Historically, which city in the US had the first police department?
1844, New York City founded a police force based on the London Metropolitan Police. Pior to that, villages, towns, and even cities relied on the idea of a constable.
The only thing I’ve found earlier than what Tom cites would be the Capitol Police, created by Congress in 1828.
FWIW, as an aside, the United States Marshals Service has been around since 1789.
(tomndebb, your reputation precedes you, so I tremble as I type this. Please do not smite me if you find fault with my post. Thank you. Thank you.)
tomndebb’s post gives the false impression that NYC’s 1844 police force was the first “professional” one in the city, and that the earlier constable system was somehow like a volunteer fire brigade. While it’s true that Gotham had citizen patrols going back to the days of its Dutch founding, in 1762 the Common Council established a paid standing police force.
There I said it. Don’t hit me. Don’t hit me…
What fearsome reputation is that?
I merely paraphrased the EB, then provided a link to the same. Cecil has proven the EB to be in error on at least one occasion, so if there is better info on the subject, you certainly won’t offend me with it.
I didn’t get the idea that constables were volunteers, only that a constabulary differed from a police force in being organized more loosely and having less clear procedural protocols. (I tend to think of them as security guards with the power to arrest criminals.) The FAQ at the New York City Police Museum does not even mention the 1762 event. It does, however, mention that the police department was formed upon the retirement of the last chief constable, implying that the constables were paid for their services by the city.
Obviously this topic is of great interest to you, Insider. I’d refer you to the following book: “City Police”, by Jonathan Rubinstein. 1973, Library of Congress Catalogue # 72-96317. Published by Farrar,Straus and Giroux.
It’s an incredibly detailed study of Urban Policing. The first chapter deals solely with the origins of a constabulary, and then the first police departments, sic. It also makes for a VERY strong argument linking the invention of gin with the rise in urban violence, and the clear need for policing. Thank god I stick to Laudinum.
The Metropolitan Police of London ( so-called “New Police”) were established in 1829.He then says that between 1830 and the Civil War, such cities as Brooklyn,New York, Philadelphia and Boston made use of this model of modern policing, and began to elimiate constabularies and form organized policing forces.
It is an incredible book. Find it, buy it, own it,see the movie, obtain the underground T-Shirt. :D
CartooniverseI didn’t know the answer to that, but Oklahoma City had the first parking meter.
Hey, I’m just here to help out.
Sorry for the off topic post, but I just had to quote this bit from the Scientific American that just arrived today.
50, 100 & 150 years ago
October 1850
“The city of Pittsburgh has now two bodies of night watchmen, one appointed by the Mayor, and the other by the Police Committee. Their duties, so far, have been confined to arresting each other.”
–sublight.
Hey, Sub, that’s nothing.
In the 1860’s NYC, too, had two rival police forces, one sanctioned by the (corrupt) mayor, Fernando Wood, and the other sanctioned by the NYS legislature. They spent more time beating each other up than catching criminals. Things came to a head one day at City Hall during the naming of a new street commissioner. Both groups were present, and one thing led to another, resulting in a full-scale police vs. police riot. Order was restored by the lucky arrival of the 7th Regiment National Guard who, after they calmed the warring policemen, arrested the mayor!
We do things in a big way, here in the big city.
Oops. Make that the 1850s. Sorry. Carry on…
Oh yeah, well my uncle invented the yield sign. Come to think of it, he lived in Oklahoma too. Go figure.
New York’s Police refused to wear badges for the first several years. They figured the badges would make them visible targets. They were right.
mavpace-- yield signs are useless. A waste of sheet metal.
mavpace, that was your uncle!?!
Did you see the piece in the NYT magazine end-of-year obituaries a few years back that featured him? I don’t remember any of the other tributes, great or small, but I remember his.
stuyguy,
Those kind of inter-precinct rivalries are still going on in some places. Earlier this year in Niigata, Japan, an off-duty cop was arrested for assaulting a taxi driver while drunk. When he told his sergeant what had happened, the sergeant ordered his men to start arresting officers from the arressting officer’s precinct in retaliation.
Japan is a fairly safe place, but it has absolutely nothing to do with an effective police force. With all due respect to Bear_Nenno, if someone starts a thread in IMHO or MPSIMS on stupid cop tricks, I’ll have a few stories to tell…
–sublight.