RICHFIELD
COMMUNITY GUIDE 2025
Working to provide safety for all
The Richfield Department of Public Safety has worked to safeguard the lives and property of the people it serves, reduce the incidence and fear of crime and enhance public safety, while working with the community, for more than 85 years.
The department’ s staff are committed to serving with courage, integrity, hard work and professionalism. With an authorized strength of 48 officers, the department is divided into three divisions.
The patrol division provides uniform law enforcement services to the community. Patrol officers enforce criminal and traffic safety codes to provide a safe community. The patrol division is managed by a police lieutenant and supported by eight sergeants who serve as first-line supervisors. The patrol division also includes SWAT, traffic / DUI officers, police reserve officers, chaplains and the Community Emergency Response Team.
The investigations division of the police department conducts investigations of criminal incidents. The investigations division is managed by a police lieutenant and oversees 10 police officers: seven assigned to general investigations, two officers assigned to the narcotics unit and one officer assigned to the Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force.
The administrative division, also led by a police lieutenant, includes personnel responsible for police data, administrative support, planning and research, and conducting statistical analyses for the police division. The division includes a crime prevention specialist that provides citizens with the knowledge necessary to protect their person and property from becoming victimized by crime. The administrative lieutenant also manages the department’ s training programs, department policies and procedures, police explorer program, alcohol and tobacco compliance, the development of community outreach programs and visa programs.
The department’ s sworn officers are supplemented by a variety of service-oriented programs including the Joint Community Police Partnership, Police Multicultural Advisory Committee, Alternative Response Team, embedded social workers, community service officers and numerous support personnel responsible for environmental health, public health, property maintenance and city code compliance.
Throughout the year, the department participates in numerous community events. In August, Richfield police organize and participate in the annual Night to Unite by visiting block parties across the city. Unity in the Community, which helps families get ready for the school year, takes place in mid-August, and is another large community event organized by the department. In the winter, the department hosts its annual Heroes and Helpers event, which pairs children and law enforcement for holiday shopping and festivities.
The department also hosts a late winter Citizen Police Academy, which is a free, 18-hour, 6-week course designed to give residents a working knowledge of the operations and responsibilities of the department.
Richfield Police Department 6700 Portland Ave. tinyurl. com / RichPD 612-861-9898( non-emergency)
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