Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department


The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is a combined city and county law enforcement agency for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is headed by the Sheriff of Clark County, who is publicly elected every four years. The sheriff is the only elected head law enforcement officer within the county.
Metro is the largest law enforcement agency in Nevada, and in 2009, was one of the largest police agencies in the United States according to Uniform Crime Reporting by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Clark County Detention Center is one of the largest jail systems in the United States, as well.

History

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was formed on July 1, 1973, by merging the Las Vegas Police Department with the Clark County Sheriff's Department. Metro serves the city limits of Las Vegas and the unincorporated areas and towns of Clark County.
In the early 1970s, both the Las Vegas Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff's Department struggled with jurisdictional and budgetary problems. Oftentimes, people living in the metropolitan area would call the wrong agency to report crimes in progress, which would delay police response. Both agencies were also strapped for manpower, yet used a lot of it duplicating record-keeping and administrative functions in both of the agencies. The idea of consolidating the two law enforcement agencies into one metropolitan department began to circulate among the top officials in both agencies, likely due to the close working relationship between the Clark County Sheriff and the Las Vegas Police Chief at that time. It was said that even police officers on the Las Vegas Police Department could see that it would be better if the agency were run by the Sheriff, due to the fact that he was an elected official. Legislation to merge the Las Vegas Police Department with the Clark County Sheriff's Department was passed by the Nevada State Legislature, and the merger became effective in 1973.
In 1999, an outside audit conducted by DMG-Maximus, commended the department for having fewer managers and supervisors than are typically found in large police agencies. The audit also said that the managers, both sworn and civilian, were of "excellent quality".
On January 5, 2015, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officially assumed responsibility for the Las Vegas Township Constable's Office. Las Vegas Township Constable's Office continues to be a separate entity but under Metro's Detention Services Division.
The Las Vegas Metro Police Department has more than 5,800 members. Of these, over 2,900 are police officers of various ranks and over 750 are corrections officers of various ranks.
In November 2024, venture capitalist Ben Horowitz was reported to have funded at least $7.6 million in LVMPD purchases during the previous few years, and to have acted as facilitator between the department and at least six of his a16z portfolio companies. Purchases from Horowitz's donations include Skydio drones, in which he was an early investor.
On November 12, 2024, LVMPD officers attended a 911 call for a break-in at a home near Sunset Park, where the caller, resident Brandon Durham, was fatally shot by police.

Misconduct

Since the late 1970s, more than 100 LVMPD officers and civilian employees have been implicated in documented instances of police misconduct and/or actual criminal activity, with numerous incidents resulting in lawsuit settlements in excess of a million dollars apiece. A later excessive force case was tried in Davis v. City of Las Vegas. According to the New Yorker, the LVMPD had "a long-standing reputation as one of the most violent in the country" before it implemented reforms, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice, in the 2010s.

Radio system

LVMPD operated on a digital radio system, which was turned on in 2011. As of February 2018, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department encrypted their radio frequencies; blocking the public from using police scanners, with no delayed web feed provided. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department stated that the decision to encrypt their radio channels was made back in 2015 due to officer safety concerns.

Vehicle fleet

Las Vegas Metro uses many vehicles from brands including Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, Jeep, Buick, Tesla, and Chevrolet as marked or unmarked vehicles. However, after the retirement of the Ford Crown Victoria in 2011, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police went through a short session of testing vehicles. As a result, the Ford Explorer took the place of the Crown Victoria, the main patrol vehicle.

Headquarters

Construction was completed on LVMPD's 370,500-square-foot headquarters, located at 400 S. Martin L. King Boulevard, in mid 2011. The building consolidated 27 bureaus, which were previously located in leased buildings around Las Vegas. It also houses the Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center, Police Records, and a Fingerprint Bureau annex.

Funding

The police services of the department are funded by both the City of Las Vegas and Clark County. Police services funding is based on a complex formula that includes population, calls for service, and felony crimes in the prior year. Both entities must approve the annual budget, including the percentage of budget they are responsible for. The department itself generates approximately 33% of its funds through property tax, and the charging for certain services, such as special events, work cards, and privileged license investigations. Additional funding is generated from a special sales tax to fund commissioned positions.
By state law, the sheriff is charged with running the county jail, known as the Clark County Detention Center or CCDC, which is funded solely by the government and tax base of Clark County. Additionally, the police functions at Harry Reid International Airport are also solely funded by Clark County.

Organization

There are two commissioned career tracks in the LVMPD. They have identical civil service rank structures and pay, but different day-to-day tasks and responsibilities.
  • Corrections: These officers are tasked with operating, managing and supervising the Clark County Detention Center; there are over 750.
  • Police: These officers are assigned all over the department; there are over 2,900.
The LVMPD is divided into ten urban area commands:
  • Bolden —serves the west central portion of the city, including the old westside, an area bordered by I-15, US 95, Jones and Lake Mead Boulevards.
  • Convention Center —serves the Las Vegas Strip and Las Vegas Convention Center areas.
  • Downtown —this division serves Downtown Las Vegas and areas roughly east of Eastern Avenue, south of Owens Avenue and north of Sahara Avenue to include the Naked City and Fremont Street areas.
  • Northeast —Sector F includes unincorporated areas of North Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Speedway/Nellis Air Force Base area.
  • Northwest —serves areas generally west of US 95 and north of Cheyenne Avenue.
  • Southeast —serves areas east of Maryland Parkway and south of Sahara Avenue. Sector J includes unincorporated areas of Henderson.
  • Spring Valley —serves areas west of Interstate 15, south of Charleston Boulevard and north of Flamingo Road. Also includes Chinatown.
  • Enterprise —this area serves mostly the southwest valley west of I-15 and south of Flamingo Road.
  • South Central —this area command serves the areas south of Harry Reid Airport between Interstate 15 and roughly Eastern Avenue.
  • Summerlin —this area command serves the master-planned community area of the western Las Vegas Valley.
When Metro was formed in 1973, the Las Vegas Valley was served by only three area commands: North, South and West.
Other major coverage details: Traffic Bureau, Airport Division, and nine different rural areas outside the Las Vegas Valley.

Rank structure

The LVMPD rank structure is as follows:
TitleInsignia
Sheriff
Undersheriff
Assistant Sheriff
Deputy Chief
Captain/Corrections Captain
Lieutenant/Corrections Lieutenant
Sergeant/Corrections Sergeant
Police OfficerNo insignia

Enforcement areas

This department provides law enforcement services for all of Clark County, including the City of Las Vegas, yielding primary jurisdiction to the following agencies: