Mission Statement & 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 68 full-time Police Officers, 27 Auxiliary (part-time) Police Officers and utilizes the services of 26 non-sworn civilian employees, including dispatchers and administrative staff. 

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

The Patrol Division consists of uniformed officers, police K-9, motorcycle patrol, animal control, several members of the Seacoast Emergency Response Team, and a Police Explorer Post. 

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

The Strategic Services Division includes Personnel and Training, Records, the Court Office, Communications Center, and IT Support.

The Professional Standards Division is responsible for the maintenance of all department policies and rules & regulations, the CALEA Accreditation Program, citizen complaints, Internal Affairs Investigations and proper handling of all Right-to-Know Requests.

Administrative Services manages the department's financial services, the facility, fleet of department-owned vehicles, grants and department reports.