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 St Helier Paid Police Force
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.
The States of Jersey Police
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 around 236 police officers supported by around 90 civilian staff.