Patrol Division

The Portage Police Department Patrol Division is under the direction of Captain Mark Monks.

About the Patrol Division

  • Patrol Division has 48 officers comprising 4 patrol crews. Each crew is led by their Lieutenant, Sergeant and Corporal.
  • Patrol Division's primary responsibility is to respond to all calls for service, conduct preliminary investigations of reported crimes, maintain order and enforce criminal traffic laws.
  • Patrol Division has and is developing areas of specialization to better serve the citizens of Portage, including:

Special Weapons & Tactics

The primary mission of the Portage Police department SWAT team is to save lives. The team was founded in 1996 to provide a highly trained, equipped and disciplined team of police officers and paramedics capable of quickly and safely managing potentially volatile situations. The teams' high degree of versatility and specialized training allow it to be utilized in numerous Law Enforcement functions. The team responds to a wide variety of situations, such as hostage rescue, barricaded subject, felons, mental subjects, high-risk warrants, raids, crowd control and operations designated by the chief of police. The team is on call 24 hours a day and responds immediately to calls for service. The team consists of twenty members, divided into two squads. Each squad has police and firefighter/paramedic members. The members are all volunteer and are assigned to other duties in the police and fire departments.

Canine Units

The Portage Police Canine Units are dual-purpose dogs trained in handler protection, obedience, building searches, tracking and narcotics detection. Since the establishment of our canine program, the teams have been involved in several narcotic-related arrests. The largest amount of narcotics found by a team was thirty-six pounds of marijuana located in a garage during a search warrant. Additionally, the teams are regularly used to apprehend fleeing suspects. Besides working the street patrol, the canine teams perform public demonstrations for schools and other community organizations.

Highway Interdiction

The highway interdiction team patrols the interstate for drug trafficking.

Accident Reconstruction

This team actively investigates any fatal and serious bodily injury vehicle crashes within the city. The team utilizes several computer and electronic devices to assist them in reconstructing accident scenes.