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Haverford Township Police Department history:

The Township of Haverford Board of Commissioners established a Night Watch and Police Force June 5, 1916.  When Ordinance number 77 of 1916 passed it did "ordain" the Night Watch and Police Force would consist of one Chief of Police and not more than nine Policemen, one of whom may be appointed as the Sergeant of Police.  
 

Our Departmental history shows the first Chief, Edward F. Hallisey, and the five officers initially hired did not have long lived or prosperous careers.  The Chief left the Department after only three years and ten months of service.  His first recruits fared far worse.  The first officer hired by the Township, George T. Neeli lasted ten days and the second officer hired completed four months.  This four month stint was three months longer than any of his fellow hires.

Ordinance number 77 also outlined the officers' duties.  "Policemen shall patrol their respective beats during all of the time they are on duty and shall be governed in making arrests of all drunken, disorderly and suspicious persons by the laws of this Commonwealth, and by the Ordinances and Regulations of the Township.  It shall also be the duty of Policemen to inspect the street lights maintained by the Township and to immediately report any lights not in good order and further to inspect all poles, lines and overhead wires and all streets and roads containing water, gas or other pipe-lines and to immediately report any defects therein or dangerous condition caused thereby.

Today our Department consists of one Chief of Police, sixty nine sworn officers and eighty civilian personnel.  The civilian personnel consist of five information assistants, one administrative assistant, one records office manager, two secretaries, two full time records clerks, two part time records clerks, five part time parking enforcement officers and sixty-two crossing guards.  Of the sixty nine officers one is a Deputy Chief, three are Lieutenants, twelve are Sergeants and fifty-three are Police Officers. 
 
Haverford Township history:

The land that is now Haverford Township was first settled by Welsh Quakers who purchased the land from William Penn in 1681. The name Haverford is derived from the name of the town of Haverford-West, in Pembrokeshire, now called DyFed, Wales. Haverford Township was incorporated as a First Class Township in 1912. A Home Rule Charter was adopted in 1976.

Haverford Township is located five miles from Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in Delaware County, with a population of around 50,000. Consisting of 9.95 square miles, the township includes the postal codes of Havertown 19083,Ardmore 19003, Wynnewood 19096, Haverford 19041, Bryn Mawr 19010 and Drexel Hill 19026.

Primarily residential, there are over 60 parks and athletic fields available to its residents, in addition to many other services

Visit the Haverford Township Historical Society website for more information about the history of Haverford Township.



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