Police History

The Lincoln Police Department had its humble beginning in 1855. In 1855 when Lincoln was incorporated as a town, the board of village officers created the position of “Constable”. LeRoy Brown was appointed as the first Constable for the town of Lincoln. The position of Constable lasted until 1865.

In 1865 the position of “City Marshall” was created when the town of Lincoln and Postville combined to form the city of “Lincoln”. The newly formed City Council of Lincoln appointed Charles C. Brackett as the first City Marshall. Thereafter, the position of City Marshall was filled by elections each year, along with other elected city officials, in the month of April.

The following is a list of City Marshalls and the year they were elected:

From Marshall To Chief

During the time that the City Marshall was police administrator, the city had a police force consisting of four positions. The four positions were filled by appointment of the Mayor with the approval of the City Council. The four positions consisted of the following: one day time police officer, two night time officers, and one merchant’s police officer.

In 1886 the citizens of Lincoln approved a proposal in the general election which allowed the city to surrender the special charter, which the city had originally organized under. Thus the city was able to reorganize under the general law. One aspect of this change allowed the city to do away with the election of a City Marshall. The Mayor was then allowed to appoint a “Chief of Police” with the approval of the City Council. This practice is currently used today.

The following is a list of Chief of Police for the City of Lincoln.

 Creating a Police Force

Until 1870, Police were hired on a month by month basis and had to submit a monthly bill for services to the City Council to be paid. They could be, and often were, replaced when the month ended depending on the politics of the town at that time. They served as Constables as well as Town Marshalls. Often the officers were hired by the ward they lived in and served as policemen for their ward.

On April 21, 1870 the City Council passed an ordinance creating a Police Force. So that date is the official birthday of the Lincoln Police Department. The first Chief of Police was Lewis Rosenthal. He was appointed by the City Council by a 6-2 vote. He was dismissed on September 5, 1870 for failure to make a sufficient number of ordinance arrests. In order to force Rosenthal to resign his position, the City Council voted to lower his salary to one cent per month. He resigned October 3, 1870. The City Council then reverted back to the elected City Marshall system to replace the Chief of Police until a new chief could be named.

There were “night police” that were appointed by the City Council who served under the City Marshall’s Office. They worked only at night from 6:00pm to 6:00am, six nights per week. They were paid $35.00 per month. The Marshall and the Police Chief received $50.00 per month. Part of the night police duties were to light the gas street lamps at dark and extinguish them at sunrise.

The difference between the City Marshall’s Office and the Chief of Police was mainly administrative. The Chief commanded the police force and made ordinance arrests. The City Marshall worked as an officer of the City Court serving warrants and made felony arrests. He was also in charge of the night police. Later the night police came under the direction of the Chief of Police and the Marshall position was discontinued. The town merchants then hired their own watchmen, which became the “Merchant Police”, after the turn of the century.

Currently the same system exists today with the Mayor making the appointment of Chief of Police, which must be approved by a majority vote of the City Council. The current rank structure is as follows;

• Chief of Police
• Deputy Chief
• Sergeant/Detective
• Sergeant
• Corporal
• Patrolman

Until February 2008, the “Assistant Chief” of Police was chosen by the Police and Fire Commission after candidates took a written test, and oral interview for the position. Only a Sergeant could test for that position and once appointed, could not be removed without just cause. In February 2008 the City Ordinance changed and the Chief of Police may appoint the newly titled position “Deputy Chief” with the approval of City Council. In February 2008, Michael Geriets was appointed Lincoln’s first Deputy Chief being appointed by Chief Stuart Erlenbush then reappointed under Chief Ken Greenslate in May 2010.

 The Lincoln Police Department takes pride in being part of the many technological changes society has brought forth, assisting our agency to be innovative in pro-active policing, investigations, and enforcement, which are resulting in successful prosecutions of criminal offenders. These include the use of digital in car cameras, mobile data computers, use of mobile crash reporting system, which sends our accident reports from the squad car directly to the Illinois Department of Transportation. Use of New World Reporting system which integrates the Logan County Sheriff’s Department, Logan County Jail, and Lincoln Police Department’s information into one shared data base. This proves essential when investigating crimes that occur in Lincoln and outside the jurisdiction of city limits, providing accurate demographics for the research of crime, location, method of operation etc…

The Lincoln Police Department has a canine officer or K9 handler program. A K9 Officer is a police officer who works with a trained dog (K9) to assist in law enforcement. K9 Officers use their dogs’ skills to perform tasks such as drug detection, locating abilities and apprehending suspects.

The Lincoln Police Department continues to play an important role in educating our youth by teaching D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) in the grade schools, Lincoln Junior High, and Senior High School levels. We also have two Student Resource Officers (SRO). One is located in the District #27 schools and one is located at the Lincoln Community High School.