Welcome to the Windsor Heights Police Department

 

Chief’s Message:

The Windsor Heights Police Department is a full service law enforcement agency that recognizes its most valuable resource is a close relationship with the community and its contributors. To that end, the department fosters a true community philosophy and encourages personal and professional growth for all members. It is staffed by the best equipped, trained, and dedicated professionals in the business. Agency personnel consistently strive for higher levels of excellence ensuring that their responsibilities are met and that the community's needs are satisfied, doing so with honesty and sincerity for the good of the public. As a small department in the Des Moines metropolitan area, we take great pride in providing high quality service in the most cost effective manner possible. Our staff receives all of the specialized training and technological tools necessary, including mobile data computers, in-car video cameras, and other needed safety equipment to best serve the citizens of Windsor Heights.

The Windsor Heights Police Department has an authorized strength of thirteen full-time and four part-time officers. Full-time officers either work the uniformed Patrol division or in the Support Services section; part-time officers serve in the agency’s ASAP unit (Alcohol Safety Action Program) and target impaired drivers during peak enforcement hours. The department also employs two full-time civilian personnel as administrative support clerks, one crossing guard and several on-call matrons. Dispatching services are provided by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

This organization holds to a philosophy that crime knows no boundaries and thereby strives to establish strong working relationships with surrounding communities and embraces several multi-jurisdictional relationships with organizations such as the Central Iowa Traffic Safety Task Force (CITSTF), Metro STAR, Polk County Emergency Management, Polk County Crime Stoppers, and various state and federal law enforcement partners.

The foundation of this agency is built upon the core values of Protection, Service, Enforcement, and Education. Please feel free to review the links below to our agency's Mission Statement and Community Policing Statement.

     Dennis W. McDaniel

     Chief of Police

     Serving Since 2010

     dmcdaniel@windsorheights.org

 

 

 

 

 

Mission of the Windsor Heights Police Department

Community Policing Statement

 

• LOST Program. The Windsor Heights Police Department, in collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Iowa Chapter, is proud to announce the creation of a new law enforcement program aimed at helping reunite individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s (or any other medical condition which affects memory) who becomes separated from their families.
  
  

• ICE Your Cell Phone (In Case of Emergency) It could save your life and notify loved ones! Your cell phone can help emergency responders and health-care workers to identify you and notify your loved ones.
  
  
• Polk County Emergency Management Community Notification Enrollment.  The emergency management commission has created a sign up form that you can utilize to  sign up to receive notifications when emergencies happen . 
  
  

 Iowa Governor's Traffic and Safety Bureau TV Public

 Service Announcement, featuring Windsor Heights Officer Rob Pearson

 Click the picture to view the entire video.

 

2011 National Night Out Event

The Windsor Heights Police Association would like to extend its thanks to the community for their faithful support and fantastic turnout at our National Night Out celebration held in Colby Park on the evening of August 2nd. We would also like to thank all of our sponsors, community education groups and vendors that donated their time and resources to provide outreach materials. Additionally, we would like to say a very special 'thank you' to the National Guard for allowing a medical Blackhawk helicopter to make a special appearance at our event, and Windsor Heights Fire Lieutenant Jason Cutsforth for not only making this possible, but also flying the helicopter in for the visit! Lastly, on behalf of Windsor Heights Police Officer Hector Arias, who is presently deployed to Afghanistan with the Air national Guard, we appreciate the generous support and supplies that were offered by everyone to send to our military service men and women stationed overseas with Hector. Their efforts abroad to keep us safe and our freedoms protected allow us to hold special community events such as National Night Out.

The Police Association is already looking forward to next year's event which will be held on Tuesday, August 7th. Please plan on joining us for another night out against crime and violence and to support our efforts to build a stronger, safer community.

Click here for pictures!

Windsor Heights Community Collects 800 lbs of Items for Officer Deployed to Afghanistan

 Windsor Heights, Iowa – A call was made, and the word spread - would we collect and send items to our own Windsor Heights Police Officer, Hector Arias, and his fellow service men and women deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan? The community responded with an overwhelming, “Yes!” We collected over 800 lbs of items, filling more than 50 boxes, in just a few weeks time.

The collection started at National Night Out in Colby Park on August 2nd with a donation drive for items to send to Windsor Heights Police Officer [and Senior Master Sergeant with the Air National Guard’s 132nd Fighter Wing] Hector Arias and his military personnel currently deployed with the Iowa Air National Guard. Officer Arias is on his 8th deployment in a twenty-two year military career and is presently overseeing about one thousand US Air Force members in Afghanistan at a NATO air force base. “Little things from home mean a lot, especially when they come from our friends and family. If I can do one little thing to make their stay a little easier, I can have some comfort,” says Officer Arias.

Logistics for this effort included getting the word out quickly through multiple media outlets, collecting, packaging, and finding the best way to send the items overseas (When sending gifts to military personnel stationed overseas, strict guidelines are enforced. There is a list of items prohibited and all packages require an individual U.S. Customs form listing the items contained.). Once dropped off at the U.S. Post Office the packages are sent to New York and then transferred into the Army Post Office system for transport to Afghanistan. The packages can take between one to two weeks to reach their destination.

“We are very pleased with the efforts of our entire community to support this cause. Officer Arias has been a Windsor Heights Police Officer for over nine years and we are proud of his military service,” says Police Chief Dennis McDaniel. “We look forward to his safe return and our thoughts are with all those serving in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The packages are just a small token of appreciation for their service to our country. They are true heroes and if we can do a little to make their time away from home more comfortable, then we need to act without hesitation.”

The primary focus of the collection was personal care products and pre-packaged snacks and sweets that military personnel may not have access to in the field.