The
Kansas City, Missouri Police Department
had its beginning April 15, 1874,
when the Board of Police Commissioners,
with George
Caleb Bingham (famed Missouri
artist) as its president, appointed
Thomas M.
Speers to fill the office from
April 15, 1874, to May 4, 1895.
No chief since that time has held
the office as long as Chief Speers.
Chief Clarence
M. Kelley, who in 1973 resigned
to become the second permanent Director
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
was head of the Kansas City Police
Department almost twelve years and
was second in the length of time
he served the citizens of Kansas
City. Both of these men were far
advanced in their talents and actions
in the field of law enforcement,
capable of giving the most to the
citizens of Kansas City for the
dollars spent and the manpower available.
Since
the appointment of Chief Speers,
Kansas City has been served by thirty-four
men as head of the department. A
search into history of the background
of each of these men soon reveals
that each had an outstanding gift
of leadership and responsibility
that suited them for the important
office they filled.
In
front of the Police Headquarters
Building, 1125 Locust, stands a
statue of a police officer cuddling
a small child in his arms. The monument
in itself relates a story, but a
closer look reveals one hundred
and nineteen names engraved in the
stone - men who gave their lives
in upholding the oath they took
at the time they became police officers.
These men gave everything with the
hope that their sacrifice would
make the city a better place to
live. If space permitted, each name
would make a story well worth telling.
Communication has always been most
important to the efficiency of any
police department. With this knowledge,
Kansas City has always been one
of the first to adopt better and
faster communication with the officer
in the field. In approximately 1902,
the Gamewell Communication System
was adopted. This was an electric
police alarm box operated on telegraphic
principles by which a patrol officer
could send prearranged messages
to headquarters by operating certain
switches. This method was very primitive
when measured by today's standards,
but was a revolutionary advancement
when it was first put into use.
In
1931, the police radio was initiated.
The first of these was an AM radio
that could be used for communication
from a police dispatcher at the
Headquarters Building to the police
cruiser in the field. Again, these
were an improvement over anything
up to that time, but suffered the
drawback of the officer being unable
to voice a reply to the dispatcher.
The
big advancement in communication
by the Kansas City Police Department
was in September, 1935, when two-way
radios were installed in the first
twelve patrol cars. The mobile broadcasting
stations had a power of 7.5 watts.
The sets were installed under the
rear seats of the cars and were
powered by special generators in
no way dependent on the regular
battery. Each car was equipped with
an antenna about "ten feet
high resembling a fishing pole."
Officers were given instructions
in law governing the use of radios
and issued a third-class operator's
license.
Today
each officer has a radio or walkie-talkie
near him at all times when he is
in the field. This is operated through
the modern FM equipment. In addition
to the radio equipment, the officer
has the use of a computer, stored
with information at his fingertips
at all times. Through this computer,
the officer is in communication
with every major law enforcement
agency in the United States.
Another important tool needed for
fast, efficient police work is proper
fast transportation. In the early
history of the department, the city
was divided into beats. These beats
were covered by a patrolman walking
and observing. In the late 1800s,
Chief Speers hired James McManamin
to ride a big bay horse about the
city, patrolling and serving papers.
Young McManamin proved so satisfactory
that other mounted patrolmen were
put on the city's streets. The mounted
patrol grew until its number reached
forty-five. This method of patrolling
was phased out on Labor Day, 1929,
when it was found that horses were
too expensive compared to more modern
methods of transportation.
