Charleston Department of Public Safety

06/11/2026

Charleston DPS has earned the Blue Shield Designation for 2026

05/29/2026

The Charleston DPS recently purchased new duty weapons for our officers. The handguns were purchased with money seized during drug investigations. Officers have been issued a combination of G***K 47 and G***K 45 COA pistols.

05/20/2026

Technology has its place........

Last year, Austin made the decision to turn off its Flock camera network following a public pressure campaign built on misinformation about how the technology works. This weekend showed what that tradeoff can look like.

For nearly 24 hours, three suspects moved through Austin in stolen vehicles, carrying out a shooting spree across 12 separate locations. People were shot. Homes, apartment buildings, businesses, and fire stations were hit. Robberies and additional car thefts piled up as the suspects kept moving.

The response was massive. 200 officers, helicopter support, K9 units, a full manhunt. Even with all of that, the suspects stayed ahead of law enforcement. Then they crossed into Manor, Texas.

Manor is a city of roughly 20,000 residents with a fraction of Austin's resources. What Manor has is an active license plate recognition network and the community support to keep it running. Manor PD located the suspects almost immediately. The spree ended. Residents stayed safe.

We're grateful for the officers in both cities who worked to bring this to a close, and we're glad it's over. Austin is a great city full of people who deserve to feel safe in their neighborhoods. Our hope is that stories like Manor's can help inform the conversation about what these tools actually do, and what communities lose when they're taken away.

05/17/2026

05/14/2026

At the City Council meeting on 05/12. PSO Ie'meon Giles and PSO Austin Henson were recognized for their actions that led to quick arrests after a recent shooting on 04/01. Their actions reflect positively on the department and the City of Charleston. Shown L to R in the photo is PSO Giles, DIR Hearnes and PSO Henson.

04/27/2026

With severe weather in the forecast, have multiple ways to receive alerts and warnings. Be prepared, be safe.

04/24/2026

We will be collecting unused medications in our lobby from 10am to 2pm on Saturday 04/25.

04/19/2026

One way streets and parking restrictions on Commercial and Cypress Streets are over.

04/15/2026

One way traffic and parking restrictions on East Commercial and East Cypress begin on the morning of Thursday 04/16 and will run thru Sunday night 04/19.

01/31/2026

Press Release:

On 01/29/2026 at about 9:25pm, our agency received a call of a person shot at 407 West Cypress Street. Responding officers found a 16-year-old male inside the residence. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The scene was secured and the SEMO Major Case Squad was requested to assist with the investigation. As a result of that investigation, it was determined that the victim was shot by accident. A 14 year old male was taken into custody and turned over to Juvenile authorities. Manslaughter charges are expected to be filed soon.

Auth: Robert Hearnes

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