APD: Our Organization
Organizational Chart (30K jpg)
- Patrol Services
- Criminal Investigations
- Bicycle Patrol
- K-9
- Communications Center
- Community Resource Unit
- School Resource Officer (SRO)
- D.A.R.E. Officer
- Code Enforcement Specialist
- Community Policing
- Property and Evidence
- Records
Patrol Services
Patrol Services is the largest and most visible unit of the Albany Police Department. Patrol officers are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are usually the first to arrive at the scene of accidents, crimes, or disasters. Albany officers responded to 26,179 calls for service in 2002.
Captain Hinrichs leads the Patrol Services. He is assisted by four patrol sergeants, four corporals, twenty-eight patrol officers, and one K-9 officer.
Patrol duties include:
- Emergency response to 911 calls within the city limits.
- Visible police patrol.
- Traffic enforcement and accident investigation.
- Criminal investigation.
- Response to tactical incidents.
- Service of search and arrest warrants.
Go to Patrol Officer job description
Criminal Investigations
The unit is made up of one Sergeant and six detectives. The Detectives unit investigates all major crimes, does follow-up on cases initially handled by the Patrol Division, and provides assistance in investigations with other agencies and is a member of the Valley Inter Agency Narcotics Team (VALIANT) and the Benton County Major Crimes Team.
Detective Sergeant Brad Liles leads the Detective Unit. He is responsible for assigning cases for initial investigation or follow-up. He works with the Linn and Benton County District Attorney Offices to insure that cases are ready for prosecution.
Detectives Steve Dorn and Jerry Drum specialize in crimes against children and other person crimes. They work with the ABC House and the Department of Human Services to provide a safe place for children who may have been abused or are in danger.
Detectives Ryon McHuron, Dawn Hietala and Don Tapper investigate property and person crimes. These crimes may range from assaults to zip guns. They are also cross-trained to handle other cases as needed.
The Detective Unit works primarily Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. they are also available twenty-four hours a day as needed. We can be reached at (541) 917-7686.
Officer Dan Kloss has been in law enforcement since 1988 and an Albany police officer since 1991. He has been certified as a K-9 Officer since 1993, and is working now with his second canine partner, a German Shepherd named Draco.
Draco had been trained in obedience, tracking and protection before he was brought to the U.S. from Germany at age two and a half in December 2000. He has been on duty in Albany since February 2001.
Draco performs several duties, including tracking, searching buildings and outdoor areas, searching for specific articles, and protecting his handler and other officers. He and Officer Kloss are also available for public demonstrations.
Communications Center
The Albany Police Department provides its own emergency dispatching services. There are 11 Communications Specialists and one supervisor that make up this group. The Communications Center is supervised by Carrie Hjertstedt. She can be reached by phone at (541) 917-3213 or by e-mail.
A Communications Specialist:
- Answers all incoming emergency telephone calls, including all 911 calls requesting the Albany Police Department and elicits pertinent information to dispatch police personnel via radio communications.
- Handles non-emergency calls that records personnel do not. Answers business lines and emergency lines after hours and on weekends.
- Dispatches police personnel; uses radio communications to advise and assign officers to calls. Makes decisions based on available information to determine call type, priority, and response required.
- Operates the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system to maintain an accurate accounting of officer locations, calls, and times and to document all calls for service received by the department.
- Monitors all radio communications and responds with information when necessary.
- Enters and retrieves criminal justice information using local, state and national computer systems in response to operational needs and policies. Enters all warrant information and confirmation. Performs police records functions; inputs data from police incident reports into the Police Department database; copies and routes police reports to other agencies, departments, and/or divisions; files reports, citations, and other paperwork needing retention as police information.
- Distributes police-related information to other law enforcement agencies via telephone, radio, and/or computer communications systems.
- Uses Mobile Data Terminals to dispatch officers to help reduce radio traffic.
Community Resource Unit
Three sworn officers are assigned to the Community Resource Unit who are able to formulate and implement effective long-term solutions to community safety problems and community concerns. Officers respond to livability issues in neighborhoods by using mediation techniques and enforcing appropriate sections of the Albany Municipal Code when necessary. Officers seek solutions to situations that cause repetitive calls for police services. During the school year, these officers are assigned part-time to the two high schools and three middle schools.
During the summer months, officers assigned to the Community Resource Unit are outfitted and deployed using police bicycles during their normal course of duty. Specific assignments are given to take advantage of the benefits of using a bicycle on patrol.
As mentioned above, the Community Resource Officers are assigned to the two Albany high schools and three middle schools. The primary function of the officers is to act as a resource to both the school administration and the student body and to create a safe and secure learning environment.
The D.A.R.E. officer is a sworn police officer and is part of the Community Resource Unit. This officer teaches D.A.R.E. to half of the fifth graders in the Albany school district the first 10 weeks of school. Once that responsibility has been completed, the officer becomes a school resource officer for the rest of the school year, trading duties with one of the Community Resource Officers who takes over D.A.R.E. teaching to the other half of the fifth graders in the next 10 weeks. The D.A.R.E. program is also taught in two private schools in Albany.
One full-time non-sworn Community Service Officer is responsible for enforcement of code violations; abandoned vehicles, parking complaints which may include recreational vehicles and trailers and enforcing animal ordinances such as dogs running loose or barking dogs within the city limits. (For Codes that are most frequently asked about, go to FAQs.)
Two full-time, non-sworn Community Service Officers handle a variety of programs and act as liaisons to groups and organizations within the community. Some of their duties include Neighborhood Watch, Child Safety Education, Citizen's Police Academy, S.A.L.T. (Seniors And Law Enforcement Together) safety presentations, security surveys, the YMCA Mentoring Program, Crime Prevention Tips, and education. Contact Lynn Hinrichs at (541) 917-3206 or send her E-mail.
Property and Evidence
The Property and Evidence section is staffed Monday through Friday, 7:00
a.m. to 3:30 p.m. by a Property and Evidence Specialist.
The responsibilities of the Property and Evidence Specialist include the
following:
- Store evidence and maintain a "chain of custody" on all stored items.
- Release property to the public when no longer required as evidence.
- Store and control all "lost and found" items.
- Organize auctions of unclaimed items.
- Dispose of items.
Property and Evidence Pick Up
Property may be picked up by appointment. Please call (541) 917-7685, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and ask for the Property and Evidence Specialist. Please leave your name, phone number, and Albany P.D. Incident Number.
Records Section
The Albany Police Department has six full time police clerks. The different clerk positions perform a variety of clerical, secretarial, and administrative work in support of law enforcement activities. The Records Department is supervised by Mike Peaslee . He can be reached by phone at (541) 917-3218 and by e-mail.
- Assist in processing reports and records, including officers’ daily logs, reports of investigation, field interrogation reports, alcohol reports, influence reports, breathalyzer checklists, bad check forms, vehicle impoundment forms, and traffic hazard reports.
- Provide a variety of police-related information to the public and governmental agencies.
- Receive incoming business calls, determine the nature and urgency of the calls, and route calls according to guidelines.
- Receive requests from officers for special or specific information; follow up with appropriate information and relay information back to the officer.
- Serve as assistant to command staff and provide a variety of administrative assistance as needed.
- Compose a variety of correspondence, reports, and other materials.
- Receive cash at front counter.
- Maintain records for the vehicle fleet.
- Manage the permit system for business and residential alarms.