Upper Dublin Police Department
The Upper Dublin Police Department, also known simply as the UDPD, is a First Class Civil Service Criminal Justice System that operates under the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its statutes. They operate within a 13 square mile (34 km²) area that includes the town of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania and the Township of Upper Dublin. The department's 40 full-time officers are divided between two major divisions: Patrol and Staff. These divisions are then divided into three support areas identified as Communications, Adult Investigations, and Juvenile Investigations. Additionally, there are several specialized units identified as Tactical Response, Medical Response, Bike Patrol, Traffic Safety, and DARE education.
The department is a member of the Montgomery County 800 MHz Trunked Communications System and utilizes it for their dispatching purposes. Their Motorola Talkgroup ID number is 2320. Currently, the entire county is in the process of switching over to a completely digital radio system in order to add more features and increase reliability. For more information, please visit this website.
UDPD will only consider the top 30 applicants who take the Montgomery County Consortium test to become an entry-level police officer. They require that applicants earn 60 college credits, although that requirement may be waived if an applicant has three years of prior police experience.1 Upper Dublin Police Department is an accredited agency through the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission.2
Significant events
==Patrol vehicle== The Upper Dublin Police Department utilizes the Chevrolet Tahoe Police Package Vehicle (PPV). The Tahoe PPV is a rear-wheel drive vehicle comparable to the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (CVPI). The particular Tahoe PPV that the UDPD drives features a paint scheme in the township's colors (green and orange) and, starting in late 2004, has the words "In Memory of Sgt. James Miller" written above the rear quarter-panel. On the exterior, UDPD's Tahoes are additionally modified to include a rear lightbar with an arrow stick, emergency strobes on the rear quarter-panels, strobes on the deck lid, strobes on the front fenders, and strobes on the front push bar. These additional lights far exceed the State's requirements and are done so in the name of safety. The vehicle sits on 16" wheels wrapped with 255/70R16 All-Season SBR Blackwall H-Rated shoes.
On the interior, the front cloth seats provide spacious room for the officers and their equipment. The center console houses all the radio equipment, including the Motorola trunked communications system. A LCD screen mounted from the floor provides the officer with all the information they need while on the road. Vehicles are equipped with in-car-cameras. The back seats are vinyl for easy cleanup. The rear cargo area features equipment vital to performing the duties of an officer. All marked units are equipped with AEDS. On the QRS unit (Quick Response Service), an AED (automated external defibrillator) is placed additionally inside this cargo area, as well as other EMT supplies. The QRS unit is actually a highly-modified Chevrolet Suburban. It should be noted that there is only one QRS unit in service in the UDPD. EMTs are assigned to each patrol squad to man the medic responder.
Mechanically speaking, the Tahoe PPV has a top speed of 125 MPH and packs a powerful Vortec 5300 V-8 engine that produces 295 horsepower (220 kW) and 330 foot-pounds (447 Nm) of torque tied to a 4-speed Allison transmission. A 26 US gallon (98 L) gas tank fuels the engine, which can run on either 87 octane or E85 Ethanol Alcohol. A 160 watt alternator provides power for the vehicle, which includes recharging the heavy-duty 770 CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) battery after the engine turns over. This alternator is also hooked up to a DC-AC inverter, which provides power to three 110-VAC outlets located throughout the vehicle.
In 2007, the township added cars striped blue, not green.