The Montgomery Police Department was established in 1820 as the primary law enforcement body for the City of Montgomery. The Montgomery Police Department is currently allocated 524 sworn officers and 200 civilian employees. The Montgomery Police Department serves a population of 202,000 citizens of Montgomery as well as 150,000 others who travel to or through the city on a daily basis. MPD's role is to enforce laws in a fair and impartial manner, recognizing both the statutory and judicial limitations of police authority and the constitutional rights of all persons. It is not the role of the department to legislate, to render legal judgments, or to punish. The primary responsibility for upholding the law lies not with the police, but with the people. Since crime is a social phenomenon, crime prevention is the concern of every person living in society. Society employs full-time professional police officers to prevent crime, to deter it, and when that fails, to apprehend those who violate the law. Crime is a symptom of ills within society which is not the responsibility of the department to cure. The department is responsible, however, for interacting with the community to generate mutual understanding so that there may be public support for crime prevention. Community involvement is essential to facilitate a free flow of information between the public and the department, to assist in identification of problem areas, and to inform the public of crime statistics and trends. Additionally, knowledge of the community is necessary so that each employee may be instilled with a sense of concern for crime problems and law enforcement needs
