A history of the La Crosse Police Department : the first forty years

Abstract

This paper traces the development of police protection in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from its incorporation as a city in 1856 to the creation of the Police and Fire Commission in 1897, The research done to complete the paper indicates that police protection improved during the first forty years of the city of La Crosse, and the citizens of the city caused this improvement to take place through pressure exerted on the City Council. Materials used for research included newspaper articles, City Council proceedings, State Statutes, original letters and documents of the Police and Fire Commission, personal interviews and several secondary sources. Accumulation of material proved difficult because no one has previously undertaken a study of this magnitudes The major problem encountered proved to be the gathering of material because of the failure of the Police and Fire Commission to catalog records and the La Crosse papers to index back issues.