The role of the police department in our community is to maintain and improve the quality of life for our residents and those who visit our community.  Each member of the department is not only committed professionally toward that end, they are members of our community as well, and they fulfill the role of citizen.  The Police Department is a full service law enforcement agency emphasizing a community policing and problem solving philosophy.  Our patrol officers are encouraged to include stopping and visiting the schools, various civic functions, senior citizen organizations and businesses while on duty and as a regular part of their patrol duties.  The Patrol Division of the City of Tonawanda Police Department provides the backbone from which a wide variety of services and programs emanate.

          The patrol division consists of three equally divided shifts of six full time patrol officers, one Lieutenant who serves as the shift commander, and a civilian police dispatcher.  In addition, there are two relief Lieutenants, seven civilian crossing guards, and three part time police matrons.  The patrol division is also augmented at times, such as parades, festivals, and hydro plane races on the Niagara River, by a volunteer Auxiliary Police unit of 25 members and a volunteer Under Water dive team of 20 members.

          Members of the Patrol Division often wear many hats, sometimes patrolling in a marked patrol car, a specialized radar vehicle for traffic enforcement, bicycles patrolling 141 acres of city park, a golf cart patrolling both parks and public housing, or a patrol boat providing law enforcement and rescue services on our waterways.  In addition, police officers are often called upon to provide instruction in our schools, speak to a variety of civic and church groups, and meet with a number of citizen organizations in a community policing capacity.  Five officers have received specialized training in Domestic Violence issues and serve with our POWER to S.T.O.P. Domestic Violence Program, a program designed to provide an immediate multi disciplinary approach to domestic violence.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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