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The town of Poughkeepsie Uniformed Patrol Division is the fundamental element of the police department. The patrol division is under the command of our Operations Bureau Captain, Ralph Cropley. It is comprised of four lieutenants, six sergeants, 56 uniformed police officers (which includes crime scene technicians), and eleven civilian dispatchers.

The division is aligned into three squads working 6:45 AM – 3:15 PM and 2:45 PM – 11:15 PM, as well as a permanent night shift divided into three platoons working from 10:45 PM – 7:15 AM, providing round-the-clock services to the towns five patrol zones. The individual shifts are commanded by a lieutenant, with the daily operations being run by the sergeant to provide a direct line of supervision for uniform officers.
The patrol division maintains a large fleet of patrol cars, canine vehicles, and four-wheel SUVs, all of which are equipped with the latest advanced technology equipment. Each vehicle is equipped with police radios, MRD (Municipal Radio Dispatch), and an MDT (Mobile Data Terminal) laptop computer. The vehicles are also equipped with radar units, video cameras, crime scene kits, and AEDs (Automatic External Defibrillators). Each officer assigned to the patrol division is assigned a BWC ( Body Worn Camera).  

This new technology enhances the officer's ability to perform their day-to-day duties by providing critical information and allowing officers to complete a wide variety of tasks, including driver's license/warrant checks, receive computer dispatches, aerial maps, complete reports, and numerous other functions. As a result of this "new" technology, these tasks can now be performed individually by each officer while in his patrol vehicle out on mobile patrol without having to return to the police station, thereby substantially increasing the amount of time each officer spends on patrol and is available to provide an immediate response to calls for service from the citizens of the Town of Poughkeepsie.