Professional law enforcement, involving preventative patrol, assistance to citizens and the prevention or apprehension of criminals, is generally accepted to have begun in England with the adoption of the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829. Prior to that time, many cities had a system of “watchmen” or personnel who looked mainly for fire, but raised the alarm if they found something suspicious.
Police officers, like any other professional or craftsman, want the best tools they or their company can afford. Like any tool, one size may not fit all craftsmen or situations so manufacturers and departments must adapt to hand size, adaptability to recoil, and availability.
Since someone first broke off a tree branch for a staff, stick, or weapon, impact weapons have been used for protection, maintaining order, or creating mayhem. Officers are trained in the use of impact weapons and other less lethal techniques to take a suspect into custody or to defend the public and themselves.
Police officers throughout the world strive to perform their duties and take violators into custody in the most humane manner possible. This has led to the development of equipment such as capture nets, chemical weapons such as "tear gas" or capsicum pepper spray, and the electro-muscular disruption devices such as those marketed by Taser International.
Tillamook County was formed in December of 1853 from portions of Yamhill and Clatsop Counties. Tillamook County covers about 1,125 square miles with a population of about 26,000. The first Sheriff, Obed Severence Thomas took office in April 1854. The county name, Tillamook, comes from the Native American name Killamook, reported to translate as, "land of many rivers". Come learn about Oregon Law Enforcement from US Marshal Joe Meek (1848) to the present day.
While Alice Stebbins Wells of Los Angeles PD gets credit for being the first female officer in the U.S., she was actually preceded by an Oregonian, Lola Greene Baldwin of the Portland Police Bureau, who was sworn in as a "female detective" on April 1, 1908. Since that time women have become a valuable asset and are significant contributors to the law enforcement community, both in the United States and internationally. Women now make up nearly 14% of officers in the United States (Bureau of Justice Statistics).
