Temecula Police Department

Everything You'll Need To Know About The Temecula Police

There is one in Old Town Temecula and one in the Promenade Mall. There is also a traffic team, investigations bureau, and special teams to deal with drugs and gang-related issues here in the valley.

Residents of Temecula fall under the jurisdiction of several different law enforcement agencies.

Temecula Police Department also contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for some of its police services. The Sheriff's Department handles all criminal matters in the unincorporated areas of Temecula, and provides incarceration facilities for all offenders.

The role of the Temecula Police Department is a progressive agency with a proactive approach that not only responds to problems, but emphasizes crime prevention as well. The Police Departments Police Chief is Andre O'Harra. He is in charge of ensuring the safety of our community. Here is a summery of a few teams of law enforcement through the Temecula Police Department.

Special Enforcement Teams

In addition to being highly trained, these officers are highly skilled at working undercover and flushing out criminal behavior related to the use of illegal drug possession and sales. Every year, this team takes hundreds of pounds of marijuana off the street as well as large amounts of methamphetamine, heroin, Ecstasy, cocaine and other illicit drugs.

The members of this team also have specialized training in the identification of gang members, gang graffiti, gang tattoos, and criminal behavior used in furtherance of gang activity.

In addition to working with other Riverside County Sheriff’s Teams, the Special Enforcement Team also meets regularly with the Murrieta Police Special Enforcement Team in order to ensure the continued high quality of life here in the Temecula Valley.

The Gang Detail Team

The gang detail has already been successful in identifying local youth associating with gang members. They also assist with locating persons if they become a subject of interest in any law enforcement matter.

A fantastic goal of the gang detail is to limit the development of gangs within the city limits. The current team of officers recently coordinated efforts with investigators and arrested 8 members of a criminal street gang out of San Diego who had come to Temecula to branch out their criminal activity. They were not highly successful here and were quickly apprehended and jailed. Great job, you guys!!!

The Traffic Team

The traffic team takes an aggressive stance on reducing collisions and getting impaired drivers off our roadways. They conduct driving under the influence (DUI) checkpoints and DUI saturation patrols to combat these drivers. Traffic officers are highly visible in our community, enforcing state and local laws, and acting as a deterrent to speeding and red light violations. The traffic division is also responsible for investigating traffic collisions within the city.

Their overall efforts paid off as the city has seen a significant reduction in traffic collisions in 2009. The California Office of Traffic Safety awarded the traffic team $78,000 in grant funding in 2009 to be used toward education and enforcement. The grant allowed the team to purchase equipment such as computers and related software to allow the officers to work more efficiently in identifying trends and traffic issues. The grant also funded extra DUI checkpoints, DUI and seat belt saturation patrols, car seat clinics, and programs aimed at keeping our community safe.

The Mall Team

The mall is a major business enterprise within the city of Temecula.

The Promenade Mall occupies approximately 120 acres and more than 1.25 million square feet of retail space.

The Temecula Police Department is dedicated to the safety of mall patrons and has therefore dedicated a sergeant and 4 full time officers to patrol the mall premises to deter criminal behavior or apprehend those who commit a crime. The Police Department has a storefront located within the mall. It is staffed by two full-time community service officers and clerical staff.

The Promenade Mall officers maintain a professional balance between traditional policing and problem oriented policing. Officers initiate regularly scheduled major incident planning training for the mall merchants and security staff. The mall officers works together with the security officers hired by the mall to maintain safety and security for all visitors. Although the mall and security officers stay busy, the Promenade Mall consistently rates as one of the nation's highest in safety and retail sales categories.

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Make sure to check out all the great links on the bottom of the Temecula Main Page to learn more about our City Services, Old Town and some History of this wonderful Southern California City.

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