[8] In 2013, Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies recognized the Metropolitan Police Department with it distinguished Tri-Arc Award.

[10] The composition of the department's total personnel, according to the 2020 annual report, was:[11] Starting salary for a Metropolitan police officer is $53,196, increasing to a maximum of $190,387.

[14] Officers with the SLMPD have been accused of several incidents of alleged police misconduct,[15][16] obstruction of justice,[15][17] violations of civil rights,[18] and racial prejudice.

In December 2012, St. Louis medical examiner ruled the death of Kerwin Harris, age 39, as accidental, caused primarily by heart disease.

Officer Steven Pinkerton allegedly mistook Harris for a robbery suspect as a Black man wearing glasses and knit hat driving a Buick Century.

His family, including four children, were not allowed to see his body and received no details about his death until interviewed for a 2024 Missouri Independent investigation.

According to the prosecutors, officers Christopher Myers, Randy Hays, and Dustin Boone used excessive force in the form of kicking Hall and beating him with their police batons.

Officer Boone allegedly texted "it’s gonna be a lot of fun beating the hell out of those shitheads once the sun goes down and nobody can tell us apart!!!

[25] Colletta pled guilty to giving false testimony to cover up the attack on Hall, and admitted she had lied to the FBI and to a federal grand jury.

[28] An indictment released in December 2019 revealed that a fifth officer, Steve Korte, was also charged for violently beating Hall, and then lying to the FBI about his involvement.

Officer Korte was later unanimously found not guilty by the jury, after evidence was shown in trial proving he was nowhere near Luther Hall when he was attacked.

[37] In June 2019 officers and employees from numerous police departments in the United States were found to have participated in a number of private groups on Facebook that shared content that was described as racist,[38] violent, and Islamophobic.

Claims as to the cause of the crash were contradicted by video evidence gathered from civilians, no toxicology test was taken for the driver, and the initial charge of a felony against the arrested bar owner was reduced to a misdemeanor after he was held more than a day in custody.

It was also found that the arresting officer, who is accused of beating the bar owner, had previously broken bones of an arrestee already in handcuffs.

[44][45] The incident increased scrutiny of cruiser crashes, including an apparent cover-up of a destroyed church sign from the preceding summer.

In March 2024, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen were told by a police representative that there was no recent upswing in incidents, which conflicted with data showing a 44% spike in 2019.

Each Major serves as a member of the Senior Command staff and assists each Lieutenant Colonel in managing civilian and commissioned personnel within their assigned areas.

Upon successful completion of 3 months of field training and an additional 1-year probationary period, they attain their full rank.

Bureaus are often subdivided into smaller divisions and units The City of St. Louis is divided geographically into three area patrol stations and six police districts and 6 substations.