 2010.
[edit] Organization
The Department of Public Safety is under the command of a Director, with the rank of Colonel, who is appointed by the Governor of Arizona. The Director is assisted by a Deputy Director, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, appointed by the Director. The Department is composed of four primary divisions - Highway Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Technical Services, and the Director's Office. The three program Divisions are headed by Assistant Directors, each with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
- Director
- Deputy Director
- Director's Office
- Agency Ombudsman
- Budget Office
- Government Liaison Section
- Management Services
- Public Information Office
- Executive Security Unit
- Professional Standards Unit
- Criminal Investigations Division
- Narcotics and Organized Crime Bureau
- Investigations Bureau
- Intelligence Bureau
- Gang Enforcement Bureau
- Rocky Mountain Information Network
- Highway Patrol Division
- North Patrol Bureau
- South Patrol Bureau
- Metro Patrol Bureau
- Motorcycle District
- DUI Enforcement Squad
- Canine District
- Operational Training Section
- Aviation Section
- Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Districts
- Technical Services Division
- Compliance and Information Services Bureau
- Records and Identification Bureau
- Wireless Systems Bureau
- Information Technology Bureau
- Operational Communications Bureau
- Scientific Analysis Bureau
- Material Resources Bureau
- Director's Office
- Deputy Director
[edit] Arizona Highway Patrol
The Arizona Highway Patrol is divided into 12 districts:
- DISTRICT 1 - Kingman
- DISTRICT 2 - Flagstaff
- DISTRICT 3 - Holbrook
- Metro Central - Central Phoenix - formerly District 5
- DISTRICT 4 - Yuma
- DISTRICT 6 - Casa Grande
- DISTRICT 7 MOTORS - Phoenix area
- DISTRICT 8 - Tucson
- DISTRICT 9 - Sierra Vista
- DISTRICT 11 - Globe
- DISTRICT 12 - Prescott
- Metro East - East Phoenix Valley - formerly District 13
- Metro West - West Phoenix Valley - formerly District 14
- There is no District 10 to prevent conflicts with radio 10-codes.
[edit] Aviation Bureau
The Aviation Section consists of four Air Rescue helicopter units, a fixed-wing Air Support unit, an Aircraft Maintenance unit, and administrative staff.
[edit] Commercial Vehicle Enforcement
The Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Bureau is responsible for the enforcement of all rules and regulations pertaining to the safe operation of commercial vehicles on the roads and highways of Arizona. The primary emphasis is on vehicle safety, driver safety, and proper authority and compliance for vehicles operating in commerce.
[edit] DUI Enforcement Unit
The DUI Enforcement Unit identifies and investigates drug and alcohol impaired drivers, and provides support to Highway Patrol, local and county agencies through training and logistical support.
[edit] Vehicular Crimes Unit
The Vehicular Crimes and Reconstruction Unit provides investigative expertise and expert court testimony when a vehicle is the instrumentality in a homicide .
[edit] Criminal Investigation Division (CID)
The Criminal Investigations Division provides statewide investigative, specialized enforcement and high risk response support to federal, state and local criminal justice agencies. The CID conducts investigations regarding narcotic trafficking, organized crime, intelligence, vehicle theft, gangs, computer and financial crimes, as well as major crime investigations when requested by other criminal justice agencies. It also maintains and operates a state-of-the-art geographic information system (GIS) mapping center for the Department of Public Safety and makes data available to other agencies in Arizona.
The CID is also responsible for the protection of the Governor and provides specialized High Risk Response to acts of extraordinary violence and domestic preparedness incidents.
There are five bureaus within the Criminal Investigations Division:
- Narcotics/Organized Crime
- Investigation
- Intelligence
- Gang Enforcement (GITEM)
- Rocky Mountain Information Network (RMIN).
[edit] Office of the Director
The Office of the Director provides critical assistance to the Arizona Department of Public Safety through administrative services such as crime victim services, management services promoting efficiency of government, pro-active media relations, contemporary research and planning, legal services, investigation of employee misconduct, internal and external management audits, coordination of financial and human resource services.
[edit] Technical Services (TSD)
The Technical Services Division is responsible for developing and coordinating scientific, technical, regulatory and support services by providing scientific analysis and criminal justice support to Arizona’s criminal justice agencies. CJSD also develops, operates, and maintains the data processing and data/voice communications systems statewide and operates facilities management and innovative logistical support.
[edit] Demographics[4]
- Male: 92%
- Female: 8%
- White: 82%
- Hispanic: 14%
- Native American:2%
- African-American/Black: 1%
- Asian: 1%
[edit] Fallen officers
Since the establishment of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, 28 officers and 1 civilian have died in the line of duty.[5]
| Officer | Date of Death | Details |
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| Officer Louis O. Cochran |
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Vehicular assault |
| Officer Paul E. Marston |
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Gunfire |
| Officer Gilbert A. Duthie |
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Drowned |
| Officer James L. Keeton |
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Gunfire |
| Officer Don A. Beckstead |
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Gunfire |
| Officer Alan H. Hansen |
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Explosion |
| Officer Gregory A. Diley |
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Automobile accident |
| Officer Noah Mack Merrill Jr. |
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Struck by vehicle |
| Officer John C. Walker |
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Gunfire |
| Officer William H. Murie |
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Struck by vehicle |
| Officer/Pilot Thomas P. McNeff |
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Aircraft accident |
| Officer/Paramedic Richard G. Stratman |
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Aircraft accident |
| Officer Bruce A. Petersen |
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Automobile accident |
| Officer Edward A. Rebel |
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Gunfire |
| Officer Johnny E. Garcia |
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Automobile accident |
| Sergeant John M. Blaser |
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Vehicular assault |
| Officer David George Gabrielli |
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Vehicular assault |
| Sergeant Manuel Hurtado Tapia |
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Gunfire |
| Sergeant David Jon Zesiger |
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Vehicular assault |
| Sergeant Mark Maynard Dryer |
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Vehicular assault |
| Sergeant Michael L. Crowe |
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Gunfire |
| Officer Robert K. Martin |
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Gunfire |
| Officer Douglas Edward Knutson |
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Struck by vehicle |
| Officer Juan Nieblas Cruz |
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Vehicular assault |
| Officer Floyd James Fink Jr. |
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Vehicular assault |
| Officer Brett C. Buckmister |
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Automobile accident |
| Officer/Paramedic Bruce Wesley Harrolle |
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Aircraft accident |
| Officer Chris Marano |
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Struck by vehicle |
| Civilian Pilot Matthew Uhl |
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Automobile accident |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ USDOJ Statistics
- ^ http://www.census.gov/popest/states/NST-ann-est.html 2007 Population Estimates
- ^ "CONTACT INFORMATION." Arizona Department of Public Safety. Retrieved on January 9, 2011. "Physical Address 2102 W Encanto Blvd Phoenix, AZ 85009"
- ^ http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/lemas00.pdf U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers
- ^ The Officer Down Memorial Page
[edit] External links
- Arizona Department of Public Safety
- Arizona Department of Homeland Security
- Arizona Agencies
- Arizona Division of Emergency Management
- Ready.gov
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