SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT HISTORY
The beginning of Sacramento was turbulent. It was founded during a time when a majority of the population lived by the saying "every man for himself".
By 1849, the city had quickly grown from the small settlement at Sutter's Fort to a town with a population of roughly 10,000. The discovery of gold nearby had brought people from all over the country to Sacramento. With this rapid increase of population brought all the crimes of a Wild West town. In the summer of 1849, the city of Sacramento experienced it's first lynching when a man by the name of Roe was convicted of murder by a citizens' committee and was immediately hung. Later that year on August 1st the city of Sacramento was founded when the first meeting of the common council was held. N.C. Cunningham was appointed as the first city Marshall(the position now known as Chief of Police) and enlisted two deputies to uphold the law.
At the time, the city did not have a building to use as a Police Station or Jail, so the ship LeGrange was docked at the foot of H street and served as the Police Station and Jail.
Because of the gold rush, within 3 years of Sacramento's founding the population had grown from 10,000 to over 150.000. At that time there were only 6 Police Officers to patrol the entire city. Even with small number, these 6 officers managed to stop one of the most ambiguous murder plots in history. 3 men were planning to kill 55 of Sacramento's wealthy men for their money. The Officers were able to catch two of the killers after the first murder took place. The men were later hung for their crimes.
By 1913 the Sacramento Police Department had grown and now employed 36 Officers that patrolled by foot and bicycle. The average bicycle beat covered about one half of the city. At that time, Officers did not have radios, they communicated by a network of special "call boxes" placed throughout the city.
In 1917, the city's population had declined to 90,000 and the Department employed 100 Police Officers. Between 1913 and 1917 the Sacramento Police Department had moved into the new Hall of Justice building at 6th and I Streets and now used automobiles as a tool in their Police work. The Department also developed a Detectives Bureau and possessed one of the country's top finger printing bureaus.
The Sacramento Police Department now has 799 sworn Peace Officer positions and provides citywide special response and enforcement services and is comprised of SWAT, K-9, Parole Intervention Team, Reserve Officer / Special Events, Alarms, Licensing and Permits, ABC, Traffic Enforcement, DUI, Major Collision Investigations, Air Support, Court Liaison, and Regional Transit Police Services.
For Sacramento Jail Bail Bonds call (916)289-0248