Divisions

Administrative Bureau

The Administrative Bureau encompasses the Office of Chief of Police and Office of Professional Standards and searches for qualified persons who are interested in a career with one of the most progressive police departments in the state. We actively recruit individuals from all walks of life. We expect candidates to have high ethical standards as a cadet and certified peace officer. We achieve this goal by applying a testing process that is fairly long, rigorous, and intense. Only the top 5% of all applicants will be accepted by the end of the process which means that only the very best candidates are hired to protect the citizenry of Galveston.

Office of Professional Standards

One of the primary responsibilities of any modern law enforcement agency is the development of an effective mechanism that monitors the activities of the agency’s employees. The purpose of this mechanism is to ensure that every employee is conducting themselves professionally and displaying the highest standards of ethics and integrity. With these goals in mind, the Galveston Police Department has taken a proactive approach and established the Office of Professional Standards, or OPS.

The Office of Professional Standards is staffed by a Supervisor who works directly for the Chief of Police. This office is responsible for: Employee development, Investigation of citizen complaints, Internal matters, Other issues as directed by the Chief of Police. Depending on the nature of the complaint, some investigations are referred to the employee’s immediate supervisor for investigation.

Sections: Key reasons for monitoring employee performance, how to file a compliment on an officer or employee of the agency or service received, how to file a complaint, and what to expect after the complaint is filed.

It is our goal to provide the best possible police service to our community. For this reason, we rigorously monitor the activities of our employees and strive to achieve the highest possible standards of conduct.

Support Services Bureau

Working closely with Patrol and the Special Operations Unit the Support Services Bureau performs proactive law enforcement activities, follow-up criminal investigations, crimes against children investigations as well as narcotics investigations.

Communications Division

The Communications Division is a portion of the Galveston Police Department that operates 24/7 and is comprised of several specially trained civilian personnel that are tasked with triaging incoming emergency and non-emergency calls and determining proper response of resources.

These TCO’s (telecommunications operators) also operate the links to the state and federal computer systems that handles information on missing persons, stolen vehicles, driver’s license status, and stolen articles in addition to being the custodial unit for all audio recordings of police radio transmissions and telephone calls to the Galveston Police Department Communications Center.

Approximately 300 emergency and non-emergency calls are received and processed in a 24 hour period. Personnel receives on-going training to prepare them for a variety of situations and emergency preparedness. The Communications Division strives to deliver proficient, courteous, and professional services to all of Galveston’s Emergency Personnel, residents and citizens they come in contact with. The Communications Division also works with the City of Galveston’s EOC (Emergency Operations Center).

Criminal Investigation Division

The Criminal Investigation Division has a task force officer assigned to the local office of the Drug Enforcement Agency to assist in the investigation of drug related crimes in the city and the surrounding area. The Criminal Investigation Division also has an Evidence Technician that is responsible for cataloging, storing, the security and final disposition of all property and evidence that is collected by members of the Galveston Police Department. The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is comprised of Detectives, in four divisions, which investigate specific types of criminal cases:

• Major Case- Homicide, Robbery, and Aggravated cases
• Property Crime- Burglary, Theft, and Financial Crimes
• Family Services- Family Violence, Sexual Assault, Elderly and Juvenile crime
• Crime Scene- Investigation of all major crime scenes and process evidence collected from all crimes under investigation

The Criminal Investigation Division strives to investigate and solve crimes in a timely manner with positive outcome for the citizens and businesses of Galveston.

Operations Bureau

The Operations Bureau consists of the Patrol Division, and Special Operations Unit. The Patrol Division is subdivided into East, Central and West Command Areas.

Patrol Division

The Patrol Division is divided into East Isle, Mid-Town, and West Isle Areas. Patrol is the largest division of the Operations Bureau. The West Patrol area encompasses the geographic areas of Galveston west of 61st street, The East Patrol area encompasses the geographic areas of Galveston east of Interstate 35th street, while Midtown encompasses all other areas of Galveston.

Animal Services Unit

The Galveston Police Animal Services Unit specializes in the investigation of animal related crimes. The unit investigates all reports of animal abuse, neglect, and cruelty. If you wish to have the unit conduct an investigation, please complete this form (PDF) and submit to the Galveston Police Department at 601 54th. Street. While the unit will investigate all reported activity please remember if you see an animal who faces a serious risk of immediate injury please call the Galveston Police Department at 409-765-3702.