Operations Division
The Operations Division is composed of several different sections or units which work together to better serve the needs of our community.
Patrol Section
Patrol personnel are responsible for responding to calls for service throughout the city as well as proactive traffic, drug, and community oriented policing efforts.
Crisis Negotiations Team
The Crisis Negotiations Team is a group of police employees selected and trained to communicate directly with hostage takers or barricaded subjects in critical incidents. The team includes Police Officers, Dispatchers, and Community Services Officers. Team members are selected by a board of experienced law enforcement professionals and undergo intensive and ongoing training.
The team works closely with the department's SWAT team. A liaison officer maintains constant communication between the two teams, as a resolution of a critical incident is dependent on the smooth interaction between the teams whether resolved by tactical means or by peaceful negotiation.
The Crisis Negotiations Team handles about six call outs a year. Approximately 90% of the incidents involve subjects who have barricaded themselves in a confined area, and intend to harm only themselves or the police. The remaining 10% of critical incidents involve subjects who have taken hostages.
The incidents handled by the Crisis Negotiations Team are always highly charged emotionally, and require an extraordinary amount of patience, self control, perception, and creative problem solving on the part of the negotiators. The team has consistently proven itself a professional, effective, and extremely successful unit of the Chico Police Department.
Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team
The Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team is comprised of several highly motivated officers, an assistant team leader, and a team commander. It is the goal of SWAT to resolve and manage critical incidents with a high degree of tactical precision and professionalism. Team members share the philosophy that the lives of hostages and innocent citizens are of the first priority, while the lives of tactical team members come second. A tactical resolution shall be executed in such a fashion as to bring about the rescue of victims with as little injury to others as possible.
Before being chosen as a SWAT team member, candidates undergo a highly competitive selection process. If selected, the new team members are sent to a specialized 40 - hour school operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Members are provided with training in high risk warrant service, hostage rescue, barricaded suspect extraction, and other high risk situations. Once this training has been successfully completed, team members are assigned a variety of special weapons and receive additional training on an ongoing basis.
Traffic Unit
Our primary goal of the Traffic Unit is to maximize the safety of motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians who use our city streets. We do this through our efforts to obtain voluntary compliance with traffic laws. Traffic officers in marked vehicles direct their enforcement efforts to target the violations which cause the majority of traffic collisions in the City of Chico. We also support strict enforcement of occupant restraint laws, which have been proven to reduce the number of injuries suffered in traffic collisions.
The City Traffic Engineer has surveyed the majority of streets in the City which are classified arterial or collective roadways to determine safe speed limits. Speed limits on these streets are enforced by the use of radar on a regular basis in order to reduce the number of accidents, but also the amount of damage from traffic accidents when they do happen.
All the police officers assigned to the Traffic Unit receive advanced training in collision investigation, skid mark analysis, and accident reconstruction. Traffic officers seek to provide a high level of service in fully documenting all serious injury and fatal traffic collisions in our jurisdiction. We also assist parties involved in property damage collisions in meeting the requirements of the law.
The Traffic Unit gives a high priority, along with other marked patrol units, to preventing driving under the influence violations and arresting drivers who fail to comply with the law. Statistically the department has been successful in keeping accidents caused by DUI lower than any other jurisdiction in Butte County. Public support for tougher penalties, driver's license suspensions, and following designated driver" plans has helped. We conduct announced DUI checkpoints to serve as a deterrent to driving under the influence and to solicit support from motorists in reporting suspected DUI drivers. 
In addition to our other duties, members of the Traffic Unit give safety presentations to groups, tow abandoned vehicles from City streets, and enforce parking regulations. These regulations are designed to increase safety while maximizing access to businesses.
You are now able to email your traffic-related concerns directly to the Traffic Unit by going to their web page. Click Traffic Unit to go!
Special Operations Section
Formerly called Community Outreach, the Special Operations Section (SOS) now takes on many new tasks as well as retaining some of those from its former incarnation. Please visit the Special Operations Section to learn more.
Code Enforcement Unit
In conjunction with the Housing and Neighborhood Services department this unit is responsible for the preservation of neighborhoods by gaining compliance with applicable ordinances within the Chico Municipal Code. For contact information and details about their areas of responsibility, vist the Code Enforcement page.