From the uniforms and weapons to the vehicles and tactics, law enforcement has come a long way. This collection of photographs of police all over New Jersey from the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s illustrates just how far we’ve come, and how some of the less-tangible things never change.
1. New Jersey State Police officer Harold Kiernan has backup riding shotgun in 1928 in this early version of the State Police K9 division. (Courtesy of the N.J. State Police)
2. Eight members of the Plainfield Police Pistol Squad pose in front of police headquarters in this photo taken circa 1937. (Courtesy of the Plainfield Public Library)
3. Members of the Bellmawr Police Department pose beside their new 1949 Ford cruiser in this undated photo. (Courtesy of the Bellmawr Police Department)
4. North Brunswick police officer Stanley Weiss needed to do a little wrangling when he was called on to stop and capture a runaway cow in the township, as shown in this photo from the 1960s. Bessie, a Holstein, was returned safe and sound to her farm. (Courtesy of the North Brunswick Police Dept.)
5. Newly recruited patrolman Eugene Davis dressed as a woman in May 1945, working as part of the police force’s campaign to crack down on “kerb-crawlers” who molested lone women in Nutley. (Courtesy of the Nutley Police Department)
6. Members of the Morristown Police Motorcycle Squad pose with their vehicles on the lawn of the Vail Municipal Building on South Street in this photo by Frederick Curtiss from June 4, 1926. (Courtesy of the Morristown and Morris Township Library)
7. A member of the Glen Ridge Police Department motorcycle unit poses atop one of the department’s early vehicles in this photo from 1915. Motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson notes that the first cycles built specifically for police use appeared in Detroit in 1908. (Courtesy of the Glen Ridge Public Library)
8. Plainfield police officers pose in front of the Depot Park Police Headquarters and City Jail in 1897. (Courtesy of the Plainfield Public Library)