The residents here are very proud of their Orange Police Department who are leaders in crime fighting effectiveness and who are very active in both youth and community issues. Like many of the other cities in OC, they believe their success comes directly a result of working with the community to preserve the great quality of life in Orange.

The Orange Police Department has several Bureaus and divisions.  For instance, their Crime Prevention Bureau offers a variety of free services to their community like: Building Security Ordinances, Child Safety, Home and Business Security Inspections, Neighborhood and Business Watch, Crime Prevention Information, and Vehicle Security.

They have a complete Investigative Services Division that helps prepare cases for the District Attorney's office in Santa Ana. This Division is commanded by a Captain who oversees several crime investigation officers.

There is also a Violent Crimes Unit that investigates homicides, robberies, rapes and sexual assaults, child abuse, stalking, domestic violence and more.  They have a cutting edge forensic laboratory that can process most evidence from crime scenes.

The lab analyzes fingerprints and submits them to the CAL-ID system for identification, too.  The VCU is staffed by a sergeant, seven detectives, a domestic violence Police Service Officer and a Forensic Specialist.

The C of O’s Police Property Crimes Unit handles burglaries, thefts (auto and personal) and fraud. This unit is made up of one detective and an officer from the Patrol Division whose primary responsibility is to present the D.A.R.E. program to fifth grade classes in the Orange Unified School District.

These two also investigate runaway juveniles. There is even a School Resource Officer who specializes is campus related crime.

A Property Section receives evidence, as well as found and "safekeeping" property. They have a pretty famous police artist/detective on hand who works with computerized age progression. To do this, he takes the last known photograph of a long term missing child and creates an "age progressed" image. He has often played a key role in recovering missing kids.

The COPD has a Narcotics and Vice Unit that specializes in solving crimes specific to narcotics, alcohol and vice issues like prostitution and gambling. A Youth Services Bureau (YSB) concentrates on enforcing laws related to juveniles.

As you can see, the City of Orange Police Department is well equipped to deal with an amazing variety of law enforcement situations!

And… once their cases are concluded, their Property and Evidence Unit stores, releases, or disposes of all items of property received by police during the course of business. Items that cannot be returned to their rightful owners are auctioned off to the public on line.

The City of Orange, which was incorporated in 1888, is located in Central Orange County. This city is about 27 square miles in size and has a population of 138,640.

Orange dates back to 1869 when Alfred Chapman and Andrew Glassell, both lawyers, founded it by accepting 1,385 acres of land from the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana as payment for legal fees.

Soon after, these lawyers created a one square mile town with ten-acre farm lots surrounding a forty-acre central town site.  The center of the town site became known as the Plaza, which has become the symbol of the community.

The City of Orange is one of the most diverse cities in California and the sixth largest city in Orange County.