AboutUs

Mission Statement

The mission of the Cortez Police Department is to enhance the partnership between businesses, citizens and the police by providing responsive and professional service.

Cortez, in the southwest corner of Colorado, is where the San Juan mountains meet the desert canyon country. It is close to the four corners area where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The elevation is 6200 feet above sea level. Cortez is located 10 miles from the entrance of Mesa Verde National Park, and the county includes many other spectacular archeological sites

Navajos call Cortez "Tsaya-toh" which means "rock water". The stream that watered Navajo sheep attracted ranchers to what they in turn called Mitchell Springs. The name was changed when Cortez was founded in 1886. Farming and ranching became the towns economic mainstay. Cortez also became a major trading center for Native Americans. Today Cortez is the service center for the richest archeological area in the United States.

Cortez is the seat for Montezuma County. Mancos and Dolores are the only other towns located in this county which is mostly unincorporated. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe is located in the southwest corner of Montezuma County and is home to Towaoc.

The Cortez Police Department is led by chief Roy Lane. He has served as Police Chief since 1981. Chief Lane has made Law Enforcement a lifelong career in Colorado and previously in Arizona. Our staff consists of 58 employees, 28 of which are certified officers.

Structure of the Cortez Police Department

The Cortez Police Department is divided into five separate divisions, they are as follows:

Administration Division

This division is responsible for the organization, operations, and setting policies for the other divisions within the department. It consists of the following positions:

Chief of Police

Assistant Chief of Police

Administrative Secretary

Victim Response Coordinator

Administrative Division

This division is responsible for the keeping of criminal arrest information, police reports, property/evidence, photos, parking control, fingerprinting for the public, entering all data into NCIC & CCIC computers as well as answering the phones during normal business hours. It consists of the following positions:

Administrative Lieutenant

Administrative Supervisor

Records Technicians

Evidence Technician/Parking Control

Communications Division

This division is the 911 PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) for all of Montezuma and Dolores Counties. They dispatch calls for law enforcement, fire, EMS (Emergency Medical Services) and the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Mesa Verde National Park. This division consists of the following positions:

Communication Supervisor

Communications Technicians

Patrol Division

This division is responsible for handling calls for service such as traffic accidents, criminal activity, public safety issues, traffic violations, abandon vehicles, trash/ weeds, animal control and just about anything else that you can think of. They do it all. This division consists of the following positions:

Patrol Sergeants

Patrol Officers

School Resource Officers

D.A.R.E. Officer

G.R.E.A.T. Officer

Community Service Officer

Animal Control Officer

Patrol Secretary

Investigations Division

This division is responsible for handling the majority of felony offenses. They investigate everything from burglaries to homicides. This division also has one detective that is assigned to handle check cases for Montezuma and Dolores counties. This division consists of the following positions:

Detective Sergeant

Detectives

Detective Secretary

We hoped that you now have a better understanding on how the Cortez Police Department is structured and what each division is responsible for.