Sacramento Police Department

History

www.sacpd.org

The founding of the City of Sacramento was a turbulent one - a beginning when life was cheap, the stakes were high and a large percentage of the population acted with the philosophy "it was every man for himself."

By 1849, Sacramento had grown rapidly from a small settlement at Sutter's Fort to a town of 10,000 people. The discovery of gold had brought people from all walks of life together. Sacramento had all the problems of a Wild West town. There were murders, robberies, shootings, and various other crimes committed in the city. In the summer of 1849, the city experienced its first lynching when a gambler named Roe was convicted by a citizens' committee and hanged for murder. On August 1, 1849, the City of Sacramento was founded when the first meeting of a Common Council was held. At that time, the City boundaries were north to the American river, east to 31st Street, south to Y Street and west to the Sacramento River, encompassing 4.5 square miles. N. C. Cunningham was appointed as the first City Marshall (the position now known as Chief of Police) and was given two deputies to enforce the law.

The city did not have a building for a police station or jail, so in May 1850, the ship, LaGrange, was moored at the foot of H Street on the river and officially became the police station and jail boat.

As a result of the Gold Rush in 1852, Sacramento had grown in size until the population had reached 150,000 persons. The Police Department was also increased to six men. In addition to normal police duties, these six officers had to deal with the first Chinese Tong War to ever occur outside of China. Also, the most ambitious murder plot ever recorded in the West occurred during this period. Three men, one of them the Public Administrator, plotted to kill 55 leading wealthy Sacramentans for their money. Fortunately, the Police Department identified the murderers and arrested two of them after the first killing. Both men were subsequently convicted and hanged for their crime.

The Police Department grew slowly from 1849 to 1913 when it had 36 officers. The men of the Department patrolled the city on foot and on bicycles. The Department had two bicycles at that time. A typical bicycle beat covered about one half of the entire city, or about 200 square blocks. In those years, the Department did not have radio equipment. Communication between the Police Station and the beat officers was accomplished by telephones located in specially designated "call boxes" distributed throughout the city for this purpose.

Modern police history, as we now know it, began in 1917. The city's population had declined to just 90,000 people after the Gold Rush boom, but the Department now totaled 100 men. During this period, other changes were made: the Department moved into the new Hall of Justice building at 6th and I Streets; the use of modern, fast automobiles had been incorporated as a new tool in police work; the Department had developed an experienced, well-trained detective bureau and possessed one of the finest fingerprint bureaus in the country. At this point, police operations had begun to enter fields of specialization.

The Department may be larger now and uses newer and more scientific methods in fighting and solving crimes, but the men and women of the Department are still dedicated to the same goal as the first three officers were in 1848; still providing the best police services possible to the citizens of Sacramento.

Whether by patrol car, motorcycle, bicycle, mounted horse, or helicopter, the men and women of the Sacramento Police Department serve with honor while striving to work in partnership with the community to fulfill the Department's vision of Community-Oriented Policing.

Office of the Chief

Intergovernmental & Legislative Affairs

Internal Affairs Division & Professional Standards Unit

Media & Public Relations Unit

Patrol Division

The city of Sacramento is divided into six patrol districts which each district divided into three beats. Listed below are the Districts and the neighborhoods they include.

District One (Northwest)

Beat A - North Natomas
Beat B - South Natomas
Beat C - Northgate

District Two (Northeast)

Beat A - Robla/Del Paso Heights
Beat B - Hagginwood
Beat C - Arden/Old North Sac

District Three (Central)

Beat A - Downtown
Beat B - Midtown
Beat C - CSUS/East Sac

District Four (Southwest)

B

District Five (South)

Beat A - Meadowview
Beat B - Parkway
Beat C - Valley Hi/North Laguna

District Six (East)

Beat A - Oak Park
Beat B - Tahoe Park/Tallac Village
Beat C - South East/Glen Elder/Fruitridge

Metro Division

The Metro Division provides specialized resources city-wide to both the Patrol Division and the Office of Investigations. Commanded by a captain, Metro is divided into three operational sections, each led by a police lieutenant, as well as an administrative support team.

Metro Administration

Hostage Negotiations Team (HNT)
Licensing and Permits

Regional Transit Police Services Section

Mission and Information [2]
Juvenile Intervention
Patrol Services
Transit Crime Response Team (TCRT)

Special Operations Section

Alarm Operations Unit
Canine Unit
Parole Intervention Team (PIT)
Reserve Officers/Special Events/Supplemental Employment Unit
Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Teams (2)

Traffic / Air Operations Section

Air Support Unit
Alcoholic Beverage Liaison & Compliance
Court Liaison Unit
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Unit
Major Collisions Investigations Unit
Traffic Unit (2 Enforcement, 1 POP)

Communications Center

This 28,000 sq. ft. state of the art facility serves as the primary answering point for emergency calls in the City of Sacramento. The Communications Division work groups are responsible for the answering, processing, and dispatching of emergency (911) and non-emergency phone calls. Ancillary duties include running a dispatch training & academy curriculum. The Communications Division holds the Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) certificates for training in our region for the Dispatcher Basic Course as well as the Communications Training Officer Course.

2010 statistics include the following:

688,110 total incoming and outgoing phone calls;

181,140 9-1-1 calls; and,

256,574 7-digit emergency and non-emergency calls.

Personnel killed in the line of duty

Since the establishment of the Sacramento Police Department, 16 officers have been recognized as Line-of-Duty deaths.

Chief of Police Erskine G. Fish was remembered by the radio series Dragnet, in the end of the 9th episode, aired on August 4th 1949.