History
When Winnipeg became a city in 1873, an election was held to select the city's new Mayor and Aldermen. Those appointed decided to hire city officials, including a Chief Constable. On February 23, 1874, John S. Ingram was appointed the first Chief of Police of Winnipeg.
During the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, most of the force was replaced with 2000 better paid special constables for refusing to sign a declaration promising to not belong to a union or participate in a sympathy strike, even though they remained on duty during the strike. The union was thus broken, and Chris H. Newton became the acting Chief Constable.
In 1972, Winnipeg merged with its eight neighbouring communities, causing the amalgamation of the communities, but still having eight police services with different uniforms and radio channels. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) contract for Charleswood and Headingly was cancelled, and that area fell under the Inner City patrol area. On October 21, 1974, the amalgamation of the services was complete, and the remaining eight services formed into six districts. On January 1, 1975, all police officers in Winnipeg started to wear the same uniform with matching shoulder flashes that stated, "One, with the strength of many".
| Police Chief Constables |
|
|---|---|
| Police Chief Constable | Years served |
| John S. Ingram | 1874–1875 |
| D. B. Murray | 1875–1887 |
| John C. McRae | 1887–1911 |
| Donald MacPherson | 1911–1919 |
| Christopher H. Newton | 1919–1934 |
| George Smith | 1934–1947 |
| Charles McIver | 1947–1953 |
| Robert T. Taft | 1953–1965 |
| George S. Blow | 1965–1970 |
| Norman M. Stewart | 1970–1974 |
In the early 1990s, J.B. Dale Henry, a retired RCMP officer and former commander of the Manitoba "D" division, was selected as the first Chief of Police not from the service's own ranks. Henry was well respected amongst minorities and sought to change and improve the image of police in Winnipeg. One of the most noticeable changes was the name for police, from the Winnipeg Police Force (which it had been for 120 years), to the Winnipeg Police Service. Another change was the addition of the motto "Community Commitment".
Henry also changed the department crest to the one known today and pictured above. The 13 golden stars on the badge represent the 13 communities that came together to form Winnipeg during the amalgamation in the 1970s, and the crocus is the Provincial flower.
Read more about this topic: Winnipeg Police Service
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)