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Nineteen veteran members of the Wichita Police Department resigned since August (1951) to take jobs paying up to $200 more per month than their salary as law enforcement officers. The problem of policemen quitting for more gainful employment became more acute every week. Increases in police personnel could not keep pace with the exodus to defense plants and other industries allied with the defense effort. It was pointed out that new officers hired to replace veteran officers tended to decrease the efficiency of the department. The department was criticized for hiring officers from other Kansas towns but responded that available men who could qualify for officers were scarce and it was necessary to hire from outside Wichita.
With a proposed budget of almost $1,000,000, the Wichita Police Department requested an additional 32 officers for 1952, citing annexations and population growth as the need for the increase. Additionally, the department was asking for a new polygraph and a Drunk-O-Meter, a device which measured the amount of alcohol in the breath of suspected drunk drivers. The budget request stated that both police judges would accept the results of the meter.
The year 1954 saw the addition of radar to the arsenal of Wichita police officers to deal with the traffic problem in the city. The 1955 proposed police budget was submitted totaling $1,468,750; and called for 24 additional employees and the establishment of a juvenile division. Fifty-one Wichita police officers returned to college as part of a Wichita program which drew nation-wide recognition and was the rebirth of a plan laid out by O. W. Wilson, chief between 1928 and 1939.
In April, 1957, the Wichita Police Department hosted three exchange officers from Iraq who were part of a contingent of officers sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
“Police Equipment Stands Idle as Accidents Soar” read the headlines of the Wichita Eagle August 24, 1957. $40,000 worth of motorcycles and patrol cars stand idle in the police garage as there were sharp cutbacks in the number of personnel allotted to the traffic division to carry out its assigned duties. Chief Anderson ordered the reduction in the number of patrolmen in the traffic division to comply with recommendations made in a Public Administration Service survey of the department.
In September, 1958, the “Meter Maid” program began with the addition of 15 lady traffic control checkers. They will handle only the parking detail which includes 2000 parking meters and 12 miles of time zones.
On April 6, 1959, John G. Yeager passed away. Yeager was a retired 33 year veteran of the Wichita Police Department who was recognized as being the last of the “harness” officers, carried badge Number 1, and could recall horse drawn patrol wagons and the hoodlums of the roaring 1920’s. He retired from active duty March 1, 1944. At the time of his death he was 84 years of age.
Also included in the History Book:
New Police Badges
1st Radar Guns
“Meter Maids”
1st Breath Tests
Organization Troubles
Korean War
Police Reserves get Full Commission |