The first Lufkin law enforcement officer was Constable W.B. (Buck) Green in the late 1880s. Upon Lufkin's incorporation into a city and the state adoption of a penal code, W.B. Jones was named town marshal in 1890.

According to an article by Nell Hensley in "A History Of Angelina County," in 1904 crime must have been low because the city abolished that position, using a "night watchman" to keep order in Lufkin.

But the position was re-established in 1905, and in 1906 the department doubled in size, from one to two officers. The day officer helped the city secretary in the tax office in addition to his evidently few crimefighting duties.

By 1942 the department stood at nine officers. That number grew to 21 police employees in 1963, protecting the 20,000 Lufkin residents.

By 2006, the Lufkin Police Department had grown to 75 sworn police officers and 23 civilian support staff.

The first black Lufkin Police officer was Ernest Whit Brown, who served two years with the department in the 1960s and left to work with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission as a commissioned peace officer.

The first female Lufkin Police officer was Maria Garza, hired in 1976. Mrs. Garza left after two years of service but her son, David, currently works for Lufkin Police Department as a corporal in the patrol division.

The first city jail was built across from Cotton Square in 1923.

The police department was later located on Lufkin Avenue across from the courthouse for many years before moving to its current location on Shepherd Avenue in 1969.

Historical data for the department is sketchy.

While crime records are intact, records pertaining to equipment and personnel have long since been archived or lost. We don't know when the first police cars were used in Lufkin, or when the first radios were installed.

The first walkie-talkies used on a regular basis date back only to the early 1980s. Now every police officer has his own handheld radio issued and, of course, each car has a more powerful portable radio installed.

Before car radios were available, Lufkin officers would keep a close eye on the Angelina Hotel. The hotel was the tallest building in Lufkin and could be seen from virtually anywhere in town. A light atop the hotel was activated to notify the on-duty officer to go to a "call box" and phone the station to be dispatched to a call.

As late as 1970 it could take a day to run a license plate to see who the registered owner was or see if the car was reported stolen.

Now that takes a few keystrokes to get that same information instantly on an in-car laptop computer.

Today Lufkin Police cars are equipped not only with multi-channel radios, but laptop computers that permit patrol officers to do virtually all their required reports and duties in the patrol car.

As for the future of the Lufkin Police Department, the possibilities seem almost limitless.

Advances in technology are rapidly changing U.S. law enforcement. As Lufkin continues to grow, one would expect the police department to grow and keep pace technologically with the public. Technology can be bought, but the most important aspect of any police department is the people who staff and lead it.

Among the top challenges for the future or the Lufkin Police Department will be to continue recruiting and hiring the best available persons for the police department, because those selections will help shape the future of the Lufkin Police Department.

Lt. David Young is the public information officer for the Lufkin Police Department and a 23-year veteran of the force.