Berkeley Police Department

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Berkeley Police Department
Established	1909
Jurisdiction	Municipal
Sworn	194
Non-sworn	110
Stations	1
Chief	Douglas N. Hambleton

The Berkeley Police Department (BPD) is the municipal police department for the city of Berkeley, California, USA.

[edit] History

Shortly after Berkeley was incorporated in 1878, a town marshal and constables were elected to provide law enforcement. In 1909, the town marshal was appointed to be the first chief of police. August Vollmer had been the town marshal since 1905, and when he became the first chief, he provided the department with a strong ethical code^[1]. 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 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 scientific investigation method 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 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 University of California, Berkeley 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