HISTORY OF THE NEW WESTMINSTER POLICE SERVICE

British Columbia’s first capital, New Westminster, is found just 12-km (7.45-mi.) southeast of downtown Vancouver, on the estuary of the Fraser River and upstream of the delta islands of Lulu (Vancouver International Airport) and Annacis. With a population of approximately 47,000 "The Royal City" was founded in 1859 by Colonel R.C. Moody of the Royal Engineers and named by Queen Victoria. In July 20, 1860 New Westminster became the first incorporated municipality west of the Great Lakes, making it the oldest incorporated municipality west of Ontario. New Westminster was the capital of the mainland colony of BC until 1868.

In 1858 His Excellency, James Douglas, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty’s Colony of British Columbia proclaimed that the Civil and Criminal Laws of England would be in "full force within the Colony". This was the origin of the B.C. Provincial Police. In March of 1859 the Secretary for the Colonies, Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton had assigned Mathew Baillie Begbie as Judge and Chartes Brew as Inspector of Police. Brew envisioned setting up a Police Force of 150 men, unfortunately the young Colony could only hire fifteen.

1860 saw the Provincial police established its headquarters in New Westminster. In 1861 the first jail was built to house those that had been sentences at the newly constructed courthouse. By 1865 there were four Provincial Police in the Royal City. The job of constable was not highly sought after as the pay was low and responsibilities were high. Some of the duties included those of Gold Commissioner, Stipendiary Magistrate, Justice of the Peace and Coroner. The Constables were also responsible for registering all mining claims, serving tax notices, collecting licence fees, acting as Indian Agent and settling civil disputes involving sums of less than $200.

In 1866 the two crown colonies - the Vancouver Island Colony and the Mainland Colony (known as the "Gold Colony")- were joined to form the Province of British Columbia. In 1871 B.C. joined Confederation. In 1873 the New Westminster City Council saw fit to hire a constable that was responsible only to the City. In March of 1873 Jonathan Morey was hired as the city’s first Constable. Morey was an ex-Royal Engineer and was hired to patrol Columbia Street during the day. His salary was $30 a month and was increased to $50 a month in 1875. Soon after the hiring of Morey the City hired night watchmen to watch over the dock and to watch out for fires. At times the City referred to these watchmen as Constables.

Jonathan Morey policed the city of New Westminster from March 1873 to Sept. 1878. He died on Sept. 4, 1884. In 1878 the BC Penitentiary was built to house prisoners from all over the province. The second constable employed by the city was Chartres Brew brother, Tomkins Brew. Tomkins Brew position as police constable was short lived as he was forced to ‘retire’ in 1879 after a special commission began investigating his conduct. 1879 also saw the elimination of the night watchmen as the city hired two constables to perform shift work.

During these times there was a turnover rate as the job still paid very little. John Wiggins was one of the constables hired. The constables were supplied with coal for the stove, an overcoat and a badge. In 1882 the salary for a constable was $80.00 per month. In the early 1880s the City Council referred to John Wiggins as ‘Chief Constable’. This was the first record of the title ‘Chief". In 1889 it was reported that the salary for the Chief was $90.00 a month and the constables received $50.00 - $80.00 a month. The first record of Police Sergeant was in 1890 when John Carty received the appointment.

As the city continued to grow so to did its police force. The new Chief, William Huston, was the first Chief to instill a sense of professionalism into the force. He established a series of rules for the police constables to follow. They were to ensure that horse drawn carts did not run wild, that garbage stayed off the street and that all police were to carry batons, nippers and hand cuffs while on duty. In 1895 John Carty was promoted to Chief. The following is a list of Chiefs of the New Westminster Police Department.

In September of 1898 the Great Fire completely destroyed the downtown core of New Westminster. In 1899 the first police constables patrolling the area known as Sapperton. The early 1900s saw the town rebuilt and booming after the fire. In 1907 the police force grew to eight men; four on day patrol and four on night patrol

On September 15, 1911 the Bank of Montreal on Columbia Street was "knocked over". When the night watchmen went to a dance men broke into the bank and stole a large quantity of money. Chief George Bradshaw was responsible for investigating the "Great Bank Robbery." Bradshaw was born in Ontario but later moved to British Columbia to become Chief of Police in Rossland. He then relocated to New Westminster two years later to be hired as a Detective.

Up until 1926 the police wore the traditional British style ‘bobby’ hat. The hat was replaced by the forge or peak cap that we see today and the City crest became the hat badge.

In 1930 the force grew to 20 men. The department also developed a hierarchy as there now was a Deputy Chief, Inspector and Detective Sergeants. The department also became very modern in its crime fighting techniques. Sid Bass became an expert in fingerprinting and was known across North America for his incredible collection of fingerprints. It was at this time the department began using matrons to assist in investigations involving women. 1935 saw the call boxes replaced by a radio broadcasting system which was installed in the police station and police cars.

In the 1930s and 1940s slot machines were introduced in many of hotels and bars. Under Provincial law slot machines were prohibited, however the city was able to circumvent the law by licensing the gambling machines as vending machines. The Criminal Code was amended to close the loophole and soon all machines were illegal.

As the city continued to grow motor vehicle accidents became a serious concern and the police were constantly pressuring City council for more traffic enforcement. In 1946 the department received a "Frequency Modulation Radio" and thirty-watt receivers/transmitters were installed in all police cars. During this period there were 38 men serving on the force. Enforcement of parking meter infractions became part of the police responsibility when 130 parking meters were installed around the City.

On August 15, 1950 the BC Provincial Police were disbanded after 92 years. New Westminster along with other municipal forces and the R.C.M.P absorbed most of the former BC Provincial Police members. 1953 saw the opening of the new City Hall and Police building located at 511 Royal Avenue at cost of $592,200. Today the New Westminster Police Service is still located here.

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