Specialized Response Division

The Specialized Response Division of the Tucson Police Department is tasked with providing and coordinating the department’s response to critical incidents in terms of planning and tactical deployment of personnel and equipment. The division is the principal advisor to the Chief of Police regarding all critical incident response protocols. The Specialized Response Division may be considered in terms of the Special Operations Branch within the police department. The direct phone line for this police division is 520-791-4000.

The division is commanded by a captain selected by the Chief of Police. The captain has a management staff consisting of four commanders at the rank of lieutenant as assigned by the Chief of Police. The division consists of the following sections and/or units.

Emergency Management Section
This section is commanded by a lieutenant with a number of sergeants as authorized by the annual budget and assigned by the Chief of Police. This section is focused on Disaster and Emergency Planning and assists as required for Special Event Planning.

Emergency Response Section
This section is commanded by a lieutenant with a number of sergeants as authorized by the annual budget and assigned by the Chief of Police. This Section is comprised of the Special Weapons And Tactics Team (SWAT) and the Explosive and Hazardous Devices Detail (EHDD)

Hostage/Crisis Team (HCT)
This Unit is commanded by a lieutenant that administratively reports to the commander of the Specialized Response Division. It is staffed as authorized by the annual budget and assigned by the Chief of Police.  All members that are assigned to this unit have primary duties elsewhere within the department.

Special Duty Unit
This unit is staffed with three administrative assistants as authorized by the annual budget and assigned by the Chief of Police. This unit coordinates all secondary employment opportunities for sworn personnel within the department.

Specialty Vehicle Unit (SVU)
This unit is staffed by a special duty officer who is tasked with maintaining and ensuring that all of the division's special response vehicles are available for immediate response to critical incidents and situations. These vehicles include the variety of mobile command posts, SWAT and Hostage unit vehicles, TPD’s Rapid Response Team vehicle, and the agency’s armored rescue vehicles.

Field Response Unit
This squad of patrol officers is commonly referred to as the “PowerSquad.” This unit is staffed with six officers and one sergeant. It is tasked with responding as a unit to assist the various geographical patrol divisions in resolving calls for service from the community. It can be moved tactically throughout the city to address the challenges associated with abnormal spikes in quantity of calls waiting for dispatch within specific areas. It is also utilized as a quick response team to critical emergency calls such as bank robberies, lost children, homicide, or other such incidents.

Force Command Unit
This unit is staffed by two police lieutenants and is designed to provide citywide police command oversight of patrol resources during normal daily operations. Their tasks include directing, controlling, and managing normal patrol assets and ensuring that those assets are deployed and responding to calls for service in the most efficient manner possible. Other tasks include directing and managing serious tactical situations, major crime scenes, and other high-profile incidents.