Baltimore City Police

Station Locations

Police IDs

• First digit is district, second character is shift, third is sector and fourth is post. 6A32 would be a Northwest midnight unit in sector 3 on post 2 and 2C23 would be Southeast evening unit in sector 2 on post 3.

• Lieutenants are 09 and Sergeants are 10, 20, etc., 91 and 92 are wagons and 99 is desk. So, 2C23's Sergeant would be 2C20 and his Lieutenant 2C09. If a unit gets a warrant confirmation from 2C99, then 2C91 or 2C92 would do the transport. 200 would be the district Major.

• Flex and District Ops units are numbered differently. They are numbered for each district as *1** and *2**. Northwest be something like 6117 or 6234. Again any number ending in 0 is a Sergeant and 09 a Lieutenant. Any numbers over *3** are Citywide units.

• 58xx is Crime Lab
• 84xx is Accident Investigation Unit
• 64xx is Homicide
• 65xx is Violent Crimes Task Force
• 76xx-78xx is Tactical (including Marine, EVU and Canine)
• 7620-7625 is Foxtrot
• 7811-7812 is EVU
• 93xx is Parking Control
• 95xx is Traffic Enforcement Section (civilians that direct traffic and write tickets)
• 96xx is Baltimore City Sheriff
• 97xx is Housing Authority of Baltimore City Police
• 98xx is Baltimore City Sheriff
• 99xx is Baltimore City Public Schools Police

10 Codes

All 10 codes, signals and disposition codes used by the Baltimore Police Department are also used by the following agencies: Housing Authority of Baltimore Police, Baltimore City Sheriff, Baltimore School Police, Public Works Traffic Enforcement Section (TES), Parking Control.

• 10-1 signal check
• 10-2 signal good
• 10-3 signal poor
• 10-4 acknowledgment/yes/okay
• 10-5 no aknowledgment
• 10-6 standby
• 10-7 out of service
• 10-8 in service
• 10-9 repeat last transmission
• 10-11 meet me at ______
• 10-12 no units available
• 10-14 non-emergency prisoner transport
• 10-15 emergency prisoner transport
• 10-16 backup request
• 10-17 phone station
• 10-18 go to district station
• 10-19 call ______
• 10-20 location
• 10-22 disregard
• 10-23 arrived on scene
• 10-25 stopping suspicious vehicle
• 10-26 switch to citywide channel (talkgroup)
• 10-27 drivers license info request
• 10-28 request vehicle registration information
• 10-29 check criminal records
• 10-30 wanted (person or vehicle)
• 10-31 crime in progress
• 10-32 sufficient units on scene
• 10-33 emergency
• 10-34 civil disturbance
• 10-35 major crime alert
• 10-36 description
• 10-37 request tow
• 10-38 request ambulance
• 10-39 police vehicle disabled
• 10-40 request crime lab
• 10-41 request impound truck
• 10-42 request animal shelter
• 10-43A traffic signal out
• 10-43B traffic signal red out
• 10-43C traffic signal not changing
• 10-43D traffic sign down
• 10-44 request permission to ______
• 10-45 permission denied
• 10-46 permission granted
• 10-47 negative
• 10-48 affirmative
• 10-50 helicopter landing
• 10-50-green Foxtrot okay
• 10-50-amber Foxtrot emergency
• 10-50-red Foxtrot down (crash)
• 10-61 activating body worn camera
• 10-62 deactivating body worn camera
• 10-90 looting
• 10-91 shooting
• 10-92 continued looting
• 10-93 continued shooting

Signal codes

• Signal 13 officer needs assistance (urgent)
• Signal 30 property damage accident
• Signal 31 personal injury accident
• Signal 32 accident with fatality
• Signal 34 departmental accident
• Signal 35 departmental accident with injury
• Signal 36 departmental accident with fatality
• Signal 40 Fire Department Needs Assistance

Disposition codes

• Adam No - Unfounded
• Baker No - No Such Address
• Charlie No - Unable to locate complainant
• David No - No Police Services Needed
• Edward No - Gone on Arrival
• Frank No - Abated
• Xray No - Report number needed
• Xray Yes - Domestic related and report number needed
• Zebra No - False Alarm

CZUR ET18-Pro Professional Document Scanner

 Book/Document Scanner
THIS IS THE ONE WE USE FOR THE SITE AND OUR ARCHIVES

We did a fundraiser to get this book/document scanner. So we could have just set things up to just use a digital camera but then we would essentially just have pictures of the pages from a book, document, letter, notes etc. an it would take much longer, if we have to take the time to go over every page we might as well do it right the first time. Also I have digital cameras but by the time I buy light stands, camera stands etc it would cost a couple hundred dollars, and we wouldn't be taking advantage of the time we would be using to take a pic. So it would make more sense to buy a nice prosumer book scanner and do it right the first time. 

We got this Prosumer Book Scanner that not only gave us pics, of the pages, but made the text editable, removed the curve from the page and gave us a more professional easy to use digital document. This will be helpful in cases where text might be illegible, too small to read or a weird font, in that we would be able to change the fonts, text color, text size etc. which is nice, but the ultimate plus in this would be that we would be able to take these old books, notes, letters programs etc and turn them into a searchable text. If we are looking for a particular officer, unit, year district etc, just enter that into the search bar and it would take us right to it. giving us the ability to find what we need from thousands of pages of information. We thought we had a ton of information sitting at our fingertips on this site, but with these documents and books we have here, we would be opening up and entirely new way of finding what we are looking for. On top of this we will be preserving the information for years to come by converting it to digital. 

These camera/scanners cost in the neighborhood of $500 to $700 mid range to a $1500 2000 on the high end. For now I think it is wise to get a mid level prosumer camera/scanner and when I and get some cash I'll upgrade to a more high end as finances and necessity require us to upgrade. With software and add-ons I think we could end up needing closer to the somewhere between the $500 and $700 range. . If we can get a fundraiser going Patty and I will put in whatever extra is needed between donations and the final cost. 

With this we will be able to add information we had only hoped to be able to add in the past. We have wanted a system like this, but also wanted to make sure we were not going to use anything that might harm the documents we have, so these touchless scanners seem to be the perfect took for the job.. I don't know what system we are going to go with yet, but an idea of what these scanners look like this is the basic idea There are cheaper units but the old saying you get what you pay for come to mind, and we are going to be putting this through its paces. we have hundreds of books and thousands of documents. we also want high quality resolution, so 18mp is going to give us quality.

This has built in software that correct the curve in the page and separates this into two pages. You could also use it to scan large items, the lighting for assist in giving us better pictures. I have some items here that need to be photographed, but deserve better attention than to just shoot them with an iPhone. So we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone. This is a scanner without a flatbed. 

CZUR ET18-Pro Professional Document Scanner, 2nd Gen Auto-Flatten & Deskew Tech, 18MP Sony Camera

ET18-Pro offers word-class performance for high digitization requirement organizations, designing for situations where efficiency and convenience are the top priority.  Embrace one sleek and incredibly compact unit for all your document scanning needs: in color, black & white or grayscale at swift speeds and faultless quality. Applied the breakthrough technology- 2nd Gen Laser Curve-Flattening, ET18Pro provides tremendous curve page flattening ability and ultra fast (1.5s/p) scanning speed. Smart Combining and Separating pages at your disposal.

 

 

Baltimore City Police Historic Society's

Service Ribbon 

Baltimore Police Historical Society's BPD Service Ribbon

If we look around at various vets, we'll notice many of them wear some sort of Combat Ribbon patch, These patches tell us what campaigns they were involved in, and while it is a nice way for us to know where they served and give them a quick thanks for their service, it is more important for them to be able to look out and see a brother or sister that served in the same campaign or campaigns that they did. A few years ago and over the last few years, we had conversations with various members of the Baltimore Police Historic Society and designed our own Baltimore Police Service Ribbon. Our hope is that our retired and active will wear a patch on a ball cap, stick a decal on their rear car window, so when we see one of our brothers or sisters, we'll know of the service they gave and the sacrifices they and others have made. Service of any length past probation, as long as they are either in good standing with the department, or left/retired in good standing. 

The Baltimore City Police Service Ribbon

The Baltimore City Police Service Ribbon is a symbol of service, sacrifice, dedication, unity, and honor. It is a fitting tribute to the brave officers of this agency. This is why we put it together, added thought to the number of sections, the colors and placement of those sections. Our officers deserve to be recognized for their hard work, dedication and honor. That is what the Baltimore Police Service Ribbon does; it recognizes all those who have served with honor.

Meanings of The Design in Our BPD Service Ribbon

Under the muted gray, we can see where we are going. There will be nine vertical stripes in four different colors, each having a symbolic meaning:

We'll start with the four "orange" stripes because our agency originally started with just four districts. Also, orange goes back in our history for everything from the Calverts to our first commendation ribbons. We initially started using orange due to an error with the printer. The order was written up calling for "Or" and "Sable." The printer, thinking "Or" was an abbreviation for "orange," used orange, but "Or" is a "golden-yellow" color that is found in the Calvert family quarters of the Maryland flag. "Sable" is "Black," also found in the Calvert quarter of the Maryland flag.   

The "black" stripe is in memory of our fallen officers. Not all of our fallen officers were recognized over the years, and we are still finding officers who died while working, from work-related injuries, or from illnesses that were not added to the list of Baltimore's known fallen officers. I think the department recognizes somewhere around 140 or so. We found more than 200 fallen Baltimore City officers and have them all listed on this site.

They can be found HERE

The "Red" stripes are to remind us of our injured and disabled. We have some of our injured listed on the site HERE, but they are not sent to us by the department; the only way we can list them is if the injured officer, their family, friends, etc. send us their information. The majority of the information on this website came from Bill Hackley's previous website, along with some names that P/O Bobby Brown sent to us and, as previously mentioned, additional names that family members, friends, and some former partners of our injured officers sent to us. If you would like to be added or know someone who should be added, send their name and as much information as you can gather to Kenny at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The "Blue" stripes on the ends represent loyalty and are for the men, and women who wear or have worn the uniform of a Baltimore City Police Officer. Also, the "Blue" is on the ends to show that our officers are what hold it all together.  

Putting it all together, we have a unique Baltimore City Police Service Ribbon that will not only let us know when we are seeing another of our brother or Sister officers, but will also serve as a reminder of our Department's History, our Service, our Injured, and our Fallen. 

Military Campaign Ribbons - Military Campaign Ribbon were first instituted and presented to recognize general military service in war, in contrast to meritorious decorations, which were only issued on a small scale for acts of heroism and bravery. The campaign ribbons were issued first by the British military with the medal awarded for the defeat of the Invincible Armada, with the 1815 Waterloo Medal being the first awarded to all men present and the 1847 Military General Service Medal being the first "modern" campaign medal.

Baltimore City Police Historic Society', Service Ribbon - Our BPD Police Service Ribbon is an award provided for individuals who took an oath to serve and protect the citizens of the City of Baltimore while sworn as a Baltimore Police Officer. To be eligible, one would have to have completed their service in any length past probation, as long as they are either in good standing with the department, or left/retired in good standing.  If any of our Officers were forced to leave early, it would have had to be for good cause.  

NOTE - As long as any early departure from our agency was NOT due to a termination, or any reason that would tarnish the reputation of our agency, our officers, badge or uniform,. As we all know, our badge means so much to many, therefore, in cases of early departure, and the eligibility to display this ribbon will be considered on a case-by-case basis. But to be clear, as long as an officer was not forced to leave, charged with a crime, they are and should be not just eligible but able to wear this with pride. Leaving for a different agency, for family or just moving on is fine, so long as your service was respectful and leaving was on good terms. 

Background - While out and about, I am sure we have all seen members of our armed forces proudly displaying some sort of service, or campaign ribbons on their cap, or jacket via a patch, or on their vehicle by way of decal/sticker. These representations of their Service Ribbon are a way of letting other military personnel, active or retired, know what campaigns, and battles the person displaying them had been involved in, or served in. In this age of police haters, a thin blue line is not enough, we should have more. So The Baltimore Police Historic Society started not only working on making such a ribbon for our police, a ribbon that will not only let our brothers and sisters know we served but it also serves as a way for our fallen and injured to continue on in our memories, making sure that will never be forgotten.

Meaning - In order for any ribbon to have true meaning, it should have some kind of symbolism within the ribbon. Our Baltimore Police Historic Society's Service Ribbon was designed with that in mind. It was made up of a standard-size commendatory ribbon with nine vertical stripes. The nine  stripes were added, one for each of the nine districts in place at the time of its creation. The four orange stripes are representative of our first four districts, the color used is orange and is there to represent the Calvert Family's Coat of Arms. On each end of the ribbon, we've added a vertical blue stripe. Blue stands for unity, and represents all of our police, past and present; being on the ends of the ribbon shows how our police have stood their ground, holding everything together. The two red stripes signify those members of our agency that have been seriously injured on the job, and then we have a single black stripe which has been placed prominently down the center of the ribbon, it is wider than any of the other stripes and made to have us all see it with hopes of either automatically thinking of and remembering our fallen, or asking questions about our fallen, Either way, it will aid in keeping our fallen brothers and sisters alive in our memories.

Like the Vietnam Service Ribbons and other Campaign Ribbons issued to our service members, the Baltimore Police Historic Society's Ribbons will honor all who have taken the oath of our agency, those that have displayed our patch on their shoulders, pinned on our badge, and patrolled our streets while looking for anyone that might be put with intentions of violating the rights of the citizens that live in the city of Baltimore

Over the past 20 years, I have seen nothing but pride and honor from our retired and active police for the service they have provided or still are providing to our city. So, we at the Baltimore City Police Historical Society put our heads together and designed our own Baltimore Police Service Ribbon. Our ribbon will be put on baseball caps, decals, patches, t-shirts and other items such as buttons, mugs, pens, challenge coins etc. with a goal of allowing us to show our pride. Now more than ever we need to show our pride, and hold our heads up in a way that will allow us to know who we are and what we have done. We made these very subtle. Even the patch, while it clearly says “SERVED WITH HONOR” “BALTIMORE CITY POLICE” the average person not seeing a Police Shoulder Patch, or Police Badge will look right past this. Still our active, and retired will know who we are, and the pride we earned will be shown to those who it matters most.

The design seen above has meaning. we will, and have gone over the meaning of every line, and color on the ribbon. Therefore, if you served on the Baltimore Police Force and left in good standing, you earned the right to wear the Baltimore Police Service Ribbon. Like other Service/Campaign Ribbons worn by members of the armed forces that did their service in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq etc. Baltimore Police Officers have not only earned a right to display such a ribbon, but they should wear it, and wear it with both pride and honor. In short, it has 9 sections for the 9 districts, 4 are Orange for the initial 4 districts we started out with, there are 2 Red for our inquired, 1 Black for our fallen, and the 2 Blue on the ends are for all of our police that hold everything together. 

Ironing Instruction

Set Iron, or heat press to 350 degrees, align your patch on the hat, jacket or shirt, heat transfer tape would be best to hold the patch in place while ironing/pressing. With Iron/press heated to 350 degrees, press for 30 seconds. Once the iron/press is removed from your hat, jacket or shirt, wait a few seconds, we normally wait 10 or more seconds to allow the patch to cool down some, so it doesn't shift while moving it. 

Note you might find, "Heat Transfer Tape" listed as any of the following on Amazon... Heat Tape, Heat Resistant Tape, Heat Transfer Tape, Thermal Tape, Sublimation Tape, Heat Vinyl Press Tape, No Residue, or High Temperature Tape. It's about $4.00 a roll, but can be used on most patches, as long as the patch has an iron backing. We normally have all of our patches made with the iron backings, as that backing also helps to preserve the patch due to the thick rubber like backing.

Decals

For now we have access to decals that are 4" x 1.9" that we thought would be just a little larger than a 2x4 as we look at it from the end. But like a 2x4 its more like 3.5" by 1.25" We'll eventually have patches made, and maybe even an actual ribbon for use in a shadow box with all of the other ribbons we've earned over the years.

Decals are $3.00 Each with No Shipping Costs They are basically a fundraiser to help keep the site going, research paid for Servers, domain names etc. We are not looking to turn a profit from the site, truth be told, making money is more of a headache than it is worth, so every penny that comes through any of this goes toward paying in advance for servers, domain names and Newspaper Archives. We have been approached several times by those saying they could help us bring in the kind of funds that would even be enough to put together a salary for those running the site, Ken has turned that down every time, The nightmares of filing taxes is more than he wants to deal with considering this is only his hobby, something he doesn't want to turn into a job. So if anyone is interested in helping pay for the servers (we use two, one for the site, and one for the extra large pic files mainly newspaper articles, large enough to read) but if you want to contribute, send a donation, or buy a decal, patch or anything else you might like. 

https://www.paypal.me/BPDHistory

NOTE: We are also having decals made of the most common ribbons, the Commendation Ribbon, Distinguished Service, Life Saving Award, Bronze Star, Silver Star, Medal of Honor, Citation of Valor, Unit Citation, 1968 Riot Ribbon, and Safe Driving Awards. These will look nice in a shadow box, or on the back window of our cars. Again, most people won't know what they mean, but when we look on if nothing else, we'll know it's one of our brother or sister officers.  
  

We’re excited to introduce our new Baltimore Police Ribbon, a symbol of service, honor, and dedication that has been recognized for nearly three years. As we transition it into an official uniform style ribbon, we understand that purchasing one’s own ribbon might feel unusual.

To address this, we’re introducing a unique approach where we can buy these ribbons for each other. Here’s how it works:

1. Any officer can contribute funds to purchase as many ribbons and certificates as they wish.
2. These funds will be used to send ribbons to other officers who have also contributed to the purchase of as many ribbons and certificates as they want.
3. The process will be initiated by Ken, who, as the president of the historical society, will purchase a ribbon for the first officer who contributes and hasn’t been covered by other contributors. So, if an officer contributes but hasn’t yet received a ribbon, Ken will cover the cost of their ribbon and send them one.
4. That said, if you have no concerns about buying the ribbon for yourself, or if a spouse wants to buy it for you, we have no issues with that. We believe we should all be proud of the service, honor, and dedicated service we provided. Most of us have scars that will last the rest of our lives, some of those scars are visible, some are not.

With this, we don’t have to buy our own ribbons. Instead, we’re acknowledging each other’s service to the Baltimore Police Department and to the city of Baltimore. The ribbon becomes a symbol of recognition from the rank and file: police, for police—the way it has always been.

We can maintain a list of officers who have received ribbons. If you know of an officer who should have one but hasn’t been listed as having received one, you can sponsor that officer, and we’ll send the ribbon to you so you can get it to them, or if you have an address, we can send it directly.

Remember, this isn’t just about the ribbons. It’s about acknowledging the service, honor, and dedicated service each of us has provided to the Baltimore Police Department and to the City of Baltimore. Let’s make it a symbol of our unity and shared commitment to having served Baltimore with honor.

For each donation, a 5x7 certificate on card stock and a ribbon will be sent to one of our retired or active police officers. Those who served the department but didn’t retire are eligible as long as they left on good terms.

 

Baltimore City Police
Historical Society Flag

Click HERE to learn more about our Flag

Click HERE to learn more about our Flag

POLICE INFORMATION

Copies of: Your Baltimore Police Department Class Photo, Pictures of our Officers, Vehicles, Equipment, Newspaper Articles relating to our department and or officers, Old Departmental Newsletters, Lookouts, Wanted Posters, and or Brochures. Information on Deceased Officers and anything that may help Preserve the History and Proud Traditions of this agency. Please contact Retired Detective Kenny Driscoll.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

NOTICE

How to Dispose of Old Police Items

Please contact Det. Ret. Kenny Driscoll if you have any pictures of you or your family members and wish them remembered here on this tribute site to Honor the fine men and women who have served with Honor and Distinction at the Baltimore Police Department. Anyone with information, photographs, memorabilia, or other "Baltimore City Police" items can contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. follow us on Twitter @BaltoPoliceHist or like us on Facebook or mail pics to 8138 Dundalk Ave. Baltimore Md. 21222

 

Copyright © 2002 Baltimore City Police History - Ret Det Kenny Driscoll 

A Tribute to the Grandfather of Robin Hogan Gatton

My grandfather Walter Hogan was a great man. He served as a fireman and saved people from burning buildings. I know this because there are articles written about him in the Baltimore Sun. my father has them. Someday they will be passed down to me & my girls.

He also served as a Baltimore City officer. He retired in the late 60's. He served the city as an impound officer, on horseback, motorcycle (shown) and as a beat officer on the block. My dad gave me everything except his badge and his gun of his uniform. I suspect he will pass them down when he is gone. I even have his uniform from impound days on the tow truck. I thought about donating them to a police museum ... if you know of one let me know.

Gen. MacArthur’s Hat

World War II generals certainly were some very egotistical people.  Often, the job of generaling was just as much about fashion and appearance as it was warmaking.  For example, Gen. Patton was famous for carrying his ivory handled single action cowboy six shooters, Soviet generals were notorious for covering their uniforms with copious amounts of medals, Japanese generals carried katanas despite the fact that little sword fighting occurred during the war, and German generals were perhaps the most professional and disciplined looking of World War II generals.  Gen. Douglas MacArthur was certainly a man who built an image of himself that would become a legend of the war with his oversized corn cob pipe, aviator sunglasses, and his very ostentatious generals hat.  The origins of his hat has always puzzled me.  It certainly is not your standard US Army officers caps.  So what modifications were made to MacArthur’s headwear and why did he wear it?

In 1936 MacArthur was the commander of all US forces in the Philippines with the rank of Major General.  It was in this year that he would retire from the US Army, but retirement did not mean that his military career was over. Immediately after retirement, Filipino President Manuel L. Quezon hired MacArthur as a military adviser and commissioned him with the rank of “Field Marshal of the Philippine Army”.  Of course, this was more of an honorary title as the Philippines didn’t really have a organized military.  MacArthur certainly enjoyed styling himself a field marshal, the highest military rank that can be achieved, but he did not have the uniform, especially the hat, of a proper field marshal.  So MacArthur made some modifications to his officer’s crush cap, adding a row of embroidered gold leaf that circled around the hat and a row around the visor.  He also preferred a gold embroidered US insignia over the standard brass insignia.

When World War II began MacArthur’s commission as the US Army officer was reinstated.  Later, he was promoted to the rank of “General of the Army”, denoted by five stars, it was the American equivalent of a field marshal.  Throughout his command in World War II and Korea, he continued to wear his “Philippine Marshal’s Cap” despite the fact that it was technically against US Army regulations.  Of course, there were few people with the rank or prestige to call him out on it.

Ken's Copyright Artwork

The Following are logos, and artwork drawn and copyright protected by Ken. I hope you enjoy them, I know Ken will not like this being on here, but I needed a place to post these pics, to show copyright and ownership when we have to file to have his work removed from other's sites.

This was made because, I wanted to put Ken's awards on our van, so I had them printed, but as we started putting them on the back window I realized it was going to take up the entire back window, not because he has so many, I think he has maybe a dozen. So what I asked was that ken put all of the ribbons together on one decal. I wanted it balanced, so I had him ad his name tag, and our Service ribbon. These are not in the correct order, I just know he received, 2 Citations of Valor, 3 Bronze Stars, 3 Unit Citations, 2 Commendatory Ribbons, (1 county, 1 city)  a Norris Commissioners Ribbon and a 15 year safe driving. Ken got some other things, a Purple heart, and Distinguished Service Award from the Hall of Fame. I wanted things balanced so I stuck with city and county sworn police, Ken also got a Amtrak award but that was from Auxiliary police a class he took, but was hired before graduation, he didn't like not finishing things, so he was given permission to complete the auxiliary class, during which he did a plain clothes thing at a carnival and the Amtrak wreck

Keys were done for a Lock your car, Remove your valuables program from Crime resistance unit, we needed to remake the decals for some parking meters for the museum

 
Ken's favorite model BPD car was this 90's Chevy Caprice
Ken says obviously it was not like this, but at times with that V8 engine it felt like it looked like this
 Historical Society First Coin

This was done in all purples for my father who passed away due to Pancreatic Cancer, Ken also did a Pink version or actually two pink versions in honor of my mom who had breast cancer around 2004.

Here Ken changed the badge to the current badge, when the patch was originally done it used the badge of that day, when they changed the badge, they didn't change the badge on the patch. Ken did this to see how it would have looked. It took me a minute to see see it at first.  

This was done by Ken because someone said the thin blue line was police sticking together and lying for one another, covering for each other, and that is simply not true. There is a term for that, I am not sure what it is, but "The Thin Blue Line" is the police standing between good and evil,  or right and wrong. it's protecting society from criminals that would rape, rob and pillage, the hard working loyal citizens. So on one side Ken named tons of crimes, and evils, the on the other side spread out much further were things like, Honor, Trust, Law Enforcement, Order, Caring, Loyalty and other positive things. We hope it shows, a the Thin Blue Line stands between Good and Bad, and that it is just a thin line of police that will put themselves between the good and evil of our society to protect us.  

This is the first pink BPD patch Ken did, he did it in honor of my mother, but also for all woman, in hopes they would remember to go have exams, and possibly to save lives through early detection. 

The Birthday patch was done for me at first, but since has been used for more than a dozen police friends. He picked these colors because they are typical of baby shower colors, and figured it would work for both girls and guys. 

Prayer Patch - Blue

Prayer Patch - Brown

With a Crucifix Silhouette on an Ordinary BPD Patch

Ken did two of these, the first he messed up and did it too small, so he re-drew it, this one is huge, but gives the look he likes for what he calls, his Peace with Police Decal. 

Here Ken was making a 4th of July American Flag BPD patch. There isn't much that could be said, other than it is a really nice looking patch. 

The Paranormal Investigation Unit patch, this was made as a kind of joke, as if we have a unit to fight criminal ghosts. This came as a result of Defunding, because of the line "Who you gonna call?" which was done on a similar patch, that covers Defunding our police.

This is the second Pink Breast Cancer Awareness patch Ken designed, he did it for the reason he did many of these, it was for this site, various pages needed original art. Bus he also started having his work printed on decals, shirts etc. because of copy paste artists that were taking his work and using it. There was a guy that ripped off his Espantoon T-shirt design, a design that has his name in it, and web address, the copy paste artist, copied and used it as it was. I don't know if it is lazy or no talent, but some people want to call themselves designers, and then just copy paste the work that others are doing. So now we have it all available and when someone does this, we just send out C&D letters and notify Amazon or eBay to have their works pulled. 

Ken did this crab using a picture of of a real crab that was sent to him, he converted it to a painting, re-did the outline and added one of his patch logos. BTW this is a logo for the Historical Society and this website, it is not BPD's patch, they dropped CITY from their patch back in the late 60's 

This is the DeFund version with the Who ya gonna call? motto. done as a joke for his Facebook friends and for this site. We added it to redbubble, so decals could be had 

This is done for decals it was done as a joke; initially, to put his best friends name on top. We had them made for a soap box derby car Ken has. 

911 had so much impact on us that we had to do something for the site and Facebook to rememebr the fallen heroes that gave their lives saving the lives of so many others. 

WAIT 99.9%
We Are In The 99.9%

WAIT 99.9%
We Are In The 99.9%

This was done by Ken and our granddaughter Rory, Rory picked the components and Ken put it all together for her. He ended  up with two or three versions, she picked these puzzle pieces, and when he showed her the options, she was dead-set this was the one, and it was the one that she had picked all the parts for. So this is our Rory patch

Ken wanted to make a rat trap for his phone cover, it didn't work out, but it did make a nice funny decal and covers our RATT Force. Regional Auto theft Task Force

BALTIMORE History Police WIFE PATCH

Ken made this for his and Patty's 39th Wedding Anniversary

This was done for the site, where we have an Officer of the Year page, we select as many Officers as we can every year to name Officer of the Year, they get nothing but bragging rights, and their name added to the site where it will remain. I might start sending letters out so it can go in their personnel jackets. 

This is for our Hall of Fame, Ken has been nominated between 75 and a 100 times, but refuses to add his name, he thinks it would look like he named himself, so he thanks everyone for the kind words and kind thoughts but will not add his name, we added his name as a joke once, but if you clicked it, it took you to another officer's hall of fame page. Maybe one of these days, we'll manage to convince him it is OK to add him. It is good enough for now that I made his page HERE and he is finally sharing the link when someone asked about his career. 

This is Ken's favorite, it has the best looking red ribbon/banner he could find, Line of Duty Injured, covers so many, as not all injuries are as obvious as his. So this is nice and means so much to so many. 

We have a ton of designs that were done for holidays, and this one is obviously one of them. Our subdued black patch for Memorial Day. 

We need this for our Fallen Officers, this is used here on the site, it is used on Facebook, Twitter and in emails. I like how he got the black here to stand out as well as the red in the Injured Offer version.

4th for July needed something, and while this can be hard to read, it does look good and serves its purpose. The fireworks, can look nice, but at times it can be hard to read when made too small.

We need this for our Fallen officers, this is used here on the site, it is used on Facebook, Twitter and in emails. I like how he got the black here to stand out as well as the red in the Injured version. We needed another for something we were doing so I suggested a star, and Ken added a single gold star. 

We have a ton of designs that were done for holidays, and this one is obviously one of them. Our police observance designs for Peace Officers Memorial Day. 

This stands out well and was done for our Fingerprint page.. all black because of the ink typically used to roll prints

This is obvious too, but I liked the idea the mask looks good, but more important, I think too many masks were added to art, and the masks were not transparent and took away from a design. I kind of like this and found it well thought out and well done. 

We reused the 4th of July patch and used it on Flag day. I figure why not, it is a nice design and helps us to celebrate with our police family. 

This was one of Ken's first designs, it has been ripped off more than any of the others, one guy pasted a dog over this and when someone asked if it was Ken's design, I answered it was, and someone jumped down my throat saying it was an officer from the Eastern, and he painted it on the wall, Ken had nothing to do with it,. I had to let him know painting two zeroes after the one on a one dollar bill doesn't give you a hundred dollars, anymore than painting a dog over Ken's design makes his design theirs. Ken draws his works from nothing, and works up to a final design. He adjust colors, shapes and lines with text until he has a real finished work that he did himself. This is Ken's first real design. Likewise, he drew his shoulder patch from the ground up, we had someone making rosary beads, that said, So he put a ribbon in front and all of a sudden it is his. I had to explain, Ken made the entire thing from nothing to what we see.  We had to make this page to show our work as our work, and copyright it. 

This and the next was made for the 100th anniversary of BPD's Motor's unit. Wings up or wings down. We went with wings down, the following was made into our patch. The one above was used on this and the last site. 

While still in patrol circa 1993/94 Ken came up with this idea for a T-shirt, he liked AC-DC and thought this would work, he has made stickers and T-shirts since and it has worked well. 

For National Thank the Police Day, Ken adapted his BC/PD About to Rock design, adding the silhouette of a police officer saluting and the Served with Honor ribbon. The saluting silhouette symbolizes the bravery and dedication of our police officers, while the Served with Honor ribbon represents the commitment to protecting and serving our communities that all of our police officers make or have made in the past and present. These additions to Ken's design truly capture the essence of National Thank the Police Day and pay homage to the invaluable work done by law enforcement officers.

A Lost Tradition in Baltimore: A Cop Walking His Beat

BY BILL HUGHES · JULY 28, 2020 · NO COMMENTS

When I was growing up in South Baltimore’s Locust Point, a working-class area back in the post-WWII era, one of my memories is of the policeman “walking his beat.” That’s right, a cop walking solo through the neighborhood. No police cars – no two-way radios, just him checking out the local scene. He was known as a “foot patrolman.”

A “beat” was the territory a police officer was required to patrol. It was a tradition where the officer got to “know” his area and the folks living there. In this case, the Locust Pointers got a chance to also check him out. To the best of my recollection, this relationship worked out just fine.

Along with his beat, there was usually a telephone kiosk or box, where the officer was required to call into his sergeant and/or commanding officer. Customarily, this was, absent an emergency, done at a set time.

The cop on the beat always carried a “billy club” with him. This was a wooden club, aka “a nightstick.” It was over a foot long, sometimes 36 inches long. It could be used for defensive or offensive purposes, like in suppressing a riot.

I remember an ugly incident outside of Ikey’s bar on Hull Street. A brawl broke out between some longshoremen who had had too much to drink. The cops showed up, sirens blasting away, in full battle gear with billy clubs flying. There were a lot of cracked heads that night.

This was long before any Civil Rights enactments. The local cop for better or worse was the law. My father warned me to “never argue with a cop!” Discussing things, on the other hand, was okay, but “don’t argue” with him. You want to argue, wait till you get to the court! (Courts were located at the local police station.) I wonder how many people would be alive today if they had gotten that kind of advice?

The first cop I recall by name walking his beat was a man the locals called, “Chewing Gum Johnny.” I didn’t dare call him by that monicker nor did anyone else. He was a big man, on the older side, always with a smile on his face. I think he was of Irish descent, like some in my neighborhood.

When I was a teenager in the early 50s, Simon Joseph Avara, k/a “Joe Avara,” made his appearance as our foot patrolman. He made a terrific impression on all. He was always immaculately dressed and as friendly as could be and a true professional cop in every way.

I wasn’t surprised to watch Joe Avara climb up the ranks and reach the position of Lt. Colonel on the Baltimore City police force. He died in 2009, at age 84.

There was one cop who once walk the beat in my neighborhood that didn’t impress me at all. He was more of a silly, lazy-clown type. I will simply use his initials – “CF.” He would do his best, not to make an arrest. In fact, when he spotted a drunk or a disorderly character on the street, he would “hide” until he passed.

Later, CF got a job in the main city courthouse stationed as a police guard in one of its rooms dedicated to trying criminal cases. This was before there was a public defender system. When he noticed a defendant didn’t have a lawyer, he would talk him or her into going across the street to get an attorney that he was “pimping” for. Sleazy CF got a piece of the action for his tactics.

The final cop on the beat I want to write about was Frank Battaglia. When I first encountered him in Locust Point, he was a sergeant assigned to the Southern District. He was known as a law and order dude, but friendly.

This was in the early fifties, I was a teenager then. One night I went to the back of the Deluxe Theatre on Fort Avenue to “relieve” myself. (It was an emergency, okay?)

Seconds later a cop car shows up with its lights flashing. I was called over to the car and read the riot act. It was Battaglia. I was thinking the worse. It turned out he knew my dad who worked on the waterfront so he decided to give me a break. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Battaglia seems to be everywhere in Locust Point. At the time, taverns (bars) dominated the peninsula. There were about twenty-two of them. They literally did what they wanted. Nobody ever thought of challenging them.

In the summertime before air conditioning, the taverns keep their doors and windows wide open with their jukeboxes blasting away till closing time. The naive locals, myself included, thought that was the way it was suppose to be. Battaglia, however, thought otherwise.

Battaglia made the owners turn their jukeboxes down and/or keep their doors and windows closed. He also strictly enforced the 2 am closing time. One owner brazenly resisted his edicts.

Battaglia went into his bar and took down his liquor license number. He then made a case against the owner at the Liquor Board. It agreed with Battaglia. After that incident, he never had any more trouble with that particular bar owner.

When Battaglia became Commander of the Southwestern District in the late ’50s, he adopted a controversial plan to stop automobiles at random in order to check out the driver’s compliance with licensing requirements. The novel scheme created a strong police presence in high crime areas. It also brought with it a storm of protest by civil libertarians because of its patent infringements on civil and constitutional rights.

The so-called “Battaglia Plan,” although well-intended, was eventually discarded by the department. The State Police’s current campaign of stopping automobiles at selected roadblocks to detect possible drunk drivers undoubtedly had its genesis in the Battaglia Plan of that earlier era.

Battaglia, no surprise here, went on serve as the distinguished Police Commissioner of Baltimore City from 1981-84, thanks to the appointment of Mayor William Donald Schaefer. Battaglia was highly respected by both the public and the members of the department. He was the first Italian-American to hold that post. He died at age 85, in 1999.

The Police Department has gone through many changes over the years as has the City of Baltimore. The influx of illegal drugs, along with the violent individuals and gangs that now dominate those rackets, has dramatically altered the dynamics of the local crime scene.

It’s clear “the cop walking the beat” tradition no longer fits the needs of public safety in my city. That practice is long lost, but my fond memories of the fine patrolmen who once-filled that role, live on.

From <https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/a-lost-tradition-in-baltimore-a-cop-walking-his-beat>

Defund the Police - Topsy-Turvy Patch

Help support the Baltimore City Police History website and our research with the purchase of one of our latest Baltimore City Police Patches. Our latest Baltimore City Police Patch is the defund BPD Topsy-Turvy patch, showing how bad things would get if we keep cutting the budget. We've been getting a lot of attention with these, but due to injuries we have not been pushing them. We don't do eBay sales anymore, so now we are offering them exclusively through the site with some adverts on Facebook.

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From Rattle Watch to Batons

CONTRIBUTED BY OLIVER JENKINS
​
Incidents in our Police History Revealed by Old Records.

WHO REMEMBERS THE “KLIPDRIFT POLICE Force,” an elaborate and picturesque organization formed “all on their own” by a diamond digging community in 1870?

This is one of the oddities in the evolution of the Police in South Africa which I recently discovered in the faded records of the Cape Town archives. It led me to turn back the pages of time to the early years of the last century and examine a few of the “ups and downs” in the history of our Force. This is what I found:

“The Watchmen being informed of any disturbance or evil design, they shall immediately spring their rattles and loudly call out murder, thieves, or the like.”

This was one of the standing orders issued to the Burgher Ward masters – the predecessors of the blue-uniformed police – in Cape Town in 1817, two years after the Battle of Waterloo and during the governorship of Lord Charles Somerset.

Before these Ward masters were appointed, about the year 1790, there had for many years been a rudimentary system of patrolling the streets at night by burgher watchmen, but the Ward masters (referred to indiscriminately by writers as Police or Aldermen) were the actual forerunners of the “Force” as now existing.

The Policeman, therefore, as we know him today armed only with his baton, belongs to a profession which, comparatively speaking, is of very modern origin. A little over 100 years ago the well-informed and well-disciplined Constable of today was almost undreamed of.

The duties of the old burgher Ward master in the Mother City included jobs which would seem strange to the modern Policeman. He had to enforce cleanliness in the streets and in public places, maintain order and give directions at fires. Each man so appointed was required to have a board, with his rank “Wijkmeester” painted on it, affixed to his house.

Before going on duty in the evening the ward masters were inspected, armed with swords and given rattles (made of boxwood and very noisy) and lighted lanterns. They wore felt hats with wide brims, coats of long skirting and knee-breeches. Each was in his ward by ten o’clock and paraded up and down during the night, springing his rattle and making outcry in case of need.

All watchmen were exempted from burgher taxes and received a salary of 25 rixdollars a month.

In 1828 the first step was taken towards forming a police force when an Ordinance was promulgated establishing the police as an executive body in Cape Town district. Mr. W.C. van Ryneveld was appointed Superintendent. It was approximately at this time also that the London police force came into existence.

Compared with the modern body however Cape Town’s police of those early days was a very poor affair. Under the Superintendent there were three under-sheriffs or Gaolers at an annual salary of about £40. The Constables received only about £23 per annum.
 
The service was therefore disliked and looked down upon as a degredation. The “Dienaars,” dissatisfied with their lot, became drunken. When they were unnecessarily severe upon Hottentots or slaves, they received a flogging at the hands of their brother Constables.

Each Constable carried (in addition to his sword) a staff as an emblem of his authority, and was allowed to carry a pistol when in pursuit of or conducting a prisoner.

The aiming of the police with swords remained a vexed question for some years, and the matter came to a head in 1839 when – as the Gazette reported: “During a brawl or disturbance on the Parade, a young man named Roberts was wounded in the thigh with a sword by one of the police and speedily bled to death.”

The upshot was that in 1840 the Government remodeled the police “under Mr. Inspector King of London” and a new era was inaugurated.

The next considerable step was made in 1850 when rural police were formed in the frontier districts of the Cape. Before this the Cape Mounted Riflemen had carried on his police work more or less spasmodically and roughly.

Port Elizabeth, which, beginning as one of the worst conducted towns in South Africa, eventually becoming one of the best, did not move in the matter of a local police force until 1855 when the inhabitants heroically agreed to a rate of 3d. in the £ rental to secure an efficient body. The P.E. force however had many vicissitudes and re-organizations as the pay was very low and the best men left for better positions.

The lack in country districts of reliable or any police was sometimes made good by swearing in Special Constables. Thus in 1856 at usually quiet and law-abiding Stellenbosch the paper reported that there were “boisterous meetings” in the village and that Special Constables had to be sworn in “to keep within bounds the opposition to the Burgher Bill.”      

In 1860 a blue cloth uniform was adopted for town police and helmets of grey cloth with V.R. and wreath on the front were added in 1869. Thus, the South African “Bobby” attained the dignity and bearing which go with a smart uniform, but in one case it appears to have led to excessive zeal.

According to the “Cape Argus” the police had been ordered to keep a clear space in front of the entrance to a horse show in Darling Street, Cape Town. “Policeman No. 5 took it on himself to stop the traffic altogether. Mr. Isemenger, the wagonmaker, declined to be stopped and walked on, whereat No. 5 ran after him, seized him by the collar and marched him off to the police station. The case came on at once before Baron Lorentz, who besides fining the policeman £1 for assault had him dismissed from the Force” – rather a “raw deal” for No. 5.

The following year (1861) there was a “spot of bother” at Fort Beaufort which a local press correspondent described as follows: “Four colored prisoners broke away from their police guard here yesterday and robbed the village last night. No one would go in pursuit of them because the Government remuneration is too low. The Chief Constable appears to be able to do nothing.”

The haphazard way in which police “forces” appeared like mushrooms in those days and as quickly faded away is well illustrated by the “Klipdrift Police” mentioned earlier in this article. In October 1870, the Mutual Protection Association of the Klipdrift diamond digging community formed a corps of 30 men under one Inspector at £200 a year, the Sergeants receiving £10 a month and the Privates 5s. a day. Uniforms were provided and the little Force did its job well for some time until eventually the attractions of the diggings proved too strong and most of the men got jobs at De Beers and New Rush.

Two other little “incidents” in the story of our Police which I discovered during my search among the old records were a strike by the Cape Town Police in 1881 and the “resignation in a body” by the Mossel Bay Police later in the same year. In both cases, however, a satisfactory settlement was reached within a short time.

Finally, here is a little story of how a Bloemfontein “Bobby” got himself into trouble in the early eighties: Giving evidence before the local Magistrate in a charge of drunkenness against a respectable citizen of the town, he frankly admitted that he was drunk himself when he arrested the citizen, but he thought the man was drunk also so “ran him in” and locked him up for the night.

That was the last arrest he made!

https://www.samirror.com/rattle-watch-to-batons.html