The Peterborough Police Service is celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2025, along with the City of Peterborough.
Police chief Stuart Betts marked the beginning of the celebrations on Tuesday (March 18) by placing the police service’s official 175th anniversary crest on marked patrol vehicles.
“We are honoured to be stewarding the celebration of this milestone,” Chief Betts said in a media release. “It is important for us to say thank you to the officers and civilians that built this organization and have served with dedication as our community has grown.”
A community celebration event will be held on Saturday, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the new police facility at 1421 Lansdowne Street West, where the public can meet officers and watch demonstrations. The event will also feature recruitment information, a BBQ, petting zoo, obstacle course, and more.
In 1850, the Town of Peterborough was incorporated through the Municipal Corporations Act of 1849 — also known as the Baldwin Act, after Upper Canadian lawyer and politician Robert Baldwin who led an effort to delegate authority from district councils to municipal governments so they could raise taxes, enact by-laws, and establish their own police forces.
One of the first acts of the town council was to appoint Peterborough’s first chief constable William Cummings, along with four part-time constables, to police the community of around 2,200 people.
In 1998, the Village of Lakefield and the City of Peterborough agreed on a joint community police service and, in 1999, amalgamated the former Peterborough Community Police Service and the Lakefield Police Service (Lakefield’s first village constable Thomas Hull was appointed in 1875).
The Peterborough Lakefield Community Police Service was de-amalgamated in 2015 and rebranded as the Peterborough Police Service, with Lakefield contracting for police services.
Also in 2015, Cavan Monaghan Township — which had previously contracted police services from the Ontario Provincial Police — decided to contract police services from the Peterborough Police Service instead.
Today, the Peterborough Police Service has 162 officers and 96 civilian members serving the residents of the City of Peterborough, the Village of Lakefield, and Cavan Monaghan Township, with a combined population of around 100,000 people.
“When looking back through our history, it is not surprising to see the Peterborough Police Service at the forefront of policing and public safety innovation,” Chief Betts said.
“We pledge that the service of the future is just as forward thinking and responsive to the needs of our policing communities. As part of that pledge, we will revisit the mission, vision and values of our service to ensure they reflect not only today’s expectations, but also the future needs of our organization and the community.”
The world’s first modern police force was established in 1829 by British Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, who introduced legislation to form the Metropolitan Police in London, U.K. (the “bobby” nickname for a London police officer came from Peel’s first name).
Prior to the establishment of the full-time, professional, and centrally organized police force, London’s population of nearly 1.5 million people has been policed by 450 constables and 4,500 night watchmen who belonged to many separate organizations.
Considered the father of modern policing, Peel developed nine general principles that saw police officers considered as citizens in uniform, embodied by the principle “The police are the public and the public are the police.” Peel’s principles followed the concept of “policing by consent,” based on transparency, integrity, and accountability for exercising police powers.
