The Fresno Police Department (FPD) is the

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

police department The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest ...

for

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

. Their headquarters is located at 2323 Mariposa Mall. Paco Balderama is the current Chief of Police for the Fresno Police Department since January 11, 2021.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Fresno Police Department, 15 officers have died in the line of duty.

Special Units

The Fresno Police Department has 11 specialized units which provide support in different situations.

DUI Education Program

In an effort to reduce traffic violations and vehicle collisions the FPD established the DUI Education Program (DUI stands for: Driving Under the Influence). The DUI Education Program is involved in educating, enforcement and prevention of driving under the influence.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit (EOD)

The Fresno Police Department's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit is a

bomb squad Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milit ...

established in 1974. The unit is involved in training explosive ordnance technicians. The unit assisted during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, going full-time as the city's first Anti-Terrorism Unit. Recent advancements include a new

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

, greater detection and disruption capabilities and a total containment vessel.

Internal Affairs Bureau

The Internal Affairs Bureau investigates allegations of misconduct by members of the FPD.

K9 Unit

The FPD K9 Unit was established in 1993. The police dogs are utilized every day, assisting patrol and other specialized department units with warrant arrests, building searches, suspect tracking, evidence location, vehicle stops and narcotic searches.

Violence Intervention & Community Engagement Unit (VICS)

The Violence Intervention & Community Engagement Unit, formerly known as the Mayor's Gang Prevention Initiative, was established in 2006. The objective of this unit is to minimize violence throughout the community and to reduce gang-related crime. VICS is involved in the engagement and services of the community.

Mounted Patrol

The Fresno Police Department's Mounted Patrol Unit was established in 1999. In 2010, the decision was made to disband the unit, but in the same year, the unit was able to resume its activities due to community contributions. The Mounted Patrol teams patrol public areas on horseback.

Skywatch

Skywatch was established in 1996. This unit is the Fresno Police Department's Air Support Unit and its

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

patrol service.

Street Violence Unit

The Street Violence Unit responds to violence crimes around Fresno. The Street Violence Unit comprises the Homicide Unit, Robbery/Felony Assault Unit, the plain clothes Tactical Team, and the Night Detective Unit.

Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT)

The Fresno Police Department

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

Team supports the Fresno Police Department with a tactical response to critical incidents which are beyond the capabilities of normally equipped and trained Department members.

Traffic unit

The Department's Traffic unit focuses on traffic safety. The unit is involved in educating drivers about safety and to combat impaired driving.

Records & Information Service Bureau

The Records and Information Service Bureau maintains reports and records for the Fresno Police Department

References

External links

* {{Police departments of California Municipal police departments of California Government of Fresno, California