About Boulder Police Department

Mission

Partnering with the Community to Provide Service and Safety

Vision

The Boulder Police Department strives to be a premier law enforcement agency and a model of excellence in policing by creating partnerships, building trust, reducing crime and improving the quality of life for our community.

We Value

  • Public Trust
  • Accountability to the Law
  • The Rights of all People
  • Courage and Selfless Honor
  • Personal and Organizational Integrity
  • Excellent Service
  • Respect for our Community and One Another
  • Our Employees and their Service to our Community

Responsibilities

Operations Division

The Operations Division, responsible for the enforcement and investigative functions of the department, is broken down into four primary sections, which are separated into specific work units. The five sections in Operations are: Traffic and Administration; Watch I (Dayshift Patrol); Watch II and III (Afternoon and Evening Patrol); Investigations (Detectives); and Animal Protection and Code Enforcement. This division provides all the uniformed officers who patrol the city and respond to calls for service, Hill and mall officers, animal protection, quality‑of‑life code enforcement, detectives who investigate unsolved crimes and a legal advisor. The Community Services Unit and School Resource Officers also work out of this division.

Support and Staff Services Division

The Support and Staff Services Division provides all support to the Operations Division, maintains the internal operations of the department, and provides non‑enforcement services to the public. It is broken down into four primary sections: Financial and Facility Services; Property and Evidence; Records Services; and, Communications (Dispatch).

Budget

The Boulder Police Department (BPD) is responsible for general public safety; prevention of crime; responding to and investigating crime; apprehension of those who commit crime; public order; traffic safety; criminal justice records; and safety education. The department is service oriented and serves the community by building partnerships to address crime and crime-related problems, which is commonly referred to as a community-oriented or community-based policing philosophy.

While there are many examples of success using this approach, one example is the work our University Hill officers have done with University Hill neighbors, students and the business community to make positive changes on the Hill. Other community crime prevention programs include School Resource Officers, the Cops in the Classroom program, the Adopt‑a‑Fraternity and Adopt-a-Sorority programs, the Adopt‑a‑Site program, the Neighborhood Policing Area Program and liaisons with groups and other agencies and mentoring programs. The department is involved in many other prevention, intervention and educational programs.

The police department is structured into three divisions.

Administration

Consists of the Chief of Police, his assistant, two deputy chiefs, a professional standards sergeant and a public information officer.

Operations

Consists of Patrol, Investigations, a legal advisor, Animal Protection and Code Enforcement. Most certified officers are assigned to the Operations Division.

Support and Staff Services

Consists of the support units that provide both internal and external services. This division includes units such as Records, Training, Communications, Property and Evidence, Personnel and Maintenance, and Finance.

You can find Boulder Police Department's full budget story online on the OpenGov platform.

Committees & Groups