St. Petersburg Police Department

St. Petersburg Police Department
Common name St. Petersburg P.D.
Abbreviation SPPD

Patch of the St. Petersburg Police Department
Agency overview
Formed 1903
Employees 757
Volunteers 62
Annual budget $86.9 million (2010 FY)
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction* County of Pinellas County in the state of Florida, United States
Map of St. Petersburg Police Department's Jurisdiction.
Size 64 sq mi (170 km2)
Population 250,000 citizens
Legal jurisdiction St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters 1300 First Avenue North
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Police Officers 550
Unsworn members 212
Agency executives
  • Anthony Holloway,
    Chief of Police
  • Luke Williams, Assistant Chief, Uniform Services Bureau
  • David H. Dekay, Assistant Chief, Investigative Services Bureau
  • Melanie Bevan, Assistant Chief, Administrative Services Bureau
Bureaus
Divisions
Facilities
Districts 1
Patrol Boats 2
Website
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The St Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) provides crime prevention and public safety services for the city of St Petersburg, Florida. The department was created in 1903. The St. Petersburg Police Department has an authorized strength of 550 sworn officers and 212 civilian support staff. The department serves the fifth largest city in the state of Florida, with a population of 250,000. The St. Petersburg Police Department is one of over 1,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).[1]

The department utilizes a wide variety of proactive specialized units, both uniformed and undercover, to target specific public safety issues within the city (i.e.: auto thefts, violent crime).[2] The department uses community outreach programs like Park Walk and Talk,[3] Facebook, Twitter, and a tip 411[4] app to gather information from the community and address specific concerns.

Districts

The St. Petersburg Police Department has divided the city into three districts:

Police Chiefs

Fallen officers

Events of 2011

2011 is considered by many to be the toughest year faced by the St Petersburg Police Department. In 2011 three SPPD officers were murdered within the span of less than one month.[7][8][9]

Controversies with brutality

Riots occurred in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1996 following the shooting and death of an African American male teenage motorist during a police traffic stop.[10]

The "Courageous 12" lawsuit

In 1965, a dozen officers (Officers Nero, Adam Baker, Freddie Crawford, King, Styles, Lewis, Leon Jackson, Wooten, Primus Killen, Deloach, and Keys) dubbed the Courageous 12 sued the city for discrimination with the assistance of attorney James B. Sanderlin. After initially losing their case, a Federal Appeals Court ruled in favor of the Courageous 12 in 1968, effectively ending the department's policy of segregation. The actions of these officers inspired African American officers experiencing discrimination in other departments to pursue similar lawsuits.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ www.stpete.org/police. "Welcome to the St. Petersburg Police Department". police.stpete.org. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  2. ↑ "64 Arrested in Multi-County Auto Theft Crackdown | Patch". St. Pete, FL Patch. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  3. ↑ "St. Petersburg police Chief Tony Holloway, after 100 days in office, gets high praise". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  4. ↑ "Tip411". police.stpete.org. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  5. ↑ "Former Chiefs of Police". police.stpete.org. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  6. ↑ "Fallen Officers". police.stpete.org. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  7. ↑ "Sergeant Thomas John Baitinger". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  8. ↑ "Police Officer Jeffrey Adam Yaslowitz". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  9. ↑ "Police Officer David Scott Crawford". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  10. ↑ "Neighborhoodtimes: '96 riots: After national shame, did city change?". www.sptimes.com. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  11. ↑ "St. Petersburg's 'Courageous 12' officers see familiar struggle 50 years later". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2016-02-13.

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