[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 42 (Tuesday, April 12, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE BERKELEY POLICE DEPARTMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 12, 2005

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Berkeley Police 
Department of Berkeley, California on the occasion of its 100th year of 
service.
  At the time of its founding over a century ago, the Berkeley Police 
Department was a pioneering institution. Led by August Vollmer, who was 
elected Town Marshall in 1905 and appointed as Berkeley's first Chief 
of Police in 1909, the Berkeley Police Department become known for its 
innovative management and law enforcement methods, and its practices 
were adopted by other departments nationwide.
  Chief Vollmer is considered by many to be the father of modem law 
enforcement. He was one of the first officials to institute the use of 
a basic records system, scientific investigation, and motorcycle 
patrols as law enforcement methods. He sought police officers with good 
educations, worked with U.C. Berkeley to establish a police school, and 
also established the department's Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, which 
prohibited officers from receiving gratuities and from smoking on duty, 
and also required them to use as little force as possible in making 
arrests.
  In addition to these innovations, Chief Vollmer was also one of the 
most progressive figures in law enforcement during his time. He 
recruited the first female and African American officers to the force 
in Berkeley, and also became a prominent opponent of the death penalty.
  In the years since its remarkable founding, the Berkeley Police 
Department has continued to serve the public with courage and 
compassion, working to protect the residents of Berkeley and also to 
become involved in the community. In addition to its establishment of 
the charitable Christmas in April program in 1991 and other community 
service projects, the Department has also made a sustained effort to 
establish an effective model for community-involved policing.
  Furthermore, the Berkeley Police Department has devoted considerable 
resources to the development of other programs of dire importance, such 
as the Domestic Violence Unit, Youth-Police Workshops with Beat 
Officers, the Citizens' Academy and Toys 4 Tots with Marines. In recent 
years, the department has received grants from the Department of 
Justice, the Office of Traffic Safety and others to institute 
innovative public safety reforms, and in 2003 reported the city's 
lowest violent crime rates since 1974.
  On April 7, 2005, the Berkeley Police Department will be holding its 
centennial celebration. I would like to take this opportunity to 
commend and thank those who have given of themselves to serve the 
public through their work with the police force. I congratulate the 
Berkeley Police Department for 100 years of invaluable service, and 
salute its officers for their tireless efforts to make our community a 
safer, better place.

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