Princeton Police Department history

On June 7, 1813, the Mayor and Common Council of Princeton Borough passed an ordinance that established the duties and compensation of the Marshal of Princeton.

In 1817, the office of marshal and clerk of the market were combined.

Mercer County was not established until 1838.

On November 12, 1847, the Mayor and Council ordained that the marshal would be elected by ballot by the members of the council at its first meeting of the new year.

On May 16, 1860, the Mayor and Council enacted an ordinance that created "Night Police" in Princeton.

In the late 1870’s T.B. Wilson and his brother George began farming near the site of future Princeton.

The decade beginning in 1910 saw a great deal of growth within the Princeton Borough Police Department, not only in structure but also in the duties that the police performed.

In September of 1913, a Princeton Packet newspaper article reported that Marshal Kilfoil and Assistant Marshal Bovie got into a private car and went as far as Kingston looking for a holdup man who fled town in an automobile.

In March of 1918, the Borough installed a blinking light system made popular by August Vollmer.

The use of the motorcycle worked so well that the department purchased another (and hired another cycle policeman) on November 11, 1922.

In 1935, Officer Edward Mahan was appointed chief.

The "radio patrol car" made its first appearance in Princeton in 1936.

In 1940, the migratory camp was built west of Princeton where the Community Park is now located.

Following the war the town’s population remained 564 until the completion in 1953 of Lake Lavon, five miles away.

Although by 1969 all of the officers on the force had high school diplomas (or equivalency), none had college degrees.

1975 saw the entrance of one of New Jersey's first female police officer, Monica Sheehan.

The growth of the Dallas metropolitan area and the emergence of nearby Plano as the business center for Collin County caused the population of Princeton to increase to 3,408 by 1982.

In 1991, Chief Michael F. Carnevale retired after nineteen years as a police chief.

In 1994, the department installed a mobile data terminal system in all of its marked patrol cars.

In January 2005, Chief Davall retired after 25 years of dedicated service.