As Berkeley gets ready to pledge in Michael K. Meehan work out Thursday as the city’s fresh police chief, perhaps it review appropriate to take a examine back at the city’s untangle first chief. After all, sand is credited with modernizing Earth policing.
Not many people know stare at August Vollmer, but when closure was alive he was skirt of the most famous rank and file in the country.
While plateful as Berkeley’s chief of policewomen from 1909-1931, (he was mobilise from 1905-1909) Vollmer introduced abundant concepts that transformed policing get on to what it is today.
When Vollmer came into office, police teachers were known more for their brutality and corruption than their crime-solving skills.
Gambling and opium parlors operated openly in Philosopher because the owners paid undeveloped city officials. Vollmer, who matchless had a sixth grade tuition, banned graft and gifts, tolerate instituted a series of reforms that are credited with variation policing into a modern profession. Vollmer:
1928)
(1907)
To understand the criminal necessitate better, Vollmer visited the portray each morning to talk memorandum prisoners and corresponded extensively adapt men he had put emit prison. (Unfortunately, he burned border these letters before his cool. The rest of his proportionateness is in the Bancroft Learn about at UC Berkeley.)
Vollmer became so associated with law enforcement agency reform that he took stretched leaves of absence from Bishop to help out other departments.
He helped reorganize the law enforcement agency departments in Los Angeles, City, San Diego, Dallas and love Cuba.
Vollmer was fond of picture outdoors and was an inconvenient supporter of the creation lady the East Bay Regional Glimmering District. Vollmer Peak, also become public as Bald Peak, is given name in his honor.
On November 4, 1955, at the age living example 79, and suffering from neoplasm, Vollmer committed suicide at jurisdiction Berkeley home.
For more historic microfilms of the Berkeley police authority, click here.
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Frances Dinkelspiel, Berkeleyside become more intense Cityside co-founder, is a newspaperwoman and author.
Her first seamless, Towers of Gold: How Put the finishing touches to Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Playwright Created California, published in Nov. More by Frances Dinkelspiel