Charlottesville Police Department

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Charlottesville Police Department Organizational Chart (updated 2/14/2022)

The Charlottesville Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of Charlottesville, Virginia. It has seven patrol districts with more than 100 sworn officers who patrol the entire city. The department serves a daytime population of approximately 100,000 people; including 46,000 city residents, 30,000 commuters, and 22,000 University of Virginia students.

Organization

Office of the Chief of Police consists of the Executive Assistant, the Chaplains Program, and Public Information Officer.

Office of the Chief

The Office of the Chief consists of the Chief and Assistant Chief positions as well as an Administrative Assistant to the Chief (civilian), the office of Professional Standards (IA & FOIA), which consists of a Lieutenant and Sergeant, and a 4th Amendment Analyst. The Office of the Chief also liaises with the city’s Public Safety PIO and Physical Security Specialist as well as manages the department Chaplain program.[1]

Assistant Chief

CPD is divided into three divisions: Field Operations, Criminal Investigations and Support Operations.

The Police Chief oversees and directs all activities of the Charlottesville Police Department and periodically coordinates with the Department's partners in other jurisdictions in the region. The Police Chief is hired by and reports directly to the City Manager, but upon hire will be officially confirmed by appointment from the City Council.

Administrative Assistant to the Chief (civilian)

Office of Professional Standards

Headquarters

The Charlottesville Police Department is headquartered at 606 E Market Street in Downtown Charlottesville - adjacent to the site of the "old" Armory which was torn down around 1970. The CPD headquarter and the Market Street Garage occupy the site of both the armory and “old” City Hall. In 2019, the police headquarters on Market Street was reported to have issues with mold detected in the basement. [2]

Satellite police stations

UVA Corner

Dale Avenue

Hardy Drive

Working Relationship with Local, State and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies

CPD maintains a cooperative relationship with the University of Virginia Police (UPD) and the Albemarle County (ACPD) police departments. This includes intra-operative radio capability and a joint police records computer system, training programs, special events coordination, joint investigation of serious incidents, and the shared 911 Center. The Charlottesville City Police and Albemarle County Police have arrest authority on UVA Grounds.

CPD has relationships with Virginia law enforcement agencies, such as the Virginia State Police (VSP) and Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, and several federal agencies, most commonly, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the United States Secret Service.

Police Civilian Oversight Board (PCOB)

Since 2008, the police department has been overseen by a citizen’s advisory panel. However, the effectiveness of this board has been called into question. Council discussed a new independent panel on November 20, 2017. [3] [4] Refer to the Civilian Review Board page for more information.

Mission, Values, and Vision

The Mission of the Charlottesville Police Department is to improve the quality of life of citizens living, working or visiting the city.

Mission statement

"The Department's mission is to provide the citizens of the City of Charlottesville with a modern and professional police department which will protect life and property; preserve law and order; enforce criminal, traffic, and regulatory laws; and, provide essential public safety services to our community."

History

The Charlottesville Police Department (CPD) was organized in 1888. In the 1969-70 city budget police Department was allocated approximately $640,000, held a staff of 65 and was supported entirely by City tax funds.[5] CPD has been involved in various events in history, such as the 1905 murder trial of J. Samuel McCue; murder trial of Jesse Matthew, accused of killing Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington in 2009 and University of Virginia student Hannah Graham in 2014; the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally; murder trial of self-described neo-Nazi James Fields convicted of killing Heather Heyer.

Divisions and Units (2009)

Source:Charlottesville Police Department[6]

  • Support Services Division
    • Investigations Bureau
      • Forensics Unit
    • Neighborhood Services Bureau
      • School Resource Officer Unit
      • Traffic Unit|Traffic Unit
      • Crime Prevention Unit
    • Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement Task Force
  • Field Operations Division
    • Patrol Bureau
    • S.W.A.T.
    • Crisis Negotiation Team
  • Administrative Services Bureau
    • Crime Analysis Unit
    • Staff Development and Accreditation Unit
    • Internal Affairs Unit
    • Information and Management Services
    • Technical Investigative Support Unit

Strategic Goals (2009)

The Charlottesville Police Department has several key strategic goals as depicted in the 2009 Strategic Plan[7]:

Operational strategies

  1. Reduction of Open Air Drug Activity and Drug/Gun Related Violence
  2. Reduce Participation in Street Level Gangs and mitigate the level of violence and criminal behavior associated with gang activity
  3. Helping to sustain safe and healthy neighborhoods through collaborations, engagement and problem solving
  4. Creating positive opportunities for our youth while reducing the likelihood of youth related crime and violence
  5. Strengthening public trust

Internal strategies

  1. To provide a high level of customer service to both internal and external customers, and to enhance our ability to measure customer service
  2. Create and sustain a healthy police department
  3. To recruit and retain the very best candidate that we are capable of identifying
  4. To develop stronger management and leadership opportunities for the entire organization
  5. To develop a stronger infrastructure of supporting resources within the department

In the news

In 2010, the police department began charging $150 for escorting funeral processions[8].

Mall Ambassador program

Originally created at the end of 2012 by the Charlottesville City Council as a way to provide more "eyes on the street" to deter crime on the Downtown Mall and to be a resource for tourists. On March 7, 2016, the Charlottesville City Council eliminated the program from the budget and it ended on June 30, 2016. [9]Over a three-year period, the city planned to hire 22 new officers to provide more law enforcement coverage.[10]

References

  1. Web. [https://www.policeforum.org/assets/CharlottesvilleChiefSep22.pdf The City of Charlottesville, Virginia is seeking a visionary leader to be its next], POLIHIRE, 2023, retrieved 27 October 2023.
  2. Web. Charlottesville police-court building has mold, leaks, Nolan Stout, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, November 18, 2019, retrieved November 20, 2019. Print. November 18, 2019 page A1.
  3. Web. City Council considers creation of an independent police citizen’s review board, Geremia Di Maro, News Article, Cavalier Daily, Charlottesville, Virginia, November 25, 2017, retrieved November 26, 2017.
  4. Web. Council moves forward with police review board, Chris Suarez, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, November 23, 2017, retrieved November 26, 2017.
  5. CITIZEN STUDY PACKET NO. 1 PROPOSED MERGER OF CHARLOTTESVILLE AND ALBEMARLE COUNTY|https://www.jmrl.org/ebooks/Citizen%20Study%20Packet%20No.%201.PDF%7Cwww.jmrl.org›ebooks
  6. "Charlottesville Police Department Organizational Chart (2009).Chart. Charlottesville Police Department. Charlottesville Police Department, 21 July 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. http://www.charlottesville.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=12253>
  7. Charlottesville Police Department Strategic Planning Document. Rep. Charlottesville Police Department, 3 Mar. 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. <http://www.charlottesville.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=12916>.
  8. Strong, Ted. "City Police Start Charging for Funeral Procession Escorts | Daily Progress." Home | Daily Progress. 30 Aug. 2010. Web. 30 Aug. 2010. <http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2010/aug/29/city-police-start-charging-funeral-procession-esco-ar-478716/>.
  9. Web. Mall ambassador program cut in proposed city budget, Lauren Berg, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, March 7, 2016, retrieved December 31, 2016.
  10. Web. Timeline: Major Downtown Mall developments, Staff reports, News Article, The Daily Progress, retrieved September 19, 2020.

External links