KPD Historical Photographs
On July 19th, 1850, the town of Kinston established the Kinston Police Department. When the department was founded it had only one officer, who was also the Chief of Police and the Mayor of the Town. The department went from the Chief of Police being the only officer, to the only department in the United States with two Chiefs at the same time; one for day shift and one for night shift. The theory behind this was, “a chief asleep is a dead man”. The force remained small but was able to supplement its numbers by drafting citizens to patrol with the officers. A selected citizen was required to work three nights on patrol when notified by the “Intendent” of the Police Dept.
The force of one has evolved into today’s force of 75 men and women, who serve the citizens of Kinston with pride.