All new police officers are assigned to one of the Patrol Divisions following their graduation from the Police Training Academy. The patrol officer's duties encompass a broad range of responsibilities including preventive patrols of neighborhoods and businesses, interaction with the public to foster better community relations, answering calls for service, compiling incident reports, assisting persons in need, providing assistance to investigative personnel, and taking enforcement action in matters related to their assignment.

The Downtown, Northwest and Southwest Patrol Divisions are each under the command of a Captain, each of whom reports to the Assistant Chief of Police - Police Operations Bureau.

The Patrol Divisions are responsible for:

1. The development of personnel consistent with the needs of the City in order to maintain order, provide preventive patrol, respond to calls for service, and complete the initial report of crimes which occur and incidents which are reported to the police, arrest offenders;
2. The coordination of police activities between various geographic areas of the city and the other divisions of the department;
3. Coordination of the activities of the Community Oriented Policing Program and the School Resource Officer Program in furtherance of departmental and community goals.

The city of Little Rock is divided into numerous patrol districts to enable officers to familiarize themselves with the problems associated with their districts and the adjacent areas of concern. Patrol officers are often the first police representative on the scene and are responsible for documenting the problem, resolving it, if possible; or establishing order and perserving evidence of a crime scene and notify investigative personnel, if needed.

The Mounted Patrol, Motorcycle Squad, and COPP are special squads within the Special Operations Division:

Motorcycle Unit

The Motorcycle Squad is designed for traffic enforcement and for special events, such as parades and motorcades. In addition, the Motorcycle Squad targets high accident areas and speed problems to enforce applicable city and state traffic ordinances.

Mounted Patrol Unit

The Mounted Patrol unit consists of police officers on horseback who are very effective in promoting a positive image of the police department and the city. They maintain a high visibility profile in the downtown business area and for special events.

COPP

The Community Oriented Policing Program (COPP) is designed to focus on forming partnerships. Officers are stationed directly in the neighborhoods in the hopes of creating a positive and long-term rapport with residents through personal contact.

Tactical Unit

The Tactical Unit is utilized to target high crime areas which need special enforcement to resolve crime problems. The unit also provides a highly trained SWAT Team which responds to hostage and high threat situations which need specially trained officers and their equipment.

S.T.A.R.T. Unit

The Selective Traffic Accident Reduction team is assigned to target D.W.I violators and to enforce traffic violations in an effort to reduce traffic accidents in the city.

Canine Unit

The Canine Unit is made up of officers who utilize highly trained police dogs. These teams are assigned throughout the Patrol Division to be utilized to assist patrol officers in searches of buildings, searches for suspects, and the detection of drugs.

Airport Unit

The Airport Detail is responsible for security at the Little Rock National Airport. The unit conducts perimeter security checks of property and responds to incidents which occur at the National Airport. The unit is also responsible for enforcement of parking and traffic violations that occur on airport property.

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Last Updated on 01/31/01
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