About the Mobile Police
Department
The Mobile Police Department is organized into three large bureaus: The Administrative Services Bureau; Support Services
Bureau; and, the Field Operations Bureau. The Support Services Bureau contains the Investigative Operations
Division, Support Services Division and Intelligence Unit.
Included within the Administrative Services Bureau are the Legal Advocate, Internal Affairs and
the Administrative Services Division. According to the Mobile Police Department, “The Administrative
Services Section is key in determining the allocation of resources and the focus of the Police Department through its Planning
& Research Unit. All departmental policies flow from this unit, which is charged with forecasting trends and setting the
department's strategic goals. In this respect, Planning and Research is the driving force of the Police Department, compiling
valuable data that is deployed to better serve all the diverse neighborhoods of the City of Mobile. Every three years, the
Planning & Research Unit undertakes the difficult task of amassing a wealth of data to attain national accreditation.
It is a distinction that shows the department has complied with 459 standards governing policy procedures, management, and
operations and support services. The accrediting agency, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, follows
up with on-site inspections.”
The
Field Operations Bureau contains the Field Operations Division, Special Operations Division and COMSTAT/Crime
Analysis Unit, According to the Mobile Police Department, “The Field Operations Division commander
is tasked with the oversight of all the patrol work in the five precincts and the police jurisdiction. The patrol officers,
in turn, are responsible for hundreds of thousands of calls for service each year from the citizens who depend upon them for
their safety and well-being.
The
precincts are divided into smaller units known as beats. There are 42 beats patrolled by members of the Field Operations Division
around the clock each and every day of the year. The Mobile Police Department attempts to build relationships between the
police and citizens by limiting changes in beat assignments. Familiarity with their beat territory allows the officers to
get to know their residents and the safety issues specific to their beats. A police officer at the rank
of major commands the Field Operations Division. The major over Field Operations reports to the deputy chief of the Field
Operations Bureau.
Each precinct is commanded by a
captain who works under the major of the Field Operations Division. Each of the precincts has a General Patrol Unit composed
of our men and women who patrol the streets 24 hours a day.”
Source:
cityofmobile.org/mobilepd