Operations Division

About the Division

The Healdsburg Police Department operates a Patrol Division of 5 sergeants and 10 officers. Our patrol staff works the 4/10 plan which allows for the best coverage during peak demand times and the Sergeants work a combination of the 4/10 and 12-hour shift plan.

In addition to routine patrol, officers make regular security checks of the city’s parks and licensed establishments. Officers working the graveyard shift continue the time-honored tradition of “shaking the door knobs” in the downtown to provide an additional measure of security to our merchants.

Community policing is a large part of the patrol function. Although it is a department wide philosophy, the patrol officers are the ones who employ the problem solving process the most. To do this they utilize the SARA model to develop problem solving strategies for chronic community problems. After scanning the problem to identify what the symptoms are, the officers analyze why it is occurring. Once the analysis is completed, they develop a response that will either eliminate the problem or greatly reduce its effects on the community.

The assessment is performed to monitor how successful the response was. If the chronic problems range from traffic complaints, graffiti, loud businesses, neighborhood issues and areas of blight that affect the quality of life for our residents. To ensure accountability, the city is divided into 3 districts; north, south, and the downtown business district.