The Village of Kenmore employed its first policeman in 1908. This officer patrolled the Village by foot accompanied by two dogs. In 1921, the Police Department acquired a second-hand motorcycle and one bicycle. The first patrol car was purchased in 1925. The Department grew as the Village population increased, eventually necessitating a move from its shared quarters with the Fire Department. In 1951, the full-service Department moved into its present headquarters, situated at 2395 Elmwood Avenue.

The Detective Bureau was established in 1956 and the Juvenile Aid Bureau was established in 1981. Civilian Dispatchers were incorporated into the Department beginning in 1988. In 2001, the Kenmore Police Department instituted a new community-policing program, and the Citizens Police Academy to build stronger ties with the community.

Currently, the Kenmore Police Department has 25 police officers.

Mission Statement

Today's society has decided that maintaining the peace and good order within our community should be delegated to professional Law Enforcement Officers. Although society has delegated the keeping of the peace and good order to professional Police Officers, it has not and must not relinquish its total control of this process. The final responsibility will always remain with the community itself. The role of the professional law enforcement officer must always be to support community efforts and, when needed, to add to them but never supplant them. The goal and mission of the Village of Kenmore Police Department is to provide the professional expertise and the leadership to the community for the good order and the peaceful co-existence of its citizens.

Motto

Dedicated service professional enforcement

The Kenmore Police Department Patch

Excepting the black background, there is a specific reason for each color and image in the new patch design. The symbolism of the various colors and images was researched and then - after much refining and integration of innumerable possibilities - actual representation and symbolism was combined to complete the new design.

The Kenmore Police Department Patch is now worn in two different versions. Supervisory officers and detectives wear patches that have the outline and outer circle embroidered with gold thread, which matches their badge and the rest of their uniform trappings. In the same vein, police officers and all uniformed civilian personnel wear patches that have the outline and outer circle embroidered in silver. Otherwise, the patches are identical.

Red lettering was used on the patch because it signifies courage and fearlessness.

Within the circle on the patch, there is a keystone with a ring inside of it. The keystone is a symmetrical depiction of the (general) geographical shape of the Village of Kenmore.The ring inside signifies the Police Department's membership in the Kenmore community and it is filled in with blue signifying our members' dedication to the community. The four black eyes within the ring indicate an unending vigilance guarding the community in all directions, while their white"cones" signify the incorruptibility of the Department's watch. The colors of the keystone itself represent the unity (yellow) of the police department and the community in the goal of preserving an enduring (green) calm (brown) within. The background lines are symbolic gate tines representing the Department's role in keeping out unlawful activity. The tines number 5 gold and 4 silver in recognition of the various rank levels of the Department as delineated above.