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Office of the Chief of Police    

The Office of the Chief of Police has management responsibility of 127 police employees. In addition to Chief Jake Castellow, the Office of the Chief of Police is staffed with an Assistant Chief of Police, Administrative Assistant, Police Crime Analyst, and Press Information Officer.

The Office of the Chief of Police is responsible for overseeing the total operation of the police department and carrying out the policy and direction of the City Manager and the City Council. Some of the primary functions are departmental budget, departmental audits, recruitment, training, hiring of employees, and acting as a liaison with our citizens as well as with our law enforcement partners in the criminal justice system.

Administrative Services Division 

The Administration Services Division is commanded by the Assistant Police Chief Dominic Barteau. The division is managed and supervised by a Police Lieutenant, Administrative Sergeant, Services Sergeant, Senior Records Clerk, Dispatch Supervisor, and Animal Control Manager. The Administrative Services Division consists of the Professional Standards and Training, The Services Unit, the Records Unit, Information Analyst Unit, and the Porterville Police Communications Center.

The Professional Standards and Training Unit is responsible for all departmental training and education, Internal Affairs, and Pre-employment backgrounds.

The Services Unit is made up of a Police Sergeant and two Evidence Technicians who are responsible for all department property, firearms and the Property/Evidence Unit.

The Records Unit is responsible for the custodianship of all departmental records. Incident reports, collision reports, citations and arrest booking reports are all processed by the Records Unit. In addition to maintaining the Department's records, this unit provides other services to the community such as fingerprinting and completing requests for crime reports.

The Information Analysts Unit assist personnel on day-to-day computer analytics, Mobile Dispatch Terminal, and all related information technologies.

The Porterville Police Communications Center operates 24-hours a day, 365-days a year. In addition to daily business calls, all 9-1-1 calls made within the city are received at the communications center. Police dispatchers are responsible for dispatching police, fire, paramedics, and other community service units such as animal control.

The Patrol Division 

The Patrol Division is the largest of the divisions and has the greatest number of personnel assigned to it. This Division is currently commanded by Captain Josh Maniss. The division is managed and supervised by a three Police Lieutenant and six Police Sergeants

Besides Uniformed Patrol Officers, the division contains the K-9 Unit, School Resource Officers Unit, Traffic Unit, Field Training Unit, Special Methods and Resources Team (Homeless outreach), Neighborhood Crime Suppression Unit, Unmanned Ariel Vehicles (Drones), Community Services Officer Unit and the Animal Services Unit. The Patrol Division is the most visible division of the Department and consists of the officers regularly seen in patrol cars.

Patrol Officers are assigned geographical areas known as sectors, of which we have four. This assignment to a specific sector is for an entire deployment period of twelve months which allows the Officer to become familiar with addresses and community problems, while allowing residents of the sector to become more familiar with the Officer as well. There are four Officers assigned to each sector, one on each shift, allowing for 24-hour coverage. There is a Police Sergeant and a Corporal assigned to each sector as well.

Also assigned to the Patrol Division is the Animal Services Unit. This unit is made up of a manager, four full-time employees, and multiple volunteers that assist with the day-to-day operations. This unit maintains the City of Porterville’s Animal Shelter, as well as responding on a daily basis to all animal related calls for service.


The Investigations/Services Division

The Investigations Division consists of several Investigative Units as well as our Special Weapons and Tactics Team, and Crisis Negotiations Team. This division is currently commanded by Captain Ron Moore. The division is managed and supervised by a Detectives Lieutenant and four Police Sergeant.

The Investigations Units are the Special Investigations Unit, the General Investigations Unit, the Narcotics Investigations Unit and the Tulare County High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA Unit).

The Special Investigations Unit consists of a Police Sergeant and five Detectives which focuses primarily on gang activity, violent crimes, gun crimes, and motor vehicle theft.

The General Investigations Unit is comprised of a Police Sergeant and seven Detectives who investigates all other felony crimes within the city, including property crimes, violent crimes, and crimes against persons. This team is also called to investigate officer involved shooting at the request of other law enforcement agencies.

The Narcotics Investigations Unit focuses their efforts on the use, sale and manufacture of narcotics. Each unit is comprised of a team of a Sergeant and up to four Detectives.

The Tulare County High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Unit is a multi-agency narcotics unit, which is comprised of personnel from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, The Porterville Police Department, Visalia Police Department, Kings County Sheriff Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. This special unit focusses on large scale criminal organizations.

The Porterville Police Department Special Weapons and Tactics Team and the Crisis Negotiations Team are a highly trained unit. These units are comprised of two Police Lieutenants, three Police Sergeants and twenty special operators. The team is equipped with the latest technology, K9’s and special rescue equipment for their emergency responses. The team is routinely called to search and arrest warrants services, armed barricaded persons, hostage situations and other special operations.

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