The St. Louis County Police Department (SLCPD) is the primary and largest law enforcement agency serving St. Louis County in the U.S. state of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. The current

Chief of Police Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

is Colonel Kenneth Gregory. According to the Charter of St. Louis County, the county police chief has all of the criminal law enforcement duties of the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of St. Louis County, except for the operation of the St. Louis County Jail, which is handled by the St. Louis County Department of Justice Services (civilian), court bailiff and service of civil process. Court bailiff/civil process duties are provided by a court-appointed sheriff and his employees, none of whom have law enforcement powers. The St. Louis County Police Department is the Largest County police agency in Missouri, based on number of employees, county population, and geographic area served. This change in law enforcement services occurred in 1955, when the St. Louis County Charter was amended by the voters to restrict the duties of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office. The position of elected sheriff was eliminated. St. Louis County is one of two counties in Missouri that does not have an elected sheriff. With the charter amendment, all law enforcement services were assigned to a new police agency, the St. Louis County Police Department. The department is primarily responsible for law enforcement and investigations within unincorporated St. Louis County and contract municipalities, however, it has full police authority throughout the county, including its 88 municipalities which are also served by 58 local police departments, some of them very small. Additionally, St. Louis County police officers are authorized to enforce

law in all counties in the state having a government of the first classification, which includes the independent

City of St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. Deputy Chief Kenneth Gregory was appointed to the position of Chief of Police on January 28, 2022 by the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners.

Departmental history

The St. Louis County Police Department was established in 1955. The department was created with 95 officers and 18 civilian employees. The department is divided into four divisions: Patrol, Operational Support, Special Operations, and Criminal Investigation. It is the third largest local police agency in the state and one of two

county police County police, often (but not always) called county sheriffs in the United States, are police forces existing primarily in the United States that possess primary jurisdiction over an entire county. England and Wales, two constituent countries of th ...

departments in Missouri, the other being the

St. Charles County Police Department St. Charles County is in the central eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 405,262, making it Missouri's third-most populous county. Its county seat is St. Charles. The county was organized Oct ...

. The SLCPD is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. CALEA is the only international body that accredits law enforcement agencies. Only seven percent of all U.S. law enforcement agencies are accredited. In 2010, CALEA recognized the St. Louis County Police Department with it distinguished Tri-Arc Award. The Tri-Arc Award is reserved for those police agencies that have successfully accredited their law enforcement services, police academy and communications division. Only six agencies in the world have achieved this status. Starting in October of 2018, the St. Louis County Police Department began patrolling Kinloch after it dissolved its city police department. On October 25, 2019, a jury awarded $20 million to a police sergeant for discrimination by the St. Louis County Police Department. Witnesses testified that police department leadership had said that the sergeant would never be promoted because he was "way too out there with his gayness and he needed to tone it down if he wanted a white shirt." (The command staff are called "white shirts" because of the color of their uniform shirts.) On October 27 County Executive Sam Page announced that "the time for leadership changes has come and change must start at the top" of the St. Louis County Police Department. After reaching the settlement, Chief Jon Belmar resigned from his position. It is unclear if insurance would cover the amount.

Fallen officers

From October 4, 1871, to October 6, 2016, the Officer Down Memorial Page reported that 13 officers in the St. Louis County Police Department died in the line of duty, 5 of them from gunfire, 5 from automobile-related incidents, 1 from being stabbed, and 2 from heart attacks. Many families of those killed in the line of duty get support from

BackStoppers The BackStoppers, Inc. Police Officers' and Firefighters' Fund is a federal tax exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Founded in 1959, the BackStoppers provides ongoing needed financial assistance and support to the spouses and dependent chil ...

, a local charity. The causes of death are as follows:

Board of Police Commissioners

The St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners is responsible for the operation of the department . The Board sets policy, makes promotions, holds both closed and open meetings and coordinates with the Chief of Police in providing police services to the citizens. Four of the five members of the board are selected by the County Executive of St. Louis County, following approval of the County Council, with the County Executive serving as the sixth member. As provided in the St. Louis County Charter, the St. Louis County Police Department operates under the control of a civilian board of commissioners appointed by the County Executive with the approval of a majority of the County Council. Commissioners serve overlapping three year terms. As of 2021, the membership is
Board of Commissioners

Executive Command Staff

The Chief of Police serves as the senior sworn member of the SLCPD. Kenneth Gregory is the tenth individual to hold the post and first African-American Chief in SLCPD History. Prior to 1955 the position was known as the Superintendent of Police and was later changed to Chief of Police. The Office of the Chief of Police is responsible for the planning, efficient administration and operation of the Police Department under the authority of the Board of Police Commissioners. The Chief of Police reports directly to the Board of Police Commissioners. The Office of the Chief of Police has seven units or bureaus: #

: Colonel Kenneth Gregory (appointed to the position of Acting Chief of Police on July 30, 2021) # Deputy Chief of Police: Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Ludwig # Bureau of Professional Standards # Police Contract Services # Media Relations and Public Information # Bureau of Research and Analysis # Intelligence Operations Bureau

Chiefs of Police

Division of Patrol

The SLCPD is divided into eight police precincts, two of which are contracted cities, Fenton and Wildwood (5th and 6th). Each precinct's cars are issued plates with a letter corresponding to the assigned precinct. On November 1, 2010, the SLCPD took command of the City of

Jennings Jennings is a surname of early medieval English origin (also the Anglicised version of the Irish surnames Mac Sheóinín or MacJonin). Notable people with the surname include: *Jennings (Swedish noble family) A–G *Adam Jennings (born 1982), A ...

Police Department under contract. The agency contracts with another 16 municipal governments to provide full-time police protection. Although the agency has full police authority of the sheriff in the entire county, including all municipalities, direct service population for the SLCPD is over 400,000 residents. A majority of these 400,000 residents are located in South St. Louis County and

Affton Affton is a census-designated place (CDP) in south St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, near St. Louis. The population was 20,417 at the 2020 United States Census. Geography Affton is located at 38°33'4" North, 90°19'25" West (38.551052 ...

, both of which are unincorporated but heavily populated and suburban. The division fields 33 School Resource Officers (SRO) to various school districts in the county. A volunteer Reserve Police Unit provides uniformed support to the division. The Division of Patrol is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Juan Cox. County Police Precincts * 1st- North County (Plates: A) * 2nd- Central County (Plates: B) * 3rd- Affton Southwest County (Plates: C) * 4th- South County (Plates: D) * 5th- City of Fenton (Plates: F) * 6th- City of Wildwood (Plates: G) * 7th- West County (Plates: H) * 8th - Jennings (Plates: J) Vehicles marked with plates "T" are Tactical Unit vehicles or are used for the Tactical Unit; vehicles with plates "E" are for administration, D.A.R.E., K-9 Units, MetroLink, or other special non-patrol units. Patrol Officers are issued the SIG Sauer P229R .40 semi-automatic pistol which replaced the Smith and Wesson 4006 .40 semi-automatic pistol in 2007. Detectives were issued the S&W 4013 .40 and the S&W 4014 .40, but now carry the SIG Sauer P229R .40 like the patrol officers.

Division of Special Operations

In 2004, the St. Louis County Police Department, the

Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis The Metropolitan Police Department of the City of St. Louis (also known as the SLMPD or Metro) is the primary law enforcement agency for the U.S. city of St. Louis. According to the Mapping Police Violence dataset, SLMPD has the highest polic ...

, and the

St. Charles County Sheriff's Department ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

joined together to share resources and created the Metro Air Support. Metro Air Support, as of January 1, 2020, boasts 5 helicopters, 1 fixed wing airplane, 10 pilots, 1 flight instructor, and 2 mechanics. In addition to Metro Air Support, the Division of Special Operations staffs a full-time Tactical (SWAT) Unit consisting of 21 members, as well as nine K-9 Units trained to detect narcotics, locate missing persons and apprehend suspects. As a matter of policy, the department uses SWAT and police dogs to serve all felony warrants. Special Operations is also responsible for entrance security at the County Jail, Family Court and St. Louis County Courthouse in Clayton, Bureau of Tactical Operations, Special Response Unit, Metro Air Unit, Highway Safety Unit, MetroLink Police Unit, Crisis Intervention Team, and Office of the Chaplains. The Division of Special Operations is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Troy Doyle.

Division of Criminal Investigations

The SLCPD has the largest investigative unit in the state. Nearly 200 detectives provide county-wide services for the crimes of homicide, child abuse, St. Louis Regional Bomb and Arson Unit, domestic violence, sexual assault, fugitive apprehension, auto theft, burglary, fraud, robbery, drug abuse, and child exploitation. The SLCPD also has a full-time ASCLAD-Lab accredited Crime Laboratory, Fingerprint Unit, Prisoner Conveyance Unit, Crime Scene Unit (CSI), Bureau of Drug Enforcement, and Polygraph Unit. The Division of Criminal Investigation is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Steve Sack.

Division of Operational Support

The SLCPD provides a wide range of support services for the department and community which include the following: * Bureau of Communications * Emergency Communications Network * Office of Emergency Management * Bureau of Central Police Records The Division is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Lohr

Commissioned/sworn positions

The SLCPD uses the following ranks. Officers with the power of arrest.

Professional staff (non-sworn) positions

* Professional any non-supervisory employee that is not commissioned. *

Supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position that is primarily based on authority over workers or ...

Professional staff employee equal to rank or pay grade of commissioned Sergeant or Lieutenant * Director Professional staff employee equal to rank or pay grade of commissioned Captain * Executive Director Professional staff employee equal to rank or pay grade of commissioned Lieutenant Colonel

References

External links

St. Louis County Police Department official website

Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. official website
{{Saint Louis protests County police departments of Missouri Municipal police departments of Missouri Government of St. Louis County, Missouri 1955 establishments in Missouri