Dickinson Police Department (North Dakota)
The Dickinson Police Department is a small southwest North Dakota police force for the City of Dickinson. It currently employs 50 full-time sworn police officers and 24 full-time civilian employees to include dispatchers, records staff and animal control. Organization. There are several divisions within the hierarchy of the Dickinson Police Department. Each division is supervised by a captain. Patrol. The patrol division provides 24-hour service to the City of Dickinson. Officers are currently on 12-hour shifts and a 28-day rotation. The fleet consists of 10 marked patrol cars and two  unmarked units. Also included are two specialized vehicles used for tactical responses. The city bids for two new patrol cars each budget year in an effort to keep maintenance costs low. Officers are required to attend an 11-week police academy held in Bismarck, ND. Upon graduation, they are placed on a 12-week Field Training Operations (FTO) program. Equipment that DPD officers are issued include Glock 17 handguns, pepper spray, Taser X-26 devices, Axon body cameras and AR-15 patrol rifles. Southwest Tactical Team. The Southwest Tactical Team (SWTT) was formed shortly after the events of 9-11. Federal Homeland  Security money became available. The DPD utilized the funding to purchase operator entry vests and other related SWAT equipment. Within a few years, the SWTT became a state-certified regional tactical team. This qualifies the team to receive reimbursement if they travel outside of their jurisdiction. Calls that the SWTT have been deployed to have included armed barricaded subjects, high risk search and/or arrest warrants, dignitary protection, and other related SWAT activities. In June 2009, the team deployed to Gladstone, ND after four fugitives from Alabama barricaded themselves in a farmstead after robbing a local movie store and a subsequent  high-speed chase and shootout with the North Dakota Highway Patrol. All four fugitives were arrested after another shootout at the farmstead. The team was assisted by the West Dakota SWAT Team of Bismarck, ND. K-9. In late 2005, the Dickinson Police Department began utilizing drug-detection canines as a part of their patrol tactics. The first dog, a black Labrador retriever named "Duke", was donated to the DPD by Becker Canines in Richardton, ND. Since then, two other labs ("Buster" and "Talon") have also been donated by Becker Canines. Narcotic K-9s are trained to detect the odor of five  commons drugs; marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and ecstasy. They are also trained to track human scent and locate discarded objects, such as a murder weapon or other item. As of 2020, the Dickinson Police Department has two active K-9 units; K-9 "Kalo" and K-9 "Norman".