When was the first police in the United States?

The first modern, publicly funded municipal police department in the United States was established in Boston in 1838. While earlier systems like night watches (as early as the 1630s) and slave patrols (from the early 1700s) performed policing functions, Boston’s 1838 force is widely recognized by historians as the first U.S. city to adopt a centralized, full-time, salaried police department modeled on contemporary urban policing in Britain.

What “first” means in this context

Policing in early America evolved through several overlapping models: volunteer night watches, constables and sheriffs, slave patrols in the South, and city guards. Historians generally mark the “first police” as the point when a city created a professional, uniformed, salaried department with centralized command and routine patrols—features that distinguish modern municipal policing from ad hoc or part-time systems.

Key milestones on the path to modern U.S. policing

The following milestones highlight how policing in the United States developed from colonial-era watches to organized, full-time departments in major cities.

• 1631–1636: Night watch established in Boston (1631) and New York (then New Amsterdam, 1658), with constables and watchmen drawn from the community.
• Early 1700s: Slave patrols formed across the Carolinas, Virginia, and other Southern colonies to control enslaved populations—an important and troubling precursor to formal police in the region.
• 1783: Charleston, South Carolina, organizes a City Guard and Watch—one of the earliest uniformed, centralized urban patrols, though not yet a modern municipal police department by later standards.
• 1838: Boston creates the first modern, publicly funded municipal police department in the U.S., with salaried officers and structured patrols.
• 1845: New York City establishes a centralized police force, evolving into the NYPD, further institutionalizing the modern model.
• 1854: Philadelphia consolidates watches and constables into a full-time, citywide police department, following the Boston and New York models.
• 1823/1835 (contextual): The Texas Rangers originate as a frontier militia (1823) and are formally organized in 1835; they are a state-level paramilitary law enforcement body, not a municipal police department.

Taken together, these milestones show a clear progression from localized, part-time, or coercive systems to salaried, uniformed, and centrally managed urban police forces, with Boston’s 1838 department recognized as the first of its kind.

Why cities created modern police departments

American cities in the early 19th century faced rapid population growth, industrialization, and rising commercial activity. Volunteer watches struggled to manage crowd control, public order, and property protection at this new urban scale. Leaders turned to the London Metropolitan Police (founded 1829) as a model for creating full-time departments that could patrol, prevent crime, and standardize responses across growing neighborhoods.

How Boston’s 1838 model set the template

Boston’s department featured publicly funded salaries, standardized patrol beats, uniforms, and a chain of command—elements that allowed for predictability, accountability, and citywide coverage. This approach quickly influenced other cities, shaping the national trajectory of municipal policing.

Context and complexity

While Boston in 1838 marks the first modern municipal police department, earlier systems—especially slave patrols—played significant roles in American policing history. These antecedents inform contemporary discussions about the origins, purposes, and community relationships of police institutions across different regions of the country.

Summary

The first modern U.S. municipal police department was established in Boston in 1838. Preceding systems included colonial night watches and Southern slave patrols, with other major cities—New York (1845) and Philadelphia (1854)—following Boston’s lead to develop the centralized, salaried, uniformed police forces that characterize policing in the United States today.

What were police called in the 1800s in America?

In the 1800s, American police were officially called policemen, constables, and marshals, but the more common slang terms emerged during this period, such as “coppers” and “cops,” derived from the verb “to cop” (to seize or arrest) and possibly from the copper buttons on their uniforms. 
Official Titles

• Constables: In early America, constables were among the first appointed law enforcement officers, and their duties varied depending on the community’s size. 
• Marshals: In frontier regions, law enforcement was often the responsibility of marshals, along with sheriffs and constables. 
• Sheriffs: County sheriffs also held law enforcement power on the frontier, and they could deputize citizens to help enforce the law, forming a “posse”. 
• Policemen: As formal police departments developed in the mid-19th century, officers were primarily called policemen. 

Slang Terms

• Coppers: This term came into use by 1846, possibly from the copper buttons on police uniforms or as a reference to their badges, although this is a disputed theory. 
• Cops: The term “cop” emerged as a shortened version of “coppers” around 1859. 
  • The verb “to cop,” meaning to seize or arrest, appeared in the mid-1800s. 
  • Officers who made arrests became known as “coppers” and later “cops”. 
• Private eye: This term for detectives arose in the late 1850s and early 1860s, popularized by the Pinkerton Agency and its iconic “eye” logo. 

What was the first state to have police?

Pennsylvania
police systems history
In 1905 Pennsylvania established the first modern state police department. Formed with the professed purpose of fighting rural crime, state police in Pennsylvania…

When did policing start in America?

Development of modern policing
The first organized, publicly funded professional full-time police services were established in Boston in 1838, New York in 1844, and Philadelphia in 1854. Slave patrols in the south were abolished upon the abolition of slavery in the 1860s.

What is the oldest police department in the US?

The oldest law enforcement agency in the US is debated but often considered the Virginia Capitol Police, established in 1618 as a military unit to protect the governor. Other candidates include the Philadelphia Police Department, founded in 1751, and the U.S. Marshals Service, the oldest federal agency from 1789. Different forms of policing, such as town watches and statewide forces, also predate these formal departments.
 
Virginia Capitol Police 

• Founded: 1618
• Role: Originally a military unit of 10 men protecting Governor George Yeardley at Jamestown.
• Status: Today’s division was granted legislative authority in 1890 and provides security at the Virginia state government’s seat.

Philadelphia Police Department 

• Founded: 1751
• Context: Grew from a volunteer town watch established in 1700.
• Status: Considered the first modern municipal police force in the United States.

U.S. Marshals Service 

• Founded: 1789
• Role: The oldest federal law enforcement agency.
• Context: Established by the Judiciary Act of 1789 to provide federal law enforcement.

Other Pre-Departmental Forces

• Town Watches: Opens in new tabMany colonial cities had volunteer night watches, like Boston (1636), New York (1658), and Philadelphia (1700), which were predecessors to organized police forces. 
• Texas Rangers: Opens in new tabEstablished in 1823, they are the oldest statewide law enforcement agency in the nation.