Kent Police Department

Kent Police Department
Abbreviation	KPD
Agency overview
Formed	1889
Employees	207
Volunteers	12
Annual budget	$33,000,000
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Kent, Washington, United States
General nature	Local civilian police
Operational structure
Officer, Sergeant, Commander, Assistant Chief, Chiefs	143
Civilians	57
Agency executive	Rafael Padilla, Chief
Special Units	List Investigations Patrol Corrections
Stations	232 4th Ave S, Kent, WA 98032
Facilities
Patrol cars	Chevrolet Tahoe PPV Ford Police Interceptor Ford Police Intercepter(Utility) Dodge Charger Police
Website
kentwa.gov/police

The Kent Police Department (KPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of Kent, Washington, United States. The main police station is located in downtown Kent.

Staff

The Kent Police Department staffing consists of 150 sworn personnel and 57 civilian personnel, as well as active Volunteer and Explorer programs. KPD is a state accredited law enforcement agency. Specialty assignments include: Civil Disturbance Unit, SWAT, Hostage Negotiator, K9, Persons/Property Detectives, Special Investigations Unit, Special Operations Unit (bikes and marine), Neighborhood Response Team, Traffic, Hiring Unit, Training Unit, and Field Training Officer. The Kent Police Department is constantly looking to hire qualified officers and civilians to serve the Kent Community. The mission of the Kent Police Department is to "Aggressively Fight Crime while Serving with Compassion".

The Kent Police Department averages about 90,000 dispatched calls and 17,000 case reports per year.

Vehicles

The Kent Police Department currently uses the following vehicle types: Chevy Tahoe, Ford Police Interceptor, and Dodge Charger. In 2018 the Kent City Council approved the use of traffic enforcement funds to be used for the purchase of new Ford Police Interceptors, which will replace the Tahoes and allow nearly half of the sworn officers to take their vehicles home. ^[1]

Crime statistics

^[2]

Type	2008	2009	2010	2011
Murders(per 100,000)	2 (2.4)	1 (1.2)	2 (2.3)	1 (1.1)
Rapes(per 100,000)	84 (98.9)	82 (97.2)	67 (78.1)	60 (63.9)
Robberies(per 100,000)	171 (201.3)	180 (213.4)	157 (183.1)	210 (223.7)
Assaults(per 100,000)	286 (336.6)	244 (289.2)	275 (320.6)	306 (326.0)
Burglaries(per 100,000)	1,112 (1,308.8)	828 (981.5)	1,018 (1,186.9)	1,223 (1,303.0)
Thefts(per 100,000)	2,702 (3,180.1)	2,381 (2,822.3)	2,665 (3,107.2)	2,977 (3,171.7)
Auto thefts(per 100,000)	835 (982.7)	611 (724.3)	781 (910.6)	789 (840.6)
Arson(per 100,000)	23 (27.1)	15 (17.8)	23 (26.8)	18 (19.2)
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime; U.S. average = 299.9)	519.0	450.2	475.6	480.2

Police chiefs since 1986

• Rod Frederiksen, 1986-1991 ^[3]
• Ed Crawford, 1991-2006 ^[4]
• Steve Strachan (sheriff), 2006-2011 ^[5]
• Ken Thomas, 2011-2018 ^[6]
• Rafael Padilla, since 2018 ^[7][8]

References

1. "Kent Police plan to purchase 14 new vehicles for $868,000 - Kent Reporter". 9 May 2018.
2. "Crime in Kent, Washington (WA): murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees, police officers, crime map". www.city-data.com. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
3. "Interim Police Chief to Begin Work Today - Kent Reporter". 3 January 1991.
4. "Former Kent Police Chief Ed Crawford Dies - Kent Reporter". 28 November 2018.
5. "Kent says goodbye to its top cop, Steve Strachan - Kent Reporter". 23 December 2010.
6. "Thomas sworn in as Kent Police chief - Kent Reporter". 2 February 2011.
7. "Mayor Ralph names Padilla to replace Thomas immediately as Kent Police chief - Kent Reporter". 8 May 2018.
8. "Padilla 'thrilled' to take over as Kent Police chief - Kent Reporter". 17 May 2018.