Agencies work together to keep Iowa safe

The job of an Iowa law enforcement officer ranges from enforcing the law to complimenting our youngest citizens on their choice of costume/AP photo/the Hawk Eye / John Lovretta.

By Kathy Hogan
Iowa.com

The Iowa Department of Public Safety, (DPS) organized in 1939, provides law enforcement services to the people of Iowa in cooperation with the 99 county sheriff’s offices,  and over 400 municipal police departments. Law enforcement is organized in a decentralized fashion in Iowa, so cooperation with and support for local law enforcement are extremely important to the department’s operation.

One of the divisions under the DPS umbrella is the Iowa State Patrol, with 378 dedicated officers who travel everyday across 112,000 miles of Iowa roadway, divided up into 16 districts across the state.

Just a few of the task forces under DPS include: Keep Iowa Clean and Beautiful, Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children, Amber Alert (in cooperation with other states), the state Sex Offender Registry, and various educational safety services.

Iowa is one of the lower crime rate states nationally and in the Midwest. Iowa sheriff offices, city police departments and state law enforcement agencies from 233 geographical districts report crime information to the Program Services Bureau at the DPS.  According to the Iowa Legislature, Iowa is lower in crime nationally by 70 percent, especially in the areas of violent crime and property crime, making Iowa an ideal place to live, work and raise a family.

Source: Iowa Department of Public Safety.

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