The City of Post Falls Police Department is located in Kootenai County in the northern panhandle portion of the State of Idaho. The Police Department is located along the I-90 corridor between the cities of Coeur d' Alene, Idaho and Spokane, Washington. Post Falls is approximately 8 miles to the Coeur d' Alene City limits, 20 miles to the Spokane City limits, 30 miles to the Spokane International Airport and 25 miles to the Amtrak Train station. The City of Post Falls is known as one of the fastest growing cities in Idaho.
The topography of the City of Post Falls consists of mountains, lakes, rivers and farmland. The area's economy consists of tourism, medical and related health services, electronic components, and forest and wood production. Tourism brings many citizens to the Post Falls area to use the many hiking and biking trails. One of the popular recreational trails in the area is the Centennial Trail. A portion of this trail runs through the City of Post Falls.
The City of Post Falls has a population of over 29,000. The Police Department has 40 sworn officers to patrol 28 square miles and approximately 151 miles of city streets. There are a total of 67 full time sworn and non sworn employees and 28 citizen volunteers working at the Post Falls Police Department.
The Police Department consists of three primary Divisions, Patrol, Investigations and Communications. Each Division is overseen by a Division Commander.
There are 14 specific programs within the Post Falls Police Department. These programs consist of administration, patrol, motorcycle patrol unit, communications, animal safety, investigations, community services, records, and juvenile investigations/school resource officers, Crime Victims Advocates, Information Technology, Chaplaincy, Volunteers in Police Service and Volunteers on Patrol. Within each of these areas there are many community policing oriented programs. Some of the programs consist of D.A.R.E. (Drug, Alcohol Resistance Education), O.A.S.I.S. (Officers and Advocates Sharing Intervention Services), H.O.P.E. for Teens (Healthiness Offers Peaceful Enjoyment), S. O. G. (Special Operations Group), K-9 Unit (search and drug unit), S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons and Tactics), block watch, vacation and property watch, and traffic education school.
The Post Falls Police Department is one of the most technologically advanced departments in the area. Patrol cars are equipped with mobile data computers through a City owned wireless network. Officers can get information immediately, view photos, and verify facts and information. With this network officers and communications are able to monitor cameras that are installed strategically throughout the city. Officers utilize e-citation to issue traffic citations. This time saving program automatically uploads citation information into our data base as well as the local court system. This saves on manpower as well as errors. The Post Falls Police Department also actively uses license plate recognition (LPR) technology to apprehend and recover stolen vehicles.
