City of Portage, Indiana / Patrol Division

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Patrol Division

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The Portage Police Department Patrol Division is under the direction of Captain of Patrol Ross Haynes.

Captain of Patrol Ross Haynes

Pertinent Information about Patrol Division Includes

Patrol Division is comprised of four turns. 1 with 14 officers and three turns of 10 officers. Each individual turn is comprised of a Sergeant, 2 Corporals.
Patrol Division's primary responsibility is to respond to all calls for service, conduct preliminary investigations of reported crimes, maintain order and enforce criminal traffic laws.
The City of Portage is divided into four zones which are patrolled by the assigned units. The zone boundaries are as follows:
Zone No. 1: Conrail tracks north to Lake Michigan
Zone No. 2: Willowcreek Road east to Portage city limits
Zone No. 3: Willowcreek Road west to Portage city limits
Zone No. 4: Prairie Duneland Trail south to Portage city limits
Patrol Division has and is developing areas of specialization to better serve the citizens of Portage, including:

Special Weapons and Tactics

The primary mission of the Portage Police department SWAT team is to save lives. The team was founded in 1996 to provide a highly trained, equipped and disciplined team of police officers and paramedics capable of quickly and safely managing potentially volatile situations. The teams' high degree of versatility and specialized training allow it to be utilized in numerous Law Enforcement functions. The team responds to a wide variety of situations, such as hostage rescue, barricaded subject, felons, mental subjects, high risk warrants, raids, crowd control and operations designated by the chief of police. The team is on call 24 hours a day and responds immediately to calls for service. The team consists of twenty members, divided into two squads. Each squad has police and firefighter/paramedic members. The members are all volunteer and are assigned to other duties in the police and fire departments.

Canine Units

The Portage Police Canine Units are dual-purpose dogs trained in handler protection, obedience, building searches, tracking and narcotic detection. Since the establisment of our canine program, the teams have been involved in several narcotic-related arrests. The largest amount of narcotics found by a team was thirty-six pounds of marijuana located in a garage during a search warrant. Additionally, the teams are regularly used to apprehend fleeing suspects. Besides working the street patrol, the canine teams perform public demonstrations for schools and other community organizations.

Information Technology

Information Technology controls several servers, approximately 80 desktops, and 40 laptops throughout the department and city. Responsibilities include maintaining the E-911 systems, radio systems, phones systems, wireless car to car communications, NCIC/IDACS communications with the State Police, digital photographs, and fiber optic wide area network between Police, Fire and City Hall buildings. IT also assists the detective bureau with any computer crime investigations.

Accident Reconstruction

This team actively investigates any fatal and serious bodily injury vehicle crashes within the city. The team utilizes several computer and electronic devices to assist them in reconstructing accident scenes.

Arson Team

Works with the Fire Department to investigate any determined arsons within the city.

Crisis Negotiation

Less Than Lethal:

The Portage police department has invested time and money into less than lethal devices to help us in apprehending violent and suicidal suspects. These tools are Taser stun guns, shotgun bean bag rounds, teargas, and pepper spray. We use these tools to take suspects into custody with minimal injury to suspects.