Brandon Police Service marks 140 years

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This article was published 12/07/2022 (1330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Police Service — which started with investigating shootouts and horse thefts in its earliest days — celebrated its 140th anniversary on Tuesday.

The Brandon Police Force, as it was originally known, was created on July 12, 1882, by the original Brandon City Council, which held its first meeting just days earlier, on July 3.

The police force was originally very small with only three members, but has now grown to approximately 100 sworn officers, according to Sgt. Ed Conway, the police service’s historian.

“You have a history of 410 members since 1882. It’s quite a thing,” he said.

Some of the biggest changes have been with the technology available to officers, Conway said. While the city’s early police officers had horse-drawn carriages and bicycles, they now have police cruisers equipped with computers and radios that can reach across the province.

“If they could come back now and see what we are like here, it would be amazing to see their reaction to what they’re seeing.”

The techniques of policing have also changed, he said. Brandon was small in its beginnings and citizens might have dropped into the police station with tips about newcomers to town.

“The techniques of policing may have changed, but certainly not the contact with the community.”

The police service has also expanded to include more women in its ranks. The first female police officer in the city was Const. Carol Fisher, who joined in 1979, Conway said. She retired in January 2012.

Now, BPS has 12 women in its ranks.

Deputy Chief Randy Lewis, who has been with BPS for 28 years, said the police service has seen many amendments since 1882, including more recently, when changes appear almost daily.

“At the end of the day, we work with the environment we’re in to best serve the citizens of our community,” he said.

The role of a police officer hasn’t changed drastically over the decades, he said. It’s still about serving, protecting and instilling trust with the community.

“The police service has been here a very long time and we do our best daily to serve the community,” he said.

“At the end of the day, that’s exactly what we’re here to do. We are members of this community, we live within the community, our kids go to school here … and we are part of this community.”

Other milestones include in 1980, when BPS introduced its police dog unit with Const. Leon Flannigan and police service dog Mac who, according to Conway’s research, were trained by the Calgary Police Service.

In 1990, the police service introduced a formal Tactical Response Unit.

Despite all the changes for BPS, the basic police functions have remained the same, he said.

“It’s an active relationship with the community,” he said.

“It’s members going back and taking the time to see what we can do to help — a service. Our motto now is ‘Community first,’ so we really do take that seriously here in Brandon.”

Conway also maintains a collection of historical items from the service’s past, some of which are on display in the police station’s lobby. The collection includes old firearms and a heavy bison skin coat early police officers wore on the job.

» dmay@brandonsun.com

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