The Littleton Police Department was founded in 1890 when a town government was formed. The first town marshal was appointed that year to enforce the laws of the city. By 1890, the town was already thirty years old and consisted of a flour mill, post office and two railroad depots, that operated through the town by the hour. Communication was limited to mail service and the telegraph all the way until the early 1900's, when the telephone came into use. Telephone service for the town government was limited to one phone installed in the home of the town marshal and a second phone installed in the home of the mayor. Between the years of 1890 & 1940, twenty-six men served as town marshal. Marshals were paid a monthly salary ranging from $50 at the turn of the century to $150 by the year 1945. Marshals used their own wagon and team, and later they used their own automobile for personal and town business use. No women have served as town marshal or chief of police. Marshals dealt with bank robberies and other serious crimes on occasion, including other assignments, such as serving official notices, collecting delinquent taxes, monitoring the operation of town street lights and checking for prohibited use of the town's limited water supply. Rabies was a common occurence and unlicensed dogs and cats were shot on sight by the marshal and paid $.50 cents to $1.00 for each animal that was killed and buried. Marshals were ever vigilant for back room gambling, bootlegging and other vice-related crimes. Eventually, horse-drawn vehicles gave way to gasoline powered machines and marshals had to chase down speeders and other traffic violators. Indigent prisoners were ordered to work off their fines that were given by working on the streets at the rate of $2 per day and escapes from custody were not uncommon. For added help, "Special Police" were deputized to help the marshal maintain order during special events and/or holidays. This practice of utilizing reserve officers continued with the Police Department through the 1980's. By the year 1940, Littleton was no longer a small agricultural town. It was an emerging suburban city and by the end of the decade, the town marshal was known as the police chief and the one-man marshal's office would become a actual police department. A marked police car was produced with a red light and siren and the first two-way radio was purchased to allow communication between the Denver Police and the Arapahoe County Sheriff. By the 1950's, the Police Department consisted of the chief, one sergeant, and several officers. Two to three marked police cars were in service stocked with two-way mobile radios and now radio dispatching of police calls were occuring. By 1957, Littleton became a City Council/City Manger form of government. The Police Department continued to grow and advance with the times and by 1990, the Littleton Police Department observed its 100th year of formal operation. Its rich and distinguished past history will no doubt influence its continued operation through the 21st century. In all its time, no Littleton officers have been killed in the line of duty.

Communication definitely would have been a problem at the foundation of the Littleton Police Department. Being limited to telegraph and mail service when first established, and later only 1 phone for the marshal, getting a quick response for emergencies would be nearly impossible. Unless luck would have it that an officer was in the right place at the right time, all crimes would have been dealt with after the fact. Nowadays, officers can be contacted and dispatched immediately and are able to stop some crimes as they are happening or even before.

Another problem that was occurring in the early creation of police departments was that often whoever was the biggest "bully" would be chosen to be a police officer. There wasn't a good police system in place, which is why many of the officers would also be seen gambling or bootlegging. Today, police officers have to go through rigorous testing processes and background checks, as well as demanding training, to ensure that officers will stick to a higher moral standard and be prepared for any situation thrown at them.

In Colorado:

Agencies/Offices: 166

Number of Personnel = 8,616 Personnel per 100,000 residents = 187

Sworn Personnel = 6,375 Personnel per 100,000 residents = 139

Three reasons why I do think Colorado needs more sworn officers per/100,000 residents:

It averages out to only one officer for every 719 residents.

More officers would result in a better and safer community.

It would help officers get more “in touch” with their community instead of being separate from it.

The number of sheriff’s offices in Colorado is 62, the total personnel reaches 6016 and sword personals are 3391. However the number of personnels per 100, 000 people is 131, almost twice as the number of sworn personnel in Colorado. In our opinion the state of Colorado has adequate number of sworn personnel’s (74 sworn personnel’s per 100, 000 residents). However it would be better if the number of sworn personnel was higher than the number of personnel, that would make all residents feel more secure. Colorado should have more sworn officer since the statistic show that the crime rate has been increasing every year (FBI, Uniform Crime Report). Also the Crime rank, based on the number of crimes per capita with 1 being the best and 51 the worst, Colorado stands on # 36 which is a high for the state (2009 Public Records Research). As following the twitter page of the ABC Denver channel most of the tweets we see are the headlines of violent an outrage crime like RT: “Aaron Thompson found guilty of killing daughter Aarone” (twitter Denver channel), and that is why Colorado needs more sworn officers.

-Colorado Crime Rates 1960-2008, (2008) http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/cocrime.htm

-Colorado Crime Statistics for 2005, (2009) http://www.prsearch.com/crime/colorado

-Denver Channel via Twitter,http://www.twitter.com/denverchannel

-Tyler Lopez, (September 28, 2009), Thompson found guilty of child abuse resulting in death, Denver Channel, http://www.denverchannel.com/news/21136086/detail.htm

-Littleton Police Department, (2005) A brief history of the littleton police department, City of Littleton, http://www.littletongov.org/police/history/