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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEvolution of the Police Department� . . ~ ~ y�� (04-7(1 / Y , -�� �T� > /tw � . A In its early days , the City of Winter Springs wask"company town" known as the Village of North Orlando . The year was � 1957 . The limits of the town were a small area contained a- long State Roads 434 and 419 . The Tuskawilla Road area was � not yet a part of the city , and the population was about 300 . By 1966 the area's first Police Chief , a Mr . Devo , worked on � a part-time basis for a salary of $200 .00 a week . When I arrived on the scene as Chief of Police in 1974 , I was � the 13th Police Chief on record in a span of nine years . � Through overall growth , and the annexation of the Winter Springs Planned Unit Development (today known as Tuscawilla) the population had increased to 2100 . Five police officers � answered calls and patrolled the streets in their personally owned vehicles . Radio communication was handled by the City � of Longwood and the Sheriff 's office . Today , the Winter Springs Police Department has grown into a self-sufficient , � professional , full -service law enforcement agency of sixty individuals . The organizational structure of the Department is divided in- � to Bureaus , which branch into several Divisions , each Divi- sion branching into various Sections . � The Enforcement/Operations Bureau consists of the Investiqa- � tions Division , Special Investigations Section , Patrol Divi- sion , and Special Operations section . The Investigations Division 's function is to pursue criminal � investigations into the various incidents reported to the De- partment . The Special Investigations Section , as the name implies , is a group of investigators who handle more special - � ized incidents . These can be from the in-house type , such as the background check on police officer applicants , to the ex- � ternal type that include drugs , vice crimes , specialized sur- veillance tactics , and the coordinating with the Investiga- � tions Division on major violent crimes . A branch of the Investigations Division is the Tech Services � Section , which provides the latest in modern crime fighting techniques , including coordination with the extensive abili- � ties of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Regional Crime Lab . The Patrol Division provides the citizens with round-the- � clock patrol of their neighborhoods and business areas . The Patrol Officer is most often the first member of the Depart- � ment that a citizen meets when a call for service is answer- ed . The City is divided into patrol zones , with the Officers � being dispersed through the city by their zone assignment . � ' The Special Operations Section is divided into the Traffic Enforcement Section , and a Selective Enforcement unit . The ' Selective Enforcement unit operates from a marked patrol veh- � 2 » f ' . icle over the late evening/early morning hours , providing support to the Patrol Shift as needed . The Selective Enforce- ment officer's primary function is to locate , identify , and apprehend the drunk driver . The Traffic Enforcement Officers are motorcycle units , spe- ` cially trained in traffic accident and traffic homicide in- vestigations . The Traffic Officer's job is not an easy one . Most of the contact they have with the driving public is in a negative sense , dealing with people who don 't even want him around , due to some offense the citizen has committed . Yet , these are the same officers who keep our children safe on their way to and from school ; and who slow down the speeders on the street where you live . Through the efforts of the Pat- rol and Traffic Officers , the Department has received Pedes- trian Safety Citations from the American Automobile Associa- tion in eight of the past ten years . Just as important as the Enforcement/Operations Bureau , but much less visible to the public , is the Support Services Bur- eau , which is divided into the Administrative Services and Management Support Divisions . The branches of the Administra- tive Services Division are the Communications Section , Record Section , and Property Control Section . In addition to these functions , the Administrative Services Division Commander is responsible for the maintenance , service , and repair of the departments's vehicles , equipment , and headquarters building . The Communications Section is the vital link between the Of- ficers and the public they serve . In addition to being the departments "switchboard" , the "Comm Center" is linked to the 9-1-1 emergency phone system , and has a computer link with the National and Florida Crime Information Centers . In addition to keeping track of all the Department 's paper- work , the Records Section is an invaluable tool to the law enforcement officer by providing the information and criminal intelligence needed to successfully identify , apprehend , and convict those who have violated the law . The Property Control Sections functions as Purchasing Agent , and must maintain inventories , distribute supplies and forms , issue equipment and uniforms , and carry out the duties of the Evidence Custodian . The job of the Evidence Custodian requires that the strict mandates of the court system, re- garding the proper packaging , storage , and documentation of evidence in criminal cases be maintained . The Management Support Division consists of the Professional Standards Section , Community Relations Section , Management Information Section , and Code Enforcement Section . The Pro- fessional Standards Section is responsible for the continued training and education of the officers . The FDLE Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission has established ed- c - - ucational requirements that all applicants must meet before being employed as police officers . This training , conducted at the Community College level , consists of a variety of in- struction and practical exercise in Constitutional and Crim- inal Law , First Aid , Police Procedures , Investigative Tech- nique , Firearms Training , Traffic Enforcement , and Officer Safety/Self-Defense training . Additionally , every four years an officer must complete 40 hours of state approved training in career development courses . Professional Standards main- tains records to see that these requirements are being met , as well as coordinating In-service Training sessions to pro- vide each officer with a minimum of 2 hours of training per month in a variety of job-related topics . Professional Stan- dards also maintains a library of law enforcement related text books , publications , video tapes , films and slide pre- sentations it uses for training and Community Relations events . The Range & Armory Section of Professional Standards ensures that all officers remain proficient in firearms and the use of deadly force . The Community Relations Section carries on a variety of pro- jects and programs designed to strengthen the relationship between the public and the police . Crime Prevention demon- strations , youth and school liaison activities , and programs such as Neighborhood Watch and the Law Enforcement Explorer Post are coordinated through the Community Relations Officers and civilian volunteers . The Management Information Section provides data analysis to assist with Planning And Research , in order to keep the Department moving in a positive direction . The Code Enforcement Section is responsible for seeing that the City's Ordinances are complied with by the residents of Winter Springs . Violations that are not satisfactorily re- solved by the Code Inspector are prepared for presentation to the Code Enforcement Board for further legal action . In ad- dition to other duties in the various sections , the Manage- ment Support Division Commander acts as the Prosecutor to the Code Enforcement Board . Looking back on those humble beginnings , one can see that the evolution of the Winter Springs Police Department has been truly remarkable . As we continue to move into the future , we can expect the face of our community to undergo some dramatic changes . Continued growth and expansion , and the coming of the expressway interchange will require the Winter Springs Police Department to continue its growth by further branching out into new and innovative areas to provide the services the community demands .