The Hoover Dam Police, officially the

Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

Police, was a federal

security police Security police officers are employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations to provide security service security services to those properties. Security police protect facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and enforce cer ...

force, stationed at Hoover Dam southeast of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Reclamation Police Officers were stationed only at Hoover Dam. Hoover Dam was both listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1981, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1985. (Includes informative drawing of how the dam works) and Hoover Dam has been designated as National Critical Infrastructure. The primary responsibilities of the Hoover Dam Police Officer were to protect the dam, the world's 57th-largest hydroelectric generating station, which provides about 2,080

megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...

, its associated structures, and to safeguard the lives of visitors and employees. The Hoover Dam Police were assisted by unarmed Bureau of Reclamation Security Guards who control access to reclamation facilities and deter individuals who might consider criminal activities or terrorist acts.

Closure

On October 1, 2017 the Hoover Dam Police Department was closed and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

took over law enforcement duties for the Hoover Dam.

National Park Service Law Enforcement Rangers National Park Service Law Enforcement Rangers or United States Park Rangers are uniformed federal law enforcement officers with broad authority to enforce federal and state laws within National Park Service sites. The National Park Service common ...

from

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a U.S. national recreation area in southeastern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. Operated by the National Park Service, Lake Mead NRA follows the Colorado River corridor from the westernmost boundary of Gra ...

now provide comprehensive federal law enforcement and emergency services for the facility and its visitors. The

has assigned an armed Bureau of Reclamation Security Response Force to provide physical security for the facility.

Security concerns

Because of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the

Hoover Dam Bypass Hoover may refer to: Music * Hoover (band), an American post-hardcore band * Hooverphonic, a Belgian band originally named Hoover * Hoover (singer), Willis Hoover, a country and western performer active in 1960s and '70s * "Hoover" (song), a 20 ...

project was expedited and traffic across the dam was restricted. Some types of vehicles were inspected prior to crossing the dam while

semi-trailer truck A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-traile ...

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es carrying luggage, and enclosed- box trucks over long were not allowed on the dam at all. That traffic was diverted south to a

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

bridge at

Laughlin, Nevada Laughlin is an unincorporated resort town and census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is located on the Colorado River, directly across from the much larger Bullhead City, Arizona. Laughlin lies south of Las Vegas, in ...

. Once the bypass opened on October 19, 2010, all through traffic was rerouted on it; the roadway on the dam is now open only to employees and dam visitors.

Hoover-Mead Security Zone

The Hoover-Mead Security Zone encompasses around Hoover Dam and

Lake Mead Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. L ...

; before the opening of the bypass, this included of

U.S. Highway 93 U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south United States highway, numbered highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 60 in Arizona, US 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the ...

(US 93). Vehicles had to pass through inspection checkpoints, located on US 93 north of the dam in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, and south of the dam in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, before crossing. With the opening of the bypass, traffic patterns changed dramatically. Through traffic no longer goes through a checkpoint on either side of the river. On the Nevada side, the dam road now branches off US 93 before the checkpoint, which remains in operation to screen dam visitors. On the Arizona side, the road across the dam dead-ends in parking lots, no longer connecting to US 93. This made the Arizona checkpoint unnecessary. The Nevada checkpoint is staffed by armed Bureau of Reclamation Security Guards plus contracted private security personnel, as was the Arizona checkpoint before its closing. Personnel at the checkpoint may inspect any vehicle at any time before it is allowed to pass through and cross the dam.

Organization

Headquartered in

Boulder City, Nevada Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon ( ...

Popular culture

* In the 1997 film '' Fools Rush In'', the character Isabel Fuentes Whitman (played by Salma Hayek) delivers a baby on the Hoover Dam assisted by the Hoover Dam Police. * In the 2007 film ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms ...

'', the Hoover Dam Police were shown providing external security to

Sector 7 Sector Seven, Sector 7, or variations thereon may refer to: * Sector 7 (book), ''Sector 7'' (book), a wordless picture book created and illustrated by David Wiesner * Sector 7 (film), ''Sector 7'' (film), a 2011 South Korean 3D science fiction acti ...

. * In the 2015 film San Andreas, the Hoover Dam is destroyed by an earthquake and the Hoover Dam police are seen escorting civilians to safety.

References

External links

Official site

Tips for Crossing the Dam
{{Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States Clark County, Nevada Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States United States Bureau of Reclamation Agency-specific police departments of the United States