Junction City Police Department

Junction City, Kansas was founded in 1858 where the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers meet, and early law enforcement fell to the county sheriff, a city marshal and often the provost marshal and Army regiments of nearby Fort Riley, according to the police department's own history. A city marshal was appointed in 1867, and a mayoral proclamation barring anyone not on duty from carrying pistols, bowie knives and other deadly weapons inside city limits is credited with helping order take hold. Since the early 1870s, 28 men have served as city marshal or police chief, a job that at times also covered purchasing agent and street commissioner. Today's department serves a city of about 22,600 people, as estimated by the Census Bureau for 2025, through administrative, investigations and logistics divisions and a community unit. Detectives handle complex cases with outside agencies, and the K-9 section, assigned to investigations, has two Belgian Malinois. A Community Involvement Unit formed in 2002 has five sworn officers, three of them certified school resource officers, and follows a community oriented policing philosophy. The Logistics Division manages facilities, the vehicle fleet and equipment.