Starting at 4 a.m. on Monday, the Metropolitan Police Department will go from nine police districts to six – changing district boundaries that have been in place for more than 50 years.
When the old boundaries were originally established, the city’s population was around 750,000, and the department employed more than 2,200 sworn police officers. In 2014, more than 318,000 residents live in the city, and the department employs around 1,250 police officers.
The transition to six districts and reorganization of the department will help better utilize resources, said Police Chief Sam Dotson.
“This change is good for the city,” he said. “Reducing the number of police districts will allow the department to consolidate command structures, put more officers on the street and deploy resources in areas that need it most.”
The six districts will also allow more officers to focus on “hot-spot” policing, he said. The redistricting emerged out of a study of calls for service and data-driven analysis.
Under the new patrol configuration, Districts 1 and 2 will operate out of South Patrol, 3157 Sublette, Districts 3 and 4 will operate out of Central Patrol, 919 North Jefferson, and Districts 5 and 6 will operate out of North Patrol, 4014 Union.
Citizens can view Dotson’s redistricting presentation, district maps and learn more about district captains at www.slpmd.org. Citizens are also encouraged to leave feedback on redistricting on the department website or at the three area patrol stations.