The Town of Portsmouth, RI was settled in the year 1638 and one of the first acts of business was to appoint a Town Sergeant. He was the chief law enforcement officer and prosecutor. The town council was both judge and jury and punishments were sure and quick.

Stocks and a dopping stool (several dunks in the town pond while strapped to a chair) and a whipping post were the detriments of the day and were well used.

As time progressed, the state legislature assumed the duties of prosecuting the more heinous crimes and as late as the mid 1700's the Town Sergeant was frequently ordered to "lay 15 stripes well laid upon the naked body of John Doe" for such minor offenses as arriving in town with no money and nowhere to stay and then run out of town. If the offender returned, he was to be whipped "as often as necessary" until he got the message.

The 1800's were quiet in Portsmouth as we experimented our way through the Industrial Revolution. It wasn't until the 1920's that the town saw fit to appoint a full time police chief. His name was William Deegan, he came from Pennsylvania to work in the Portsmouth coal mines. It was no coincidence that Prohibition and the Amusement Park in Island Park created so many problems that the first "modern" jail was built across from the dance hall and beer parlor to house the many offenders. It was nothing more than a "holding tank". Chief Deegan and his constables made many arrests while breaking up illegal stills all over Portsmouth and the revelers from the "Park" added to the population in the jail.

World War II taxed the town coffers. to a degree that a few more full time men were added to the force. In the late 1950's, the department was declared permanent. A major event that seriously affected the organization was the Jazz Festival riots in Newport in the early 1960's. The town fathers realized we had growing pains and soon after this the department expanded greatly. At present we have 26 men, 3 women, 17 motor vehicles, 2 motorcycles, 1 patrol boat and seadoo. We have a newly formed Tactical Response Team and vehicle and are working on the formation of a bicycle patrol. There is an ongoing computer network that is upgraded as needed. The station house was recently enlarged and the men and women can handle just about any problem that arises.

The Portsmouth Police Department has become a progressive law enforcement agency, committed to protecting and serving the citizens of Portsmouth. As the demand for police services increases, the department continues to implement community based policing and pro-active crime fighting initiatives. The department is committed to providing our adolescents with positive direction and guidance. Programs such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education ( D.A.R.E ) and the Portsmouth Residents Opposed to Underage Drinking Program ( PROUD ), serve to teach our children about the dangers of substance abuse and offer constructive alternatives. The police department is directing its attention to individual neighborboods, interacting with the residents to indentify local problems, and then working with the community to solve our problems

Circa 1977