North Las Vegas Police Department
Encyclopedia
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
of the City
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of North Las Vegas
North Las Vegas, Nevada
North Las Vegas is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, located in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The city was incorporated on May 16, 1946.-Geography:...
in Clark County
Clark County, Nevada
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,375,765 people, 512,253 households, and 339,693 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 71.6% White , 9.1% Black, 5.7% Asian, 0.8% American Indian and 12.8% of other or mixed race. 22.0% were Hispanic of any race...
in southern Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Although North Las Vegas and Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
are part of the same metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
, share city limit
City limits
The terms city limits and city boundary refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limits is sometimes called the city proper. The terms town limits/boundary and village limits/boundary mean the same as city limits/boundary, but apply to towns and villages...
boundaries, and are within Clark County, NLVPD is not part of the larger Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is a joint city-county police force for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada. It is run by the Sheriff of Clark County, elected every four years. The current Sheriff of Clark County is Douglas C...
.
History
As of 2008, NLVPD provided law enforcement services to an area of 82.48 square miles (213.6 km²) and a population of approximately 235,479 citizens. As of October 2008 NLVPD had 458 commissioned personnel (Police and detention Officers) and 381 civilian support personnel . The agency continues to grow rapidly, adding 150 officers during the period 2006-2009 .
In 2004 NLVPD created a website to promote recruiting, JoinNLVPD.com. http://www.JoinNLVPD.com
Structure
The Department is led by a chief of policeChief of police
A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...
, who reports to the city manager
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
.
Under the chief are three subordinate deputies who run day-to day department operations in the three departments: Operations, Investigative / Detention Services, and Administrative Services.
- Operations Command is divided into two geographical commands, operating from separate facilities. These are the Northwest Area Command (NWAC) and the South Area Command (SAC). The Traffic Division also belongs to the Operations Command.
- Investigative / Detention Command includes the DetectiveDetectiveA 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"...
Bureau, Crime Scene Investigations Bureau, Special Weapons and TacticsSWATA SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
(SWAT), and Narcotics Investigations Division. In addition, this command includes supervision of the Detention Facility, which detains people awaiting trial for felonyFelonyA felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
or misdemeanor charges, convicted by the city of misdemeanorMisdemeanorA misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
s, United States Marshals ServiceUnited States Marshals ServiceThe United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
inmates, Immigration and Naturalization ServiceImmigration and Naturalization ServiceThe United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
inmates, Federal Bureau of PrisonsFederal Bureau of PrisonsThe Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
inmates, Clark County inmates, and inmates from other jurisdictions. About 880-980 inmates are in the facility at a given time. - Administrative Command includes the Communications Division (9119-1-19-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
emergency dispatch), Animal ControlAnimal control officerHistorically, Dog whippers were charged with keeping dogs out of churches in 16th- to 19th- century Europe; they also sometimes filled a general animal-control role in villages, confining strays...
Division, Resource ManagementHuman resource managementHuman Resource Management is the management of an organization's employees. While human resource management is sometimes referred to as a "soft" management skill, effective practice within an organization requires a strategic focus to ensure that people resources can facilitate the achievement of...
Division, Community Services Division, Records Division, Validations Office, the Victim Witness Program, and Police Department Training Division.
Operations and Investigative / Detention commands are headed by Deputy Chiefs (who are sworn officers), while Administrative Command is headed by a Deputy Director, who is a civilian.
The Special Assignments Unit (SAU) includes the Public Communications Office (public information officer
Public information officer
Public Information Officers are the communications coordinators or spokespersons of certain governmental organizations . They differ from public relations departments of private organizations in that marketing plays a more limited role...
, recruiting), and Field Training and Evaluation Program (FTEP). The SAU is supervised by a sworn police supervisor who reports to the Chief of Police.
Other Programs
- Chief's Advisory Council
- Línea Comunitaria Latina (Latino Community Connection)
- Citizens' Academy
- Cadet Program
- Junior Officers
In popular culture
The Department has been portrayed in reality televisionReality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
programs such as Fugitive Strike Force and COPS
COPS (TV series)
Cops is an American documentary/reality television series that follows police officers, constables, and sheriff's deputies during patrols and other police activities...
. It was also the inspiration for the short-lived television series Nasty Boys
Nasty Boys (TV series)
The Nasty Boys was a television action drama series based on the real life Narcotics Officers of the North Las vegas Police Department.-Background:...
.