Captain R.L. Pennington,
Patrol Bureau Commander |
The Patrol Bureau is under the command of a Captain who reports directly to the Chief of Police. The Captain is responsible for the overall efficient and effective management and administration of the Patrol Bureau and exercises direct authority over each Patrol Lieutenant. The Patrol Bureau is organized into three divisions which includes the Alpha Patrol Division, Bravo Patrol Division and Field Services Bureau.
Watch 1
The Alpha and Bravo Patrol Divisions each consist of two patrol watches. Each Watch is commanded by a Lieutenant and is supervised by at least one Sergeant. Patrol Lieutenants report directly to the Patrol Bureau Commander. The Patrol Bureau is charged with the primary responsibility of providing line level police services which include preventive patrol; crime prevention activities; response to calls for service; investigation of crimes; accidents, incidents and conditions, including the apprehension of offenders; traffic direction and control; maintenance of public order; provision of emergency services; service of legal process; development of relationships between citizens and the agency; and reporting of information to appropriate agencies and organizational components. |
Watch 2
The Patrol Bureau has functional responsibility for, but not limited to, the following:
- Patrol Operations
- Traffic Operations and Analysis
- Special Event Planning
- Animal Services
- Parking Enforcement Abandoned/Junk Motor Vehicles
- Use of Force and Pursuit Review
- Emergency Operations
- OSHA and Safety Compliance
- Fleet Management
- Agency Property/Logistics
Watch 3
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Watch 4
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SPECIALIZED UNITS
Special Response Team
Law enforcement agencies are often confronted with incidents that are deemed high-risk because of the increased potential for violence. The Department uses specially trained and equipped officers to resolve high risk incidents in a manner that affords minimum peril to persons who may be directly or indirectly involved. The primary goal of a Special Response Team (SRT), in any high-risk situation, is to protect human life and apprehend the offender. The preservation of human life is the foremost consideration in any operation. |
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The Huntersville Police Special Response Team is a specially selected, trained and equipped team of police officers that can respond to high-risk incidents and conduct tactical operations. The Special Response Team (SRT) enables the Department to resolve high-risk situations in the safest manner possible. The Special Response Group also includes the Crisis Negotiations Team (CNT) that functions as one team during tactical operations.
Each officer volunteers for these special assignments and is required to maintain rigorous physical conditioning and special skills with assigned weapons. An assessment process was held this year to replace openings in personnel and the addition of two new positions. Four new officers were assigned to the team. The assessment consisted of a physical assessment, a firearms qualification, an oral review board, and a psychological assessment. The SRT and CNT are required to train monthly to maintain their special skills. The team includes officers from the Cornelius Police Department since the SRT and CNT have agreed to respond to critical incidents in their town.
The Special Operations Group proved their dedication and skill in four deployments during 2008.
FIELD SERVICES DIVISION
| The Field Services Division consists of the Traffic Safety Section and the Animal Services Unit. The Division performs technical operational and support functions for the Patrol Bureau in regards to Traffic and Animal Services. The Field Services Division is commanded by a Lieutenant, who is responsible for managing the Traffic Safety Section, Animal Services Unit, and Agency Property and Logistics. |
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Traffic Safety Section 
The Traffic Safety Section is responsible for identifying and resolving traffic issues in Huntersville through proactive problem solving activities. These issues are identified and addressed by evaluating calls for service, traffic accidents, citizen complaints, and citation demographics and the Stealth Stat data. Other responsibilities include investigating traffic crashes, traffic crash reconstruction, traffic enforcement, preparing and presenting programs to the public, and testifying in court.
The Traffic Safety Section of the Huntersville Police Department is comprised of five (5) Traffic Officers. The Traffic Safety Section is assigned to the Field Services Division which is a division of the Patrol Bureau. One Traffic Safety Officer works an eight-hour shift Monday through Friday, which allows him to work with each of the four other Traffic Officers. This schedule ensures that this Traffic Officer is working during peak traffic hours when crashes are more likely to occur. The Traffic Officer’s schedule varies but is usually a twelve-hour shift. The Traffic Officers are scheduled on days and during hours when traffic related issues are more reoccurring, and scheduled to work every other Friday and Saturday night. This schedule allows the Traffic Officers to work during peak hours during the day for traffic crashes and DWI enforcement on the weekends.
