The Community Policing Bureau is the largest and most visible bureau, overseeing the majority of the department’s uniformed officers. This bureau is responsible for the safety of Ocala residents and visitors. Their primary function is to enforce the law, preserve peace, reduce fear, and work in partnership with the Ocala community.

The bureau is divided into two districts, which are further divided into four quadrants. When fully staffed, the bureau has 94 police officers, 19 sergeants, four lieutenants, and two district captains.

The investigative units within this bureau are responsible for the follow-up investigations of felony crimes committed against persons or property in the City of Ocala which requires a degree of specialization or a centralized investigative approach.

Major Crimes Unit

This unit investigates crimes committed against people, including homicide, robbery, sex crimes, and aggravated battery/assault.

Property Crimes Unit

This unit investigates various crimes including burglary, theft, a.

Economic Crimes Unit

This unit investigates financial-related crimes, including scams and fraud.

The Special Operations Bureau houses several units, each specializing in key aspects of law enforcement and community engagement. They are the K9 Unit, Traffic Unit, Youth Development, and Training Unit. Together, these units embody OPD’s mission to enhance the quality of life in Ocala by providing specialized, community-focused police services.

Our canine teams include highly trained officers and police dogs, led by a supervising sergeant. They assist with criminal apprehension, drug detection, building searches, tracking, and crime deterrence. The unit also provides public demonstrations for schools and community groups.

CSS handle non-criminal calls such as traffic crashes, parking violations, citizen assists, abandoned vehicles, missing persons, and lost property. They also manage certain misdemeanor complaints with no suspects. This frees patrol officers for emergency calls. CSS educate the public on car safety and install child restraints after becoming certified technicians.

The Traffic Unit's mission is to reduce crashes and violations through enforcement, education, and visibility. They investigate traffic complaints, enforce laws, and run safety programs. The unit also supports traffic-related grants and works to lower injuries and fatalities on our roads.

This bureau plays a vital role supporting our department so it operates smoothly and efficiently. It includes recruitment, supply, facilities maintenance, fleet management, fiscal services, and records. These teams make sure the Ocala Police Department stays well-equipped, efficient, and focused on serving the community.

Records

The primary goal of the Records Section is to ensure the safekeeping and confidentiality of records, provide support to both the public and our agency, and manage the records effectively. This includes handling archived records, current cases, traffic accident reports, and traffic tickets for the police department.

As one of the smallest bureaus, this team oversees the information technology needs for both the Ocala Police Department and Ocala Fire Rescue. The core mission of this bureau is to assist in bringing criminals to justice and safety to our citizens by providing and maintaining state-of-the-art technology and equipment to our public safety professionals.