CELEBRATION
CENTENNIAL SALUTE
The Fort Pierce Police Department uses technology and equipment officers could not have dreamed of 100 years ago.
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FORT PIERCE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Police department marks a century of growth,
progress and commitment to excellence
BY ELLEN GILLETTE
In 1904, Fort Pierce had 1,000 citizens, a newspaper, hotels,
a cattle company, five boarding houses, two boat building
companies and doctors, but no police department.
By the 1920s, women could vote. Jazz was gaining
popularity. The Ashley Gang still rode in South Florida.
Bootleg liquor was big business during Prohibition; coastline
towns made ideal landing spots. Florida’s land boom brought
an influx of people. The growing community of Fort Pierce
needed law and order that didn’t depend on marshals or the
county sheriff.
The city hired its first police chief on March 21, 1923, followed
by five officers.
“The Fort Pierce Police Department has made extraordinary
progress and growth since its formation,” Chief Diane
Hobley-Burney says. “Today, we have one chief, two deputy
chiefs, 118 officers and 38 civilian employees.”
As the department’s 100th anniversary approaches, Hobley
Burney and her command staff lead a productive team
committed to excellence.
“Not only have we grown in terms of diverse personnel,” >>