In 1844 New York City Became The First City To Establish A Municipal Police Force

Across the country on January 9th each year, citizens take the lead to show support on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.

• Law Enforcement Officers of every rank and file have chosen a profession that puts their life on the line every day for their communities.  They’ve answered a call to public service that is demanding and often unappreciated.
• Several organizations came together to create National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in 2015 to thank officers across the country for all the daily sacrifices they make for their communities.
• One of the main organizations, Concerns of Police Survivors, encourages citizens to thank their police officers on this day in support of their services.
• 307 police officers died in the line of duty in 2020.
• This holiday was sparked by the events of 2014 by an officer-involved shooting in Ferguson, Missouri.
• In the mid 1800s, most law enforcement was carried out in the form of posse comitatus, where the sheriff and a posse of volunteers and deputies (much like the stereotypical Westerns of the 1960s) would enforce laws rather than a centralized police force. 
• 1844, New York City was the first American city to establish a municipal police force. Soon after, Boston, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Chicago, and more followed suit.
• Once again, New York led the way in 1857, adopting the first detective unit across the pond. More cities followed suit and then followed suit again after New York City disbanded its detective unit due to corruption.
• In 1905 Pennsylvania becomes the first state to establish a state police force, as recommended by Theodore Roosevelt to help control the numerous labor riots going on in the state’s hill country.
• Berkeley, California’s police force gets ahead of the curve in the 1920s, by adopting centralized and consistent training, communications, and order throughout its police force.
• The 1920s were the deadliest decade in law enforcement history, when a total of 2,480 officers died, or an average of almost 248 each year. The deadliest year in law enforcement history was 1930 when 310 officers were killed. That figure dropped dramatically in the 1990s, to an average of 162 per year.
• 2.5 million strong…The number of residents across the nation who celebrated National Night Out, an annual party with citizens and local law enforcement.
• There are more than 900,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States, which is the highest figure ever. About 12 percent of those are female
• Crime-fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1786, there have been over 21,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Currently, there are 21,910 names engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
• A total of 1,582 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 55 hours or 158 per year. There were 158 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2018.
• The deadliest day in law enforcement history was September 11, 2001, when 72 officers were killed while responding to the terrorist attacks on America.
• The New York City Police Department has lost more officers in the line of duty than any other department, with 941 deaths. Texas has lost 1,772 officers, more than any other state. The state with the fewest deaths is Vermont, with 24.
• There are 1,181 federal officers listed on the Memorial, as well as 720 correctional officers and 44 military law enforcement officers.
• There are 365 female officers listed on the Memorial; 11 female officers were killed in 2019
• In Thailand, police officers are sometimes forced to wear Hello Kitty armbands for violations like showing up late to work.
• In colonial America, due to a lack of authority, officers were not very effective at catching criminals. In fact, churches had more authority to hold trials.
• In the United States, there are approximately 900,000 sworn law enforcement officers.
• Of the law enforcement officers serving in the U.S., approximately 108,000 of them are female.
• In England, police officers are sometimes called ‘Bobbies.’ This name is in honor of the founder of the modern police department – Sir Robert Peel.
• The United States Congress created the first national police on September 24, 1789. President George Washington appointed thirteen United States Marshal.
• There were 58,886 assaults and reported 18,000 injuries against law enforcement officers in the year 2018.
• In 1929, President Hoover assigned the Wickersham Commission to examine the effectiveness of law enforcement in the whole nation. The idea of a car cop was also developed to professionalize the police.
• The 67 law enforcement officers feloniously killed in the first 11 months of 2021 represent a 55.8 percent increase compared to the 43 officers killed during the same period in 2020.
  • Of the 67 felonious deaths thus far in 2021, the top 3 weapons used have
    been firearms (55), vehicles (6), and personal weapons (4).
  • Of the 46 total felonious deaths in 2020, 41 were firearm-related, 4
    were vehicle-related, and 1 involved personal weapons.
  • In 2021, unprovoked attacks (24) continued to outpace all other circumstances of felonious officer deaths.
  • The southern region continued to have the most law enforcement deaths with 64
    deaths total (41 felonious, 23 accidental).
  • So far in 2021—although not represented in the graphic—262 officers have died from the following medical conditions: 242 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty from illnesses related to COVID-19, 17 officers died due to heart attacks, 1 officer succumbed to cancer, 1 officer died due to other natural causes, and 1 officer died from conditions associated with responding to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Days of the Year

National Today

NLEOMF

ODMP

Crime Data Explorer (FBI)