Raleigh Police Department (North Carolina)
Encyclopedia
The Raleigh Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency of Raleigh, North Carolina
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Chief: The Chief of Police reports to the City Manager, and wears the insignia of a Brigadier General
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Deputy Chief Deputy to the Chief of Police, with the insignia of a Colonel
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Major
(Maj.): Each Division is commanded by a Major, with oak leaf clusters worn on the uniform collar or shoulder insignia.
Captain
(Capt.): In the Field Operations Division, each District is commanded by a captain, with double gold bars as collar or shoulder insignia. There are also captains assigned to the other Divisions of the department.
Lieutenant
(Lt.): Most districts have four deputy commanders, lieutenants with a single gold bar as collar or shoulder insignia. Lieutenants are also assigned to the other Divisions of the department.
Sergeant
(Sgt.): Generally, each district has 8 sergeants (2 per squad) assigned to Field Operations. Their insignia is three chevrons on the sleeve, pointing up. A sergeant supervises a team of officers. At least one sergeant also supervises each specialized unit throughout the department.
Detective
(Det.): An officer may apply be promoted to detective.
Senior Officer: Most officers with 6 years of service to the Raleigh Police Department are eligible to be advanced to Senior Officer. This is not considered a promotion, and no test is required.
Master Officer: Most officers with 4 years of service at RPD, or similar experience at another police agency, are eligible to test for the Master Officer classification. This is not considered a promotion.
First Class Officer: Most officers with 2 years of service at RPD, or similar experience at another police agency, are eligible to test for the First Class Officer classification. This is not considered a promotion.
Officer: This title is given to new officers upon being sworn in. It is also regularly used to refer to any First Class, Master, or Senior Officer.
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
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Organization
The Raleigh Police Department is organized into five divisions:- The Chief's Office contains Internal Affairs, Inspections, the Police Attorney, and support staff.
- Field Operations is the backbone of the department, as most of the officers responding to 911 calls report to the Field Operations Division. The Division is commanded by a Major.
- Special Operations houses many specialty units, such as K-9, Animal Control, Selective Enforcement Unit, and Gang Suppression Unit, among others.
- Investigative Division is responsible for investigating most of the crimes that require follow up after the initial officer response.
- Administrative Division contains personnel that support the rest of the department, such as Records, Quartermaster, Information Technology, and the Police Service Center, who maintains the fleet of police vehicles.
Rank structure
| Title | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Chief of Police | |
| Deputy Chief | |
| Major |  |
| Captain Police captain - France :France uses the rank of capitaine for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. The rank comes senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant.... |
|
| Lieutenant Lieutenant A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank... |
 |
| Sergeant Sergeant Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent.... |
|
| Detective |  |
| Police Officer | |
| Recruit | |
Chief: The Chief of Police reports to the City Manager, and wears the insignia of a Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
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Deputy Chief Deputy to the Chief of Police, with the insignia of a Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
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Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
(Maj.): Each Division is commanded by a Major, with oak leaf clusters worn on the uniform collar or shoulder insignia.
Captain
Police captain
- France :France uses the rank of capitaine for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. The rank comes senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant....
(Capt.): In the Field Operations Division, each District is commanded by a captain, with double gold bars as collar or shoulder insignia. There are also captains assigned to the other Divisions of the department.
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
(Lt.): Most districts have four deputy commanders, lieutenants with a single gold bar as collar or shoulder insignia. Lieutenants are also assigned to the other Divisions of the department.
Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
(Sgt.): Generally, each district has 8 sergeants (2 per squad) assigned to Field Operations. Their insignia is three chevrons on the sleeve, pointing up. A sergeant supervises a team of officers. At least one sergeant also supervises each specialized unit throughout the department.
Detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
(Det.): An officer may apply be promoted to detective.
Senior Officer: Most officers with 6 years of service to the Raleigh Police Department are eligible to be advanced to Senior Officer. This is not considered a promotion, and no test is required.
Master Officer: Most officers with 4 years of service at RPD, or similar experience at another police agency, are eligible to test for the Master Officer classification. This is not considered a promotion.
First Class Officer: Most officers with 2 years of service at RPD, or similar experience at another police agency, are eligible to test for the First Class Officer classification. This is not considered a promotion.
Officer: This title is given to new officers upon being sworn in. It is also regularly used to refer to any First Class, Master, or Senior Officer.
Vehicles
Vehicles and agency colors: All marked Raleigh Police Department vehicles are blue and white, though unmarked vehicles are also used. The Department also uses motorcycles, bicycles, Segways, and horses. The Raleigh Police Department does not have aviation or marine units. The standard patrol car for the Raleigh Police Department is the Ford Crown Victoria. Specialty units have other marked vehicles such as Ford Expeditions and Chevrolet Tahoes. All marked units are outfitted with the latest in police technology such as Mobile Computer Terminals (MCT's) with internet air cards, LoJack, Digital Video Recording, 800MHZ Radios, GPS and other technologies.Equipment
The standard sidearm for the Raleigh Police Department is the Smith and Wesson M&P 45 in .45 caliber. Patrol Officers also carry a long gun which can be either a Smith and Wesson M&P 15 (AR-15 .223 caliber) equipped with a Surefire M500A Weaponlight or a 12-Gauge shotgun also equipped with a Surefire light. Raleigh also has three full time SWAT teams which they call SEU (Selective Enforcement Unit). Officers assigned to SEU carry a variety of weaponry including the M4 Carbine, Heckler and Koch MP5, and UMP-45. Officers can also be issued a Taser Electronic Control Device once they complete the required training/exposure.Fallen officers
| Officer Name | End of Watch | Incident Type |
|---|---|---|
| Detective Tom G. Crabtree | 9/1/1922 | Gunfire |
| Patrolman Robert Earl Sparks | 3/8/1968 | Motorcycle Crash |
| Patrolman James Wade Allen | 12/5/1968 | Vehicle Crash |
| Patrolman James Gale Lee | 12/5/1968 | Vehicle Crash |
| Officer Delma Devon Adams | 2/3/1980 | Gunfire |
| Officer Denise Holden | 8/4/1995 | Vehicle Crash |
| Detective Paul Andrew Hale | 7/11/1997 | Gunfire |
| Officer Charles Radford Paul III | 9/10/2002 | Motorcycle Crash |