Museum

The Houston Police Museum consists of two floors. The lower level has many early uniforms and gear. Some artifacts date back to the late 1880's. Though the Houston Police Department was established in 1841, there are no known artifacts from its earliest period.

The badge has come to be a universal symbol of policing. Badge number   "One" was first issued in 1878. No records exist as to who first wore this badge, but badge number "One" is still in service today.

This is the earliest known photograph of Houston Police Officers. We believe it was taken sometime in the late 1880's in downtown Houston. Too many years have passed to identify the officers or their trusty mounts. The uniform is made of dyed dark blue indigo wool and the pants were adorned with a white strip sewn down the leg. The hat was made by Stetson Hat Company and the badge is silver and hand made.

This is the earliest known Houston Police hat. It belonged to Houston Police Officer John Franklin Scott. He wore it from the early 1890's until he passed away in 1916. The hat is made of cardboard and covered with a dyed mole skin. Green hats were worn by traffic officers at the turn of the century.

The oldest uniform in our collection was made in 1915 by Sakowitz of Houston. It is made of wool and dyed a dark blue indigo. In 1915, officers worked 12 hour shifts and pay for patrolmen averaged $65 a month. Days off were rare ... one a month was often all that could be expected. The uniform hat is blue and was worn by beat officers. This uniform was worn until 1928, but the hat was phased out in 1918.

When the department changed the style of uniforms in 1928, the Motorcycle Squad asked to keep their distinctive green uniforms. They were allowed to keep the color but had to change to the new style and cut of the new police uniforms. The Motorcycle officers were the last unit in HPD to wear the green uniforms and wore them until 1942 when the entire police department changed to a standard blue uniform. This uniform is very rare today and only two known examples exist. Both belong to the Houston Police Department Museum.

In 1912 the The HPD Mounted Horse Traffic Squad was formed and they wore a distinctive green uniform. They consisted of avid horsemen and performed many duties including cattle round-up, traffic duty, patrol, and tracking escaped convicts. The first canine officers were part of this squad and used bloodhounds to assist the mounted officers. No known mounted green uniforms exist today from the 1912 period. This image was taken in 1915 and colorized. Motorcycle officers were also part of this squad and wore the green uniform.

The hat changed once again to reflect the more modern uniforms of the period. In 1918 the "bobby" style hat retired in favor of the military style hat. It was more durable and unbreakable. The "bobby" style hats were crushed or damaged easy due to their cardboard construction.

Prior to 1928,  Night Sticks were carried in a visible manner in lieu of the duty weapon which was carried but hidden from view. City ordnance was written in a manner to prevent the duty weapon from being seen. Most firearms were carried inside the belt within a hidden holster.

In 1928, the Houston Police Department uniforms changed to a more modern look. This uniform was wool and was designed to be worn with a dress shirt and tie. For the first time, the Sam Browne belt was added and this allowed the officers to have their duty weapon worn outside the coat.  The uniform looked great but proved to be unpopular in Houston's climate, which is warm 10 months out of the year.

In 1939, the Houston Police Department conducted its first Police Academy Class. There had been a system of training in place, but this was the first formal training academy set up as a condition of employment.  The Police recruits wore khaki uniforms until they graduated. Police cadet classes have increased and by March of 1999, there have been over 176 classes.