The history of the police in Cedar Rapids dates back to 1849 and has many interesting and sometimes almost humorous things that have happened. Some of the details of a few of these incidents are recorded at the Cedar Rapids Public Library. A man named John H. Brooks was the first Cedar Rapids City Marshal when the City was incorporated in 1849. On November 8, 1849, the City Council granted $16.73 to Brooks, who promptly resigned after receiving so much money. The City went through several marshals the next few years. During that time, there was only one man taking on the responsibility of law enforcement in Cedar Rapids, however, by 1883, the marshal had 11 other men working under him. This made a total of 12. These men were divided into two shifts, with both shifts working 12 hours. The day shift consisted of the marshal, his deputy, and three patrolmen, along with one jailer. On the night shift were a chief, a jailer, and four patrolmen. There was also a night watchman who checked on the security of the stores and businesses in the City. Just as a point of interest, a comparison of the payroll and number of arrests for the month of July 1883 between the Cedar Rapids force and the Des Moines force, showed the Des Moines payroll as $981.70 with 65 arrests and the Cedar Rapids payroll as $606.25 with 156 arrests. Statistics are not new to law enforcement in Cedar Rapids. In December of 1885, the City Marshal's report was submitted to the City Council. This report compared the number of arrests per month of males and females for 1884 and 1885. The statistics for 1885 were also broken down into several other categories. Among these were the nature and number of arrests, the nationality of the people who were arrested, and the occupation of the people arrested. Some of the charges, along with the number of people arrested for the charges, were: "Drunk-294, Disturbing the Peace-319, Vagrants-248, Selling Whiskey-22, Inmates of Houses of Ill Fame-7, Prostitutes-24, Insane-6, Disobedience to Parents-1, Mounting Moving Cars-2, Found Asleep in Barns, Yards and Cars-5, Wandering on Streets-1, Allowing Stock to Run at Large Within City Limits-1, Spearing Fish-4, Indecent Exposure of Person-3, and Insulting Ladies on the Street-5. Although this does not seem like a large number of arrests compared to today's statistics, it should be remembered that in 1885 it was the highest total for any City in the State. On October 12, 1888, several Cedar Rapids officers gathered in a meeting to discuss the need of money in the Police Department and how to raise extra money for winter uniform coats. By the end of this meeting, the beginning of what is believed to be the first Cedar Rapids Policeman's Ball had been set into motion. Not only were the police officers and citizens of Cedar Rapids invited to the Policeman's Ball, but also a captain from the Chicago police force and several Des Moines police officers. This affair went very smooth and was enjoyed by all who attended, with about $400 being raised to pay for the new winter coats. After more than 50 years of being an incorporated City, Cedar Rapids finally got its first Chief of Police in 1908. This was made possible by a change in the style of City government to what we know now. Previously, the mayor of the City had been the actual head of the Police Department with the marshal labeled as the nominal head of the department. With the "new" change, the new chief, James M. Carl, took up his duties, which were the sole and entire responsibility of the complete operations of the Police Department. This change occurred on May 1, 1908. On May 12, 1908, the first detective was appointed by way of the City Council passing an ordinance creating the new position. The first Cedar Rapids Police Detective was formerly a captain by the name of Mike McGuire. In 1922 the entire Police Department consisted of 32 men who worked a standard 60-hour week. In 1929 the personnel of the department was in-creased and the number of hours decreased to 48 hours per week per man. This was further reduced in 1958 to 44 hours and then to the present 40-hour week in 1960. Cedar Rapids was one of the firsts in the country to install communications equipment in police vehicles. This was done during the fall of 1929 and the spring of 1930. The equipment was designed and constructed by Cedar Rapids Police Officer Henry Nemec, who was considered a pioneer in the field of mobile communications. The equipment was first placed in a number of Model A Fords. At the start of World War II, there were 65 men on the Cedar Rapids Police Department and of these 65 men, 22 left to serve in some branch of the Armed Forces during the war. In 1970 the authorized strength for the Cedar Rapids Police Department was increased to 135 sworn officers. Down through the history of the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the police station has had a hard time finding suitable quarters. The first recorded station was located at 3rd Avenue and 2nd Street S.E. It was later moved out on the island where the Courthouse now stands. In 1923, new quarters were occupied in the 200 block of 1st Street S.W, moving into 310 Second Avenue SW in 1937. The cost of that building was $136,554. It included assembly rooms used by patrolmen and detectives, a spacious police courtroom, an escape-proof jail, and was considered to be very modern at that time. The Police Department moved into its current building at 505 First Street SW in 1997. This over $14 million facility will serve as a joint Communications Center and Police Headquarters for 199 sworn officers, over 40 Reserve Officers, and 48 civilian employees. It contains state of the art technology as it exists today and encourages employees to be leaders in the field of law enforcement. The Cedar Rapids Police Department is currently organized into three divisions: Uniform (Patrol, Traffic, Special Response Team, Bicycle Patrol); General Services (Personnel and Training, Police Academy, Records, Information Management, Crime Prevention); Investigative (Detective Bureau, Youth Bureau, Identification Bureau, Narcotics, Special Assignments and Investigations). Each division is under the command of an Assistant Chief of Police, all of whom report to the Chief of Police. The Cedar Rapids Police Department has been an innovative leader in approaches to serve the citizens of Cedar Rapids. Helicopters and fixed wing aircraft have been used for more than 20 years for police assignments. Bicycle patrol, foot patrol, and a river patrol boat are other types of specialized enforcement programs that are utilized to accomplish our mission. Cedar Rapids Police Department personnel routinely work with local, State, and Federal agencies such as the FBI and DEA to fulfill our responsibilities. The Cedar Rapids Police Department realizes that protecting and serving the public is our first objective. We also realize that to accomplish this mission, the citizens must be involved to be successful. The Police Department is proud of our relationship with numerous citizen groups such as Neighborhood Watch and the Officer Pal program in the schools. The Cedar Rapids Police Department is constantly working to strengthen their ties with citizens within the community.
Information gathered from Cedar Rapids Police Department website.