The Support Services Bureau includes several divisions that help the police department function on a daily basis. One main and very important division is the Records Division, which is responsible for all police reports, traffic crash reports, and arrest reports. Many police reports have to be kept for many years, so the new larger area and filing system was greatly needed when we moved to the new Alton Law Enforcement Center in May 2002. 

The Traffic Division also falls under Support Services. The Traffic Division has many duties besides writing traffic citations. They investigate all serious and fatal traffic crashes, conduct follow up investigations of hit and run accidents, remove abandoned vehicles from our city streets, conduct traffic studies for the city administration and coordinate all city parades and special events. The Traffic Division is also responsible for the fleet of police cars and communication equipment. 

The Nuisance Abatement Task Force is also supervised by the Support Services Lieutenant. The Nuisance Abatement Task Force was created as a tool for the Weed and Seed Strategy to target top problem properties that are causing quality of life issues in our neighborhoods. These problem properties could be suspected drug houses, areas of prostitution, properties with junk and trash, derelict cars, or nuisance animals. The task force is made up of Alton Police Officers, Building and Zoning Officers and Animal Control. 

The Support Services Commander is also the landlord liaison officer for the Alton Police Department. This position was created several years ago so that the police department could have a close working relationship with area landlords and help them in screening their tenants. We also educate the landlords in how to recognize and report suspected drug activity. Attending the Rental Property Owners' Association monthly meeting has given both the police and local landlords a mutual respect and made it much easier to address landlord/tenants issues and criminal matters. 

The Support Services Bureau of the Alton Police department encompasses a wide variety of services all designed to help maintain a safe, pleasant community for the citizens of Alton. Please feel free to contact the Support Services Bureau if you have questions or concerns regarding any of our services. 

Lt Gary Cranmer