The District Police Department is a full-service, fully certified, police agency within the State of California staffed by sworn peace officers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year. The District Police Department is not a branch of any other law enforcement agency.
The Police Officers are vested with law enforcement powers pursuant to California Penal Code Section 830.32(a) and California Education Code Section 72330, have police authority throughout the state, and primary law enforcement jurisdiction for all crimes occurring on District properties. Police officers have full powers of arrest, enforce local, state and federal laws both on and off campus, and as full peace officers, their police authority includes concurrent law enforcement jurisdiction on adjacent streets and in the communities surrounding District properties. The District Police Department also complies with the Kristin Smart Campus Safety Act by maintaining formal operational agreements with law enforcement agencies sharing concurrent law enforcement jurisdiction to ensure prompt law enforcement response and collaboration in incidents requiring inter-agency cooperation. Police Officers employed by the District meet all training requirements as mandated by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training and actually are mandated to have more training than county or municipal law enforcement officers. Each Police Officer has graduated from a regional police academy, completed a rigorous field training program, and must complete a probationary period. Additionally, each police officer is updated in training throughout the year to include firearms, defensive tactics, first aid/CPR, and legal updates.
Officers also receive many hours of specialized training to include crime prevention, sexual assault investigation, emergency preparedness and response, evidence collection, domestic violence response, and more and attend countywide and statewide police planning and training meetings and conferences.  All officers also receive specific training designed to meet the diverse needs of the educational community. Law enforcement duties and responsibilities of police officers are identical to municipal police departments or sheriff departments in your home community.

The District Police Department provides 24-hour law enforcement protection of College District buildings, property, parking lots, and facilities utilized by the District. Officers investigate crimes, respond to burglary and robbery alarms, to suspicious persons and incidents, and provide responses to police, medical, and fire incidents. Campus and District facilities are generally open to the campus community, visitors and guests Monday - Friday from 7 a.m. to 11p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and during other hours as certain special events dictate. Campus shrubbery, trees and other vegetation are routinely trimmed and artificial lighting maintained with safety issues in mind.

The campus community is encouraged to report unsafe conditions, safety concerns, or exterior lighting issues to Facilities Operations at 527-4231, Environmental Health & Safety at 527-4803, or to District Police at 527-1000.

Criminal activity and other emergencies that occur on campus should be reported to the District Police Department immediately. District police officers respond to all on-campus reports of fire, police, or medical emergencies.

The District Police Department has primary law enforcement jurisdiction for all criminal incidents that occur on campuses and District facilities. This includes incident investigation, follow-up, and resolution. If you are off-campus and are uncertain of the police jurisdiction you are in, your emergency call will be properly routed by dialing 911. For non-emergency information, contact any Sonoma County police agency and the dispatcher will refer you to the agency with primary jurisdiction over your incident.

Emergencies on-campus : For all police, fire, and medical emergencies call 527-1000 from any phone on campus. District Police Officers will be dispatched to all crimes in progress and other emergencies along with appropriate fire and medical personnel as necessary.

Emergency Call Boxes and Direct-Dial Phones: Emergency call boxes are located on each floor of the parking garage and installation of additional emergency call boxes is continuing throughout the Santa Rosa Campus, Petaluma Center, Public Safety Training Center and other district Properties in 2008/2009, pending financial availability. These boxes enable anyone to contact Police Dispatch 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for in-progress crimes, fire, and medical emergencies by merely pushing a button. A camera will show the area surrounding the call box as well as give the person direct audio contact with Police Dispatch. These call boxes do not provide access to general telephone services.
 
There are several direct-dial telephones located in building elevators throughout the campus, which ring directly into Police Dispatch. These auto-dialing phones may be used to summon emergency police, fire, or medical assistance.

All payphones on campus have a feature where dialing “*” and 80 will automatically connect the caller to police dispatch without having to deposit any money. This is a convenience as well as a quick way to reach police in an emergency.

Non-emergencies on-campus: The non-emergency, business telephone number to reach the District Police Department is 527-1000. This number should be utilized to report property crimes such as theft from a car or building, or to obtain non-emergency police services and information such as fingerprinting, parking citation information, requests for safety escorts to and from parking lots and buildings, and crime prevention information.

Emergencies non-campus facilities and off-campus: The non-campus facilities and off-campus emergency telephone number in Sonoma County is “9-1-1.” Use this number for community-based fire, police, and medical services.  The call is free from all payphones. When dialing 9-1-1 from a cellular telephone, you will be connected to the California Highway Patrol Dispatch Center in Benicia, CA so you will need to provide dispatchers with the county, city, and specific location where emergency response is needed.