St. Petersburg Police Department

St. Petersburg Police Department
Common name	St. Petersburg P.D.
Abbreviation	SPPD
Patch of the St. Petersburg Police Department
Agency overview
Formed	1903
Employees	757
Volunteers	62
Annual budget	$86.9 million (2010 FY)
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	County of Pinellas County in the state of Florida, United States
Map of St. Petersburg Police Department's Jurisdiction.
Size	64 sq mi (170 km2)
Population	250,000 citizens
Legal jurisdiction	St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	1300 First Avenue North St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Police Officers	550
Unsworn members	212
Agency executives	Anthony Holloway, Chief of Police Luke Williams, Assistant Chief, Uniform Services Bureau David H. Dekay, Assistant Chief, Investigative Services Bureau Melanie Bevan, Assistant Chief, Administrative Services Bureau
Bureaus	4 Office of the Chief of Police Administrative Services Bureau Investigative Services Bureau Uniform Services Bureau
Divisions	17 Community Awareness Division Executive Operations Division Legal Division Internal Affairs District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 Uniform Support Division Crimes Against Property Division Crimes Against Persons Division Youth Resources Division Vice & Narcotics Division Communications Division Fiscal Services Division Training Division Records & Identification Division
Facilities
Districts	1
Patrol Boats	2
Website
St.Petersburg Police Department
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The St Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) provides crime prevention and public safety services for the city of St Petersburg, Florida. The department was created in 1903. The St. Petersburg Police Department has an authorized strength of 550 sworn officers and 212 civilian support staff. The department serves the fifth largest city in the state of Florida, with a population of 250,000. The St. Petersburg Police Department is one of over 1,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

The department utilizes a wide variety of proactive specialized units, both uniformed and undercover, to target specific public safety issues within the city (i.e.: auto thefts, violent crime). The department uses community outreach programs like Park Walk and Talk, Facebook, Twitter, and a tip 411 app to gather information from the community and address specific concerns.

The St. Petersburg Police Department has divided the city into three districts:

2011 is considered by many to be the toughest year faced by the St Petersburg Police Department. In 2011 three SPPD officers were murdered within the span of less than one month.

Riots occurred in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1996 following the shooting and death of an African American male teenage motorist during a police traffic stop.

In 1965, a dozen officers (Officers Nero, Adam Baker, Freddie Crawford, King, Styles, Lewis, Leon Jackson, Wooten, Primus Killen, Deloach, and Keys) dubbed the Courageous 12 sued the city for discrimination with the assistance of attorney James B. Sanderlin. After initially losing their case, a Federal Appeals Court ruled in favor of the Courageous 12 in 1968, effectively ending the department's policy of segregation. The actions of these officers inspired African American officers experiencing discrimination in other departments to pursue similar lawsuits.