The City of San Antonio operates under a council-manager form of municipal government. The City Council is comprised of 10 representatives elected by district and a mayor elected at-large. Council members and the mayor serve a maximum two terms of two years each. The City Council sets policies to be carried out by the city manager. Bexar County is governed by a four-member elected County Commission that is presided over by a county judge, who is also elected. Within the area are 25 suburban cities and special districts created for water, sewer and flood control.

The San Antonio Fire Department is responsible for areas within corporate city limits. Protection outside the city limits is provided by other municipal and volunteer fire departments, except when an outlying area has contracted with the city for fire protection. There are 49 fire stations in the city, staffed by 1,450 firefighters, whose response time averages less than 4.25 minutes to 90 percent of the city.

The San Antonio Police Department patrol service is extended to all areas within the city limits. The police department has 2,614 employees: 2,056 police officers and 558 civilian administrators. There are 1.8 police officers for every 1,000 citizens. The police department focuses on community-based policing. It has many successful crime-reduction programs based on community involvement and cooperation. Police services are decentralized into six substation service areas. In addition to district patrol officers who cover all parts of the city, special San Antonio Fear-Free Environment officers are assigned to work with selected neighborhoods to facilitate citizen participation in crime reduction. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and incorporated municipalities patrol areas outside the city limits.

CRIME
The San Antonio Police Department participates in the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) system, as established by the FBI. This system attempts to ensure consistency in reporting across the 17,000 participating law-enforcement agencies. Between 2002 and 2003, the total number of crimes in the City of San Antonio decreased by 4.2 percent.

For more information, please contact the San Antonio Police Department at (210) 207-7579 or www.sanantonio.gov/sapd/ucr.asp. To compare San Antonio to other jurisdictions, please contact the FBI at www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucrarticle.htm.