The Tampa Police Department (TPD) is the primary
law enforcement agency
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs ...
for the city of
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
. The Tampa Police Department has over 1,000 authorized sworn law enforcement personnel positions and more than 350 civilian and support staff personnel positions. The current acting police chief is Lee Bercaw.
Uniformed officers are deployed on a four days on, four days off work cycle, with an average of twelve officers per squad.
History
In 1855 the first official law enforcement position created was City Marshal by an act to incorporate the City of Tampa. Over the next 18 years the City Marshall's duties and responsibilities were expanded to include summoning members of patrol by midnight along with examining and recording marks and brands on butchered cattle.
In 1886, the first police force was created in Tampa by passage of another city ordinance and thus began the Tampa Police Department some fifty-one years after the first police force in America was created. Tampa's first police force was quite small, with a Chief of Police replacing the City Marshall, aided by an Assistant Chief, a Sergeant and three mounted officers. But some key elements of a modern police force were instituted during that time. Standards for officer qualification were established based on merit and physical fitness and officers began wearing uniforms. Two detective positions were also added during this period of time. The following year, on July 15, 1887, the town of Tampa officially incorporated as a city.
Over the next 26 years the Tampa Police Department evolved through a number of reorganizations, adding and subtracting positions, establishing a pension plan for officers and developing rules and regulations dealing with officer's conduct. In 1913 the department created its first Identification Officer position. The officer assigned to the position used the
Bertillion System of identification, which preceded the fingerprint method used today in law enforcement. The Bertillion System used a process of measuring body parts such as the nose, eyes and hands along with other characteristics to identify individuals.
The year 1915 was a landmark year as the department relocated to its new headquarters located at Florida Avenue and Jackson Street in Downtown Tampa. That same year Tampa saw the advent of a revolutionary tool in local law enforcement, the automobile. Tampa added an officer to the motored assignment who was both chauffeur and mechanic for the department.
On November 30, 1935, six members of the
Modern Democrats, a local Socialist affiliated political party, were arrested by Tampa Police in a warrant-less raid on one of their meetings and taken to the station. None of them were charged with any crime, however, three of them, Joseph Shoemaker, Eugene Poulnot, and Sam Rogers, were kidnapped by masked Klansmen as they left the police station. They were taken to a wooded area near the Tampa suburb of Brandon where they were flogged and burned with hot tar. Shoemaker died nine days later as a result of his injuries. The Hillsborough County Sheriff in cooperation with the state attorney mounted an investigation, eventually concluding that the attack was orchestrated by city employees and the Tampa Police. Five of the seven officers who raided the Modern Democrats meeting, and one other officer, were charged with the murder of Joseph Shoemaker, kidnapping, assault, and the attempted murder of Eugene Poulnot and Sam Rogers. As the investigation continued, evidence surfaced indicating the involvement of the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
. Shoemaker's brother had received threats from the Klan by phone, and known Klan leaders had been seen at police headquarters shortly before the kidnappings. Three more people, reputed Klansmen, were arrested and charged in the incident, and Tampa Police Chief, R.G. Tittsworth, as well as a police department stenographer, were charged as accessories after the fact. Eleven people, all connected with either Tampa Police Department or the KKK, were charged in connection to the kidnappings and murder.
In 1936, with automotive thefts rising, the department added an Auto Theft Bureau to deal with this relatively new dilemma. Additional functions such as parking meter enforcement were added to the tasks performed by the department along with an expanded role in traffic law enforcement.During the years from 1936 to 1961, the department underwent additional redeployments and Tampa saw its first parking meters in the 1940s.
Major developments in the department's history occurred in 1961. First and foremost was a move to a new police building on Tampa Street at Henderson Avenue. This facility would serve as headquarters until the department moved to its current building in 1997. The first floor of the two-story complex housed police operations while the second floor housed the city's jail and administrative operations. A college training program was instituted that year with participating officers being given special consideration pertaining to work hours and finances. The "platoon" deployment system was adopted giving equal numbers of officers to each platoon, which was rotated between day, evening and midnight shifts. The Police Athletic League was officially organized and one officer was assigned to it full-time to provide special activities for Tampa's youth.
In 1962 the Criminal Intelligence Unit was organized and became responsible for developing and disseminating available information to officers through special files and investigations.
The Field Instructor system of training newly appointed police officers was established in 1965. Initially, the Field Instructors were the corporals of the squads. Later they were each squad's top performing and senior officers.
1967 brought a new deployment of manpower with the abolition of the platoon system. A flexible deployment system with 21 squads replaced it. The system deployed officers to areas based on need.
The Tampa Police academy received certification as a qualified training institute in 1968 by the State Minimum Standards Training Commission. At that time the academy was held inside the police department's building.
1969 brought another revolutionary advent of law enforcement to the department with the purchase of two Hughes 300 helicopters to complement the two fixed-wing aircraft already in operation. The helicopter's role in supporting officers on the ground during searches was tremendous.
The office of Public Information was created in 1971 to act as a liaison between the department and the news media. Also that year, the first Hazardous Device Technician was trained in handling explosives at the US Army Redstone Arsenal base in Huntsville, Alabama. That technician worked alone until 1973 when several other officers were also trained at Redstone.
In 1972 the prisoner booking function, still conducted in the police headquarters building, was transferred to Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office personnel. Sheriff's Office personnel performed the duty at police headquarters until 1979 when the operation was moved to the county jail on Morgan Street at Scott Street.
During 1974, the department established the Internal Affairs Unit to investigate citizen complaints about officers or employees of the department with impartiality and objectivity.
In September 1975, the department embarked on a new era in community relations and crime prevention by creating the School Resource Officer program. The program placed officers into middle and high school level institutes to handle problems that occur and present preventative programs to the students and faculty. The full-time position of police legal advisor was also created that year. One of the most popular programs among officers was implemented in 1975 as well. The take-home car program allowed officers to drive their units to and from work. The philosophies were to reduce maintenance on the cars, eliminate staggered reporting times, free space being used for lockers and promote safety through higher visibility of units in the neighborhoods the officers lived.
1977 saw the creation of the Tactical Response Team or TRT. The team, known in some cities as SWAT, was designed for response to special threat situations requiring special tactics to reduce the threat to officers, subjects and the community.
The Hostage Negotiation Team was formed in 1979 and combined with the Tactical Response Team.
Another innovation of modern law enforcement came to Tampa in 1980. The Neighborhood Watch Program was a result of a more nationwide emphasis being placed on crime prevention through public awareness.
In 1981 the Field Instructor program was replaced with the Field Training and Evaluation Program for officer training. The program was innovative at the time of its inception. Special training squads were created with officers assigned to them receiving additional instruction in methods of training new officers. Recruits, fresh out of the academy, were assigned to these squads and received daily training and evaluation for a period of four months before being attached to regular squads.
The same year the department created the Special Anti-Crime Squad or SAC. The unit would later be called the Street Anti-Crime Squad. The unit's function was to address street level and special crime problems within the city. Special Purpose Vehicles or SPVS were added to the department's cadre of mobility that year also. The vehicles, somewhat similar in design to golf carts, were employed to allow the accessibility of foot patrol to the public but not limit the officer's mobility as foot patrol can. Although the program was initially a trial, it later was adopted and units assigned to the downtown area used them effectively.
In 1982 the department formed its first K-9 unit with five dogs and handlers. Four of the five were trained in search and track while the fifth dog was trained in both narcotic and explosives detection. The police Dive Team was organized that same year in August. They provided the capability for underwater search and recovery to the department on a twenty-four-hour basis.
In 1983 the department conducted an experiment in deployment of personnel. District I used a quad system and District II used a sector system. The object was to provide better supervision, establish clear chains of command and promote the neighborhood policing concept. By 1984, both districts adopted the sector system.
Later in 1983 the department's Communication Section underwent a colossal transformation. The days of calls being handwritten by call takers were over for good at the Tampa Police Department. A new million dollar plus computer aided dispatch system or C.A.D. replaced the old method and drastically improved the way calls were transferred to dispatch and response by street units.
In response to the increased number of street level narcotics dealers in Tampa, a unit was developed to address the problem. The Q.U.A.D. Squads were the answer to the question. Living up to their name, which stands for Quick Uniformed Attack on Drugs, in late 1989 the city was divided up into four quadrants and these four squads set to work defending the streets of Tampa against the onslaught of drug dealers and buyers.
In 1993, the department implemented the Mobile Dispatch System or MDS. The system allowed computers to be placed in police cars for direct dispatch without tying up the radio airwaves. Officers were now capable of running registration and wanted persons checks without communicating to a dispatcher.
1996 saw the creation of a new patrol district with the addition of District III. A new Mounted Unit for horse patrol was created to address the rising need in congestion during special events and the Ybor City entertainment district of Tampa. Another major addition was the Firehouse COP program that placed officers working firehouse areas using community oriented policing philosophies. The officers would respond to neighborhood problems as their primary responsibility and build relationships with the residents to better understand and address their needs.
A major change occurred in 1997 when the Tampa Police Department moved to its new headquarters located at Franklin Street and Madison Street across from city hall. That location also had historical significance in that the original courthouse had stood on the same location. Another development enjoyed by officers was the reinstatement of the take-home car program, which had been abolished nearly ten years earlier.
In 1998 the transition to decentralization took another large step with officers from district II moving into their new station in North Tampa near Busch Gardens. Groundbreaking on the District I station began the same year.
District I occupied its new facility in 1999. That year the department's helicopters were equipped with GyroCam camera systems that allowed video downlinking and recording. This new age technology offered more advance surveillance and officer safety capabilities to the department.
The Sexual Predator Identification and Notification program was also instituted in 1999 to comply with the Florida Sexual Predator Act. The program monitors these offenders and tracks them using a sophisticated computer database and is administered by Firehouse officers.
The decentralization of the Tampa Police Department reached its culmination in the year 2000 with the relocation of the communications section to its new state-of-the-art facility in East Tampa.
In February 2004 The department conducted a full re-deployment and divided the city into three districts. Each district was equipped with squads to address street-level narcotics, prostitution and other target crimes.
West Tampa Police Department
In 1895, West Tampa was an independently incorporated city that operated its own police department. In 1925, West Tampa was annexed by Tampa and the West Tampa Police Department was absorbed by the Tampa Police Department.
District system
District one
The District One Patrol Division serves Tampa's peninsula, west side, and
Davis Islands areas, including
Tampa International Airport
Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective December 30, 2021. T ...
,
Raymond James Stadium
Raymond James Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tampa, Florida that opened in 1998 and is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls college football program. The se ...
,
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
,
Courtney Campbell Causeway
The Courtney Campbell Causeway is the northernmost bridge across Old Tampa Bay, carrying State Road 60 between Clearwater, Florida in Pinellas County and Tampa, Florida in Hillsborough County.
History
The Causeway was commissioned by t ...
and
Bayshore Boulevard
Bayshore Boulevard is a waterfront road on Hillsborough Bay in South Tampa, Florida. Located south of downtown Tampa
Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the ...
. There are twelve uniformed squads in the district.
District two
The District Two Patrol Division serves Tampa's northern portion, including
Busch Gardens
Busch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The original park is in Tampa, Florida, and the second park is in Williamsburg, Virginia. There were also previously B ...
,
Sulphur Springs
Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage under ...
and the
Tampa Palms
Tampa Palms is a neighborhood within the New Tampa district of the city of Tampa, Florida. As of the 2010 census the neighborhood had a population of 13,515. The ZIP Codes serving the neighborhood are 33559, 33592, 33613, 33617, 33637, and 33647.
...
and
Hunters Green area frequently referred to as "
New Tampa
New Tampa is a region in Florida that encompasses both a area within the corporate limits of the City of Tampa, as well as a larger land area that is in unincorporated Hillsborough, but retains a Tampa mailing address. The incorporated portion ...
." There are fourteen uniformed squads in the district.
District three
The District Three Patrol Division serves
East Tampa
East Tampa is a district within the city limits of Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore o ...
, the
Ybor City
Ybor City ( ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly ...
area and the
Port of Tampa
Port Tampa Bay, known as the Port of Tampa until January 2014, is the largest port in the state of Florida and is overseen by the Tampa Port Authority, a Hillsborough County agency. The port is located in Tampa, Florida near downtown Tampa's Cha ...
, including
Downtown Tampa
Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area.
It is second only to Westshore regarding employment in the area. Companies with a major presence downtown ...
. There are twelve uniformed squads in the district.
District specialist units
District Latent Investigation Squads
A squad of plainclothes
detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
s, the District Latent Investigation Squad is assigned to each district for latent investigation of crimes against property occurring in the area encompassed by the district. Part of the squad is also charged with conducting latent investigations on assaults.
Quick Uniformed Attack on Drugs Squads
Each district utilizes Q.U.A.D. (Quick Uniformed Attack on Drugs) Squads to aggressively work toward the reduction of open street drug dealing within the city. Implemented in February 1989, the unit's mission includes the investigation of all street level narcotics related offenses; the investigation of street level narcotics violations with the assistance of the residents in the affected community; gathering and dissemination of pertinent street level narcotic intelligence to other divisions; and direct access for citizens to Q.U.A.D. officers assigned to their community. The squads conduct frequent initiatives to remove visible street drug dealers from neighborhoods. Q.U.A.D. was merged with SAC in 2009 to form Rapid Offender Control (R.O.C.) squads in each district.
Under the leadership of Chief Castor and Assistant Chief John Bennett, the entire QUAD squad concept was done away with. A/C Bennett cited a reduction in street-level narcotics as the driving force. This change was met with significant resistance in the department.
Street Anti-Crime Squads
The Street Anti-Crime (SAC) squads assigned to each district are plainclothes units that work in each district to reduce prostitution and prostitution related crimes, as well as robbery, burglary and auto theft related crimes. SAC was merged with Q.U.A.D. in 2009 to form Rapid Offender Control (R.O.C.) squads in each district.
Crime Prevention Practitioners
A police officer, and a Crime Prevention Practitioner, formerly known as a
Community Service Officer are deployed to each district to act in a proactive approach to crime prevention. The team addresses complaints, along with evaluating needs in the communities within each district.
They also function as the liaison in each district for the
Neighborhood Watch
A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within a neighborhood.
The aim of neig ...
Program.
They develop and oversee Neighborhood Watch groups that are partnerships between the community and police department, composed of volunteer citizens, working together to reduce crime.
Rapid Offender Control Squads
Rapid Offender Control (R.O.C.) squads were formed as a merger of the QUAD and SAC in 2009.
Ranks and insignia
Firearms
Officers are currently issued the
SIG Sauer P320
The SIG Sauer P320 is a modular semi-automatic pistol made by SIG Sauer, Inc., SIG Sauer's American branch. It is a further development of the SIG Sauer P250, utilizing a striker-fired mechanism in lieu of a double action only hammer system. Th ...
in 9mm which replaced the
Smith & Wesson M&P
The Smith & Wesson M&P (Military and Police) is a polymer- framed, short recoil operated, locked breech semi-automatic pistol introduced in the summer of 2005 by the American company Smith & Wesson. It uses a Browning-type locking system. Whil ...
.40 S&W pistols which were chambered for back in 2018. The Smith & Wesson M&P40 pistols replaced
Glock 17
Glock is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H., Glock Ges.m.b.H. The ...
9mm pistols back in 2009. TPD officers also have access to
AR-15
An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...
5.56×45mm rifles while on duty in case a situation requires more firepower than a sidearm. Others available are from
Colt
Colt(s) or COLT may refer to:
*Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age
People
* Colt (given name)
*Colt (surname)
Places
*Colt, Arkansas, United States
*Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...
,
Hi-Point and
Ruger
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and Presco ...
.
Tampa Police SWAT officers carry the
SIG Sauer P226
Sig used as a name may refer to:
*Sig (given name)
*Sig, Algeria, a city on the banks of the Sig River
*Sig Alert, an alert for traffic congestion in California, named after Loyd Sigmon
*Sig River, a river of Algeria also known as Mekerra
sig (lo ...
9mm as their sidearm however following the department's switch to the P320 it is also being considered to replace the P226 pistols used.
City marshal
M. L. Shanahan (1859)
Chief of Police
*James G. Littleton (1967–1974)
*Charles Otero (1974–1979)
*Clayton Briggs (1979–1981)
*Robert Smith (1981–1985)
*Don Newburger (1985–1987)
*A.C. McLane (1987–1992)
*Eduardo Gonzalez (1992–1993)
*Bennie Holder (1993–2003)
*Stephen Hogue (2003–2009)
*
Jane Castor
Jane Castor (born December 7, 1960) is an American politician and former police chief serving as the 59th mayor of Tampa, Florida.
She was the first woman and first openly gay person to serve as Chief of Police of the Tampa Police Department f ...
(2009–2015)
*Eric Ward (2015–2017)
*Brian Dugan (2017–2021)
*Ruben Delgado, (Acting 2021–2022)
*Mary O'Connor (2022)
*Lee Bercaw, (Acting 2022 - Present)
See also
*
List of law enforcement agencies in Florida
This is a list of Law Enforcement Agencies in the state of Florida.
According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2018 ''Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies,'' the state had 373 law enforcement agencies employing 47,177 swo ...
*
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
References
* http://tbo.com/news/politics/tampa-names-jane-castor-first-female-police-chief-69108
* http://www.tampagov.net/police/info/honoring-our-heroes
External links
City of Tampa Police DepartmentNeighborhood Watch
{{Coord, 27.948307, -82.457946, type:landmark_region:US-FL, display=title
Government of Tampa, Florida
Municipal police departments of Florida