Jersey's first paid police officers operated only in St Helier - it was nearly 50 years before other parishes were patrolled.
The States of Jersey Police has a history dating back to 1853, when a small group of uniformed officers operated in St Helier. The officers wore locally-made uniforms, but their helmets, rattles, lamps and truncheons came from the UK. They had to pay for their own uniforms - the cost was deducted from their 23 shillings weekly wage.
The officers worked from the Town Hall in Seale Street, and were also responsible for fighting fires. However, this changed 15 years later when a volunteer fire fighting service was established.
The force became larger and more standardised over time, and in the 1890s officers began to work a day shift as well as a night shift, and became known as the St Helier Paid Police Force. They also began to patrol on pedal cycles.
By the 1930s, the St Helier Paid Police Force were patrolling other parishes on horseback.
During the German Occupation of Jersey (1940-1945) 40 ‘specials’ or auxiliary officers began to work with the paid police and together they patrolled the town and outskirts, with a lone patrol car by night and a motorcyclist by day.
In 1950, a mobile section was formed, but the paid police remained a parish body until 1951. In 1952 a Police Bill transferred the control of the paid police from the parish of St Helier to the States of Jersey. The new police force became official on 24 May 1952 with 64 police officers.
Today, we have 214 police officers and 121 civilian staff.
