The Berkeley Police Department (BPD) is the municipal police department for the city of

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

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History

Shortly after Berkeley was incorporated in 1878, a town marshal and constables were elected to provide law enforcement.

August Vollmer August "Gus" Vollmer (March 7, 1876 – November 4, 1955) was the first police chief of Berkeley, California, and a leading figure in the development of the field of criminal justice in the United States in the early 20th century. He has been de ...

had been the town marshal since 1905, and was appointed to be the first chief of police in 1909. He remained chief until he retired in 1932, although he left from 1923 to 1924 when briefly appointed the chief of the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

. On May 15, 1969, at the request of Berkeley mayor

Wallace J.S. Johnson Wallace J. S. Johnson (January 29, 1913 – August 12, 1979) was Mayor of Berkeley, California. A moderate Republican and the last of his party to hold the office, he served two terms from 1963 to 1971 during the most politically turbulent time in ...

, Governor Ronald Reagan ordered the Berkeley PD and

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enforcem ...

to clear People's Park, at the time a vacant lot that local left-wing activists had been turning into a garden. This prompted the "Bloody Thursday" riots. In 2012, the Department provoked controversy when Chief Meehan ordered a plainclothes officer to the home of journalist Doug Oakley at 12:45 a.m. to request he make changes to a story. After this was widely condemned as potential intimidation, Chief Meehan apologized. Another controversy arose over Chief Meehan's conduct when in 2010 he solicited a $500,000 housing loan from the public funds to purchase an expensive house in Berkeley, at 3% interest, below market rate. City Council member Lawrence Capitelli, who voted in support of the loan, later became Chief Meehan's real estate agent on the house purchase. On September 20, 2016, Meehan abruptly resigned his post. He gave no reason for the resignation, but the local newspaper ''Berkeleyside'' had previously reported on dissatisfaction and low morale among BPD officers. Captain Andrew Greenwood was made acting chief. The Berkeley PD responded to the

2017 Berkeley protests The 2017 Berkeley protests were a series of protests and clashes between organized groups that occurred in the city of Berkeley, California, in the vicinity of the University of California campus. Violence occurred predominantly between proteste ...

violently. Ahead of a speech by

Ben Shapiro Benjamin Aaron Shapiro (born January 15, 1984) is an American attorney, businessman, columnist, conservative political commentator, and media personality. At age 17, he became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the United States. ...

on September 14,

Berkeley City Council Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Eme ...

authorized the police to use pepper spray, which had been previously banned in Berkeley for twenty years.

Timeline

The following is a list of important events in the department's history, as provided on the department's website: *1906 — Installed a basic records system, which was one of the first in the United States. *1906 — Installed the first Modus Operandi (MO) System *1907 — First use of forensic science in the "Kelinschmidt case" (analysis of blood, fibers and soil) *1907 — Department's police school was established. It included instruction from professors on such subjects as the law and evidence procedures. This was the first school of its kind in the world and had a far reaching effect on law enforcement. *1911 — Organized the first Police Motorcycle Patrol *1913 — Changed to automobiles for patrolling *1916 — Chief Vollmer established the first School of Criminology at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and was a strong advocate of college-educated police officers. *1918 — Began using intelligence tests in recruiting police officers *1920 — First lie detector instrument was developed at

by John A. Larson and used by BPD *1921 — Began using a psychiatric screening in recruitment *1923 — First Junior Traffic Police Program was established *1924 — Established one of the first single fingerprint systems *1925 — Established the department's first Crime Prevention Division and hired the department's first female police officer

References

External links

Berkeley Police Department Official Website
{{Police departments of California Government of Berkeley, California Municipal police departments of California Law enforcement in the San Francisco Bay Area

History

Timeline

See also

References

External links