Department Mission & Overview

Mission Statement

The Portsmouth Police Department actively works in partnership with our community to protect, prevent crime and respectfully, justly and compassionately help all people.

Department Overview

The Portsmouth Police Department is budgeted for 66 full-time Police Officers, 27 Auxiliary Police Officers and utilizes the services of 25 non-sworn civilian employees including dispatchers and clerical staff. 

The Portsmouth Police Department, directed by the Police Commissioners, is organized into five divisions: Patrol, Investigative, Operations Support, Professional Standards, and Administrative. 

The Patrol Division consists of uniformed field personnel, Seacoast Emergency Response Team, Police K-9, Motorcycle Patrol, Animal Control and a Police Explorer Post. 

Members of the Investigative Division are responsible for major crime investigations, juvenile investigations, Crime Stoppers, and the undercover narcotics unit. 

Operations Support includes Personnel and Training, Records, Court Office, Dispatch, and IT.

Professional Standards is responsible for the CALEA Accreditation, Citizen Complaints, Internal Investigations.

Administrative Services encompasses financial services, facilities, fleet, and department reports.