The Joplin Police Department (JPD) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for serving the city of
Joplin in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
.The Joplin Police Department currently employs 112 Police Officers. The department maintains a fleet of Ford Police Interceptors and Ford Explorers. The Joplin Police Department is the largest law enforcement agency in
Jasper County, Missouri
Jasper County is located in the southwest portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 122,761. Its county seat is Carthage, and its largest city is Joplin. The county was organized in 1841 and named for W ...
.
Department structure and history
The Joplin Police Department was created in 1873, and is responsible for providing law enforcement services to a major population center in Southwest Missouri encompassing approximately 50,000 city residents and 200,000 daily visitors through its patrol, investigations, administration, special enforcement, and support services bureaus which report to the Chief of Police, and previously the Police Marshal. According to the
Officer Down Memorial Page
The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. (ODMP) is a non-profit organization that maintains a website listing American law enforcement officers, prison officers and police dogs who have died in the line of duty.
History
The ODMP was established i ...
, 21 officers have been killed in the line of duty in the department's history.
Officers are issued
Glock
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
pistols as their primary sidearm, in recent years JPD has upgraded to the 9mm Glock due to improved ballistics and the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
going to 9mm.
Marshals and chiefs
Individuals who have served as marshal or chief of the Joplin Police Department since its creation in 1873 have included the following
* J. William Lupton (1873–1875)
* John Frederick Bair (1875–1876)
* L. Cass Hamilton (1876–1886)
* Calvin Nickell (1886–1887)
* J.J. Cofer (1887–1892, first term)
* John Alexander McManamy (1893–1896, first term)
* W.E. Morgan (1897–1898)
* John Alexander McManamy (1899–1900, second term)
* Thomas James Cofer (1901–1903)
* John Alexander McManamy (1903–1905, third term)
* Joseph H. Myers (1905–1909, first term)
* John Alexander McManamy (1909-1910, fourth term)
* Joseph H. Myers (1911–1914, second term)
* Henry N. Milligan (1914–1917)
* J.J. Cofer (1917–1918, second term)
* Joseph H. Myers (1918–1922, third term)
* Vern P. Hine (1922–1924)
* William F. Gibson (1924–1925)
* Luther M. Laster (1925–1926)
* Bert Blizzard (1926)
* Arch McDonald (1926–1928)
* Guy Harrington (1928–1934)
* Henry Mead (1934–1937)
* Joseph W. Pratt (1937–1938)
* Barney Walker (1938–1941, first term)
* Tony Calvin Bone (1941, first term)
* Barney Walker (1941–1942, second term)
* Tony Calvin Bone (1942–1943, second term)
* Henry Vermillion (1943–1945)
* Kendrick Lloyd (1945–1948)
* Roy E. Isgrigg (1948–1950, first term)
* T. Frank Martin (1950–1951)
* John T. Hollis (1951–1952)
* Roy E. Isgrigg (1952–1962, second term)
* Walter H. Flenner (1962–1965)
* Adrian Lacy Meacham (1965–1972)
* Bernard Kakuske (1972–1977)
* Larry D. Tennis (1977–1986)
* David McCracken (1986)
* Michael J. Wightman (1986–1991)
* David R. Nieber (1992–1998)
* Edward G. Dennis (1998–2002)
* Kevin Lindsey (2002–2006)
*
Lane J. Roberts (2007–2014)
* Jason Burns (2014–2016)
* Matthew Stewart (2016 - 2021)
City of Joplin Announces New Police Chief (FourStates Homepapge.com article)
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314060942/http://www.fourstateshomepage.com/story/city-of-joplin-announces-new-police-chief/d/story/kvs9-omJ-UapyRUT7kCWvw , date=2014-03-14
*Sloan Rowland (2021-Present)
References
External links
City of Joplin, Missouri-Joplin Police Department
Joplin, Missouri
Municipal police departments of Missouri
1873 establishments in Missouri
Government agencies established in 1873