The motto, to "Protect and Serve," states the essential purpose of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department. The Department protects the right of all persons within its jurisdiction to be free from criminal attack, to be secure in their possessions, and to live in peace. The Department serves the people of Coeur d'Alene by performing the law enforcement function in a professional manner. It is to these people that the Department is ultimately responsible.
A large urban society free from crime and disorder remains an unachieved ideal; nevertheless, consistent with the values of a free society, it is the primary objective of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department to, as closely as possible, approach that ideal. In so doing, the Department’s role is to enforce the law in a fair and impartial manner, recognizing both the statutory and judicial limitations of police authority and the constitutional rights of all persons. It is not the role of the Department to legislate, to render legal judgments or to punish.
