Historical "First" for Ohio
Cincinnati was the first police department to use telephones.
The first Cincinnati law enforcement officer killed in the line of
duty was Watchman Davis. During 1846, Watchman Davis was found shot
to death behind the fence in the old graveyard which is now
Washington Park.
Akron was the first city to use police cars.
The first ambulance service was established in Cincinnati in 1865.
Cincinnati had the first professional city fire department.
Ohio to be the first state in the nation to provide statewide
Abduction Notification System (ANS) in all 88 of its counties.
(9-25-2002, Buckeye Sheriff's Assoc.)
Cleveland boasts America's first traffic light. It began on Aug. 5,
1914.
The first full time automobile service station was opened in 1899 in
Ohio.
East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland was the site of the
first pedestrian button for the control of a traffic light.
Historical "Facts" for Police
In 2002, there were just over 740,000 law enforcement officers in
the United States. Of these about 12 per cent were female.
The first full time city police department in America was organized
in 1845 in New York City.
Theodore Roosevelt was a New York City Police Commissioner from 1895
- 1897. He was appointed by the Legislature of New York as part of
the Lexlow Commission to root out corruption and inefficiency. He
resigned in disgust believing that effective change could not be had
in the New York City Police Department.
August Vollmer, Chief of Police for Berkley California, is
considered to be the father of modern professional policing. He
taught the first criminal science classes at the University of
California in 1916. He took a leave of absence from Berkley for one
year to be Chief of Police of the LAPD. After one year he resigned
and returned to Berkley, stating that there was no hope of ever
changing the corrupt an inefficient LAPD.
O.W. Wilson was a protégé of August Vollmer. He was Chief of Police
of Fullerton, CA, Kansas City, KA, and Superintendent of Police for
Chicago IL. He established the first School of Criminology at the
Berkeley College in 1936. He wrote the definitive text on policing
that is still used today, Police Administration.
There are more than 17,000 separate law enforcement agencies in the
United States. Of these, approximately 500 have achieved
accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law
Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).
In the past 10 years, an average of 161 law enforcement officers
have died in the line of duty. This average includes those officers
killed in the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Half are by
accidental death, and half by felonious acts by others.
From 1970 - 1979, an average of 223 law enforcement officers were
killed in the line of duty each year.
Since 1792, there have been more than 15,000 law enforcement
officers killed in the line of duty.
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial