Brief History of the McCall Police Department
1924-2009
The McCall Police Department was first established in 1924 with the town board of trustees authorizing the hiring of one Constable. That officer was referred to as the Town Marshal. The Marshal was authorized to hire Special Police as needed to keep the peace on Halloween. Just as it is now, one of the busiest days of the year.
It seemed at the time that the majority of the problems were dog sleds being driven on the city sidewalks in the winter and some gambling problems. In May of 1930, a jail was built to provide housing for those that were determined to be in violation of the town laws. That early jail facility can be seen, still standing, but not used. The building is located between McCall Veterans Park and the Park Plaza Condos, between 3rd and Park Streets.
The former McCall Police Department / City Hall / Magistrate Court were all housed in a building located on what is now the McCall Veterans Park, at the corner of 3rd and Lenora Streets. In approximately 1983 that building was moved to Roseberry, Idaho, to be preserved as one of Long Valley’s Historical structures. The move was made following the construction of the current City Hall Building in 1978.
From the 1930’s, and through the 1940’s, the police department usually consisted of a Chief of Police, a Deputy Chief and 2 patrolmen. In early 1955, the department consisted of a police commissioner, a Chief of Police and about 7 officers. They had one patrol vehicle that was shared between them. Fortunately, the number of serious calls for service were few.
Although better equipped, the police department’s staffing has remained at near that number of officers. The staffing did see some much needed increases though. In 1978 the position of Animal Control Officer was added. The next increases weren’t seen again until the mid 90’s.
In 1992, in conjunction with the Valley County Sheriff’s Department, the first attempts to sustain a School Resource Officer position were made. Initially the position began with the county sheriff’s office but, later grant funding allowed the city to take over the program in 1995 with a Juvenile Detective position.
In the spring of 1994, two additional patrol officers were hired to meet the needs of the newly annexed Rio Vista area, which nearly doubled the size of the existing city limits.
Since that time there have been few changes. The police department and with Chief Jerry Summers as the current Chief of police, one Lieutenant, two Patrol Sergeants, one Detective Sergeant, one School Resource Officer, and four patrol officers, having a total of fourteen sworn peace officer positions. We also have one Code Enforcement Officer, one open Code Enforcement position and three Support Services personnel. Presently there are four additional patrol vacancies for which the department is currently accepting applications to fill.
The City of McCall is located approximately 100 miles north of Boise in the Payette National Forest and is on the southern shores of Payette Lake, at an elevation of 5,020 feet. The surrounding mountains provide an array of year-round recreational opportunities for hiking, hunting, fishing, winter snow skiing at Brundage Mountain Resort, and other outdoor activities.
The population of McCall is approximately 3800 people in the winter months and up to 15,000 in the summer months. There are up to 65, 000 people who visit our city on the busy weekends like fourth of July. The main winter attraction is the annual Winter Carnival, which draws people from all corners of the country, and the world. McCall has been described as a destination resort for thousands of tourists each year and many return time and time again to enjoy the area.
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