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Message from the Chief of Police Across the nation, the biggest challenge in policing since 2020 has been the recruitment and retention of high-quality police officers. The Lakewood Police Department recognized this trend early on and has been proactive in making sure that our police staffing levels do not drop to unsafe levels. In 2022, the Lakewood Police Department was able to leverage American Rescue Plan Act funding to increase our authorized strength from 94 officers to 99 officers. This increase in staffing permits more officers to be on patrol, which leads to greater safety for our citizens as well as expanding the opportunities for our officers to interact positively with the community. 2022 saw our violent crime total drop to a multi-year low. The drop in violent crime can be attributed to proactive policing by our patrol officers as well as to the dedication of our detectives identifying suspects and seeing criminal cases through to successful prosecutions. Organization of Lakewood P.D.Patrol Division The Lakewood Police Department has a hierarchical structure led by the The Patrol Division is the largest division in the police department and it Chief of Police. The Police Department is comprised of three divisions, is also referred to as the Uniform Division. This division employs the each of which is overseen by a Captain (Division Commander). The three officers who wear a police uniform every day and patrol the city in divisions consist of the Patrol Division, the Investigative Division, and the marked police cars. These are the officers that respond to emergencies, Administrative Division. citizen complaints, and crimes in progress. They enforce criminal laws and traffic laws. The Special Operations Unit is part of the Patrol Division. At the end of 2022, the Lakewood Police Department increased itsÔ authorized strength from 94 sworn officers to 99 sworn officers.