SigMT

Community relations has always been part of the policeman's job. Newspaper accounts tell of caring for lost small children and accommodating visitors with no means for a bed at night. In fact, December 1915 the police found a bed in the jail for men to stay the night in nearly a thousand instances. Today "Shop with a Cop" is an example of community events held by the police force. e ability to communicate with headquarters has always been a priority. e time it takes to communicate makes the difference in being able to successfully resolve a problem before it possibly escalates. At one time the policeman carried dimes in his pocket (Yes, it took only a dime to make a call from a pay phone) to call headquarters. Later flashing amber lights at strategic locations were used to alert officers to call headquarters. en call boxes were added throughout the town. By 1930 the police department requested radio receivers in all police cars and at headquarters. By 1938 two-way radios were installed. Today's police cars are equipped with radios, computers, telephones, and, of course, radar guns. From the first car, which was a 45-horsepower vehicle and was supposedly able to outrun anything else on the road, to the fleet today, vehicles have been an important asset to the police force. In the 1930's the department was aempting to justify that an increased fleet was necessary. A statement in the Jun 3, 1930 Great Falls Tribune stated, "e idea of a motorized department…is not experimental, as it is a proven fact that one officer in a car can easily patrol five times the area covered by an officer on foot." e department had four Model A's at the time. is last year, the 88 sworn-in personnel responded to 43,768 calls. Assisting them are an additional 44 employees, including lab/evidence personnel, dispatchers, administrative personnel, records technicians, civilian accident investigators, and animal control. e police force uses technical advances whenever possible. From fingerprinting that started in 1917, to the national data bases of individuals being sought, to DNA collection, and to drone use, scientific and technical methods have been great aids in solving crimes and helping people. SiG MT 62 Dispatch console manned by a Great Falls Police Officer in 1963. The city building, located at 425 Second Avenue South, was built in 1914 and served as the police and fire stations until 1975.

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