The Kansas City Police Historical Society was founded in October of 2004 as a grassroots effort to preserve the history of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. In May of 2005, the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners recognized the Historical Society as the central repository of Kansas City Police history and artifacts. The following month in June of 2005, the Historical Society was incorporated with the Secretary of State of Missouri as a Public Charity 170 (B)(1)(A)(VI) fraternal and social organization comprised of law enforcement and civilian employees, both active and retired from the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. This makes the Historical Society exempt from Federal Income tax under section 501 (c)(3).

The purpose of the Historical Society is to establish, maintain and support a police museum. The society's three primary objectives are:

To preserve all items and stories of historical significance o the Kansas City Police Department,
To educate the public about our long and rich history,
To honor all those who have served our community as members of the police department throughout history.

We hope to achieve these objectives by participating in and promoting a variety of benevolent, charitable, fraternal, patriotic and social activities in and around the Kansas City metropolitan area. In addition, we eulogize former police officers who have made significant contributions to both the police department and community.

The Kansas City Police Historical Society (KCPHS) exists to collect and preserve Kansas City, Missouri's significant police history and the items of interest of our profession in an effort to foster mutual understanding and respect between law enforcement officers and the public.