Fraternal Order of Police

In 1915, the life of a police officer was bleak. In many communities, they were forced to work 12-hour days, 365 days a year. Police officers did not like it, but there was little they could do to change their working conditions.

There were no organizations to make their voices heard; no other means to make their grievances known. This soon changed, thanks to the courage and wisdom of two Pittsburgh patrol officers. Martin Toole and Delbert Nagle knew they must first organize police officers, like other labor interests, if they were to be successful in making life better for themselves and their fellow police officers. They and 21 others "who were willing to take a chance" met on May 14, 1915, and held the first meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police. They formed Fort Pitt Lodge #1. They decided on this name due to the anti-union sentiment of the time. However, there was no mistaking their intentions. As they told their city mayor, Joe Armstrong, the FOP would be the means "to bring our grievances before the Mayor or Council and have many things adjusted that we are unable to present in any other way...we could get many things through our legislature that our Council will not, or cannot give us."

And so it began, a tradition of police officers representing police officers. The Fraternal Order of Police was given life by two dedicated police officers determined to better their profession and those who choose to protect and serve our communities, our states, and our country. It was not long afterward that Mayor Armstrong was congratulating the Fraternal Order of Police for their "strong influence in the legislatures in various states,...their considerate and charitable efforts" on behalf of the officers in need and for the FOP's "efforts at increasing the public confidence toward the police to the benefit of the peace, as well as the public."

From that small beginning, the Fraternal Order of Police began growing steadily. In 1955, the idea of a National Organization of Police Officers came about. Today, the tradition that was first envisioned over 85 years ago lives on with more than 2,100 local lodges and more than 324,000 members in the United States. The Fraternal Order of Police has become the largest professional police organization in the country. The FOP continues to grow because we have been true to the tradition and continued to build on it. The Fraternal Order of Police are proud professionals working on behalf of law enforcement officers from all ranks and levels of government.

The Arizona Fraternal Order of Police represents the interests of more than 6,200 Arizona law enforcement professionals. Organized into 42 Local Lodges, we are the voice of those who dedicate their lives to protecting and serving our communities. Our members are committed to improving the working conditions of Arizona law enforcement officers and the safety of those we serve through education, legislation, community involvement and employee representation.

Sadly, across the country, many law enforcement officers will lose their lives this year while performing their duties. The Steve Young Memorial Scholarship Program, created by a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, is administered by the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation to assist the spouses of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

No one knows the dangers and the difficulties faced by today's police officers better than another officer, and no one knows police officers better than the Fraternal Order of Police.

National F.O.P. Web Site

Arizona F.O.P. Web Site

The Youngtown Police Department was originally formed in 1961 as the Youngtown Marshal’s Office. Herman Nofs, a Youngtown resident and a retired Captain with more than 30 years of service with the Illinois State Police, was appointed the Town’s first Marshal. Initially, a Deputy Marshal was on duty only during the daytime hours and another part-time officer on-call during the night.

In the early 1970s, as Arizona continued to grow, the calls for police service that could be found in other suburban municipalities of Maricopa County began to happen in Youngtown as well and the police department expanded to a 24-hour a day operation. Until the 1990s, Youngtown Police provided police and fire dispatch service to the Surprise Police Department and the Sun City Fire Department. In the early 1990s Sun City Fire elected to join the County-wide Computer Aided Dispatch System. In 1998, as Surprise’s population burgeoned, out of necessity, the Surprise Police Department formed their own police dispatch. In 2006, when El Mirage Police closed their police dispatch, Youngtown explored reopening its dispatch and contracting with other police agencies. In October, 2006 an agreement was reached with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to act as Dispatchers for all Youngtown Police traffic.

In 2002, in response to the changing demographics in the community, the Department expanded its Administrative Office hours of operation from 8 hours per day to 16 hours and the Administrative Offices are now open from 7:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Lobby in the Police Building is open to the public 24 hours a day and has a direct phone line to Police Dispatch. The Lobby is monitored 24-hour by a video and audio system that records all activities that take place. The patio area in front of the station, the east parking lot and rear entrance into the building are monitored 24-hours a day by a video camera system.

In 2006, the department had fifteen employees (including the Chief of Police and two Police Aides). The Town Council has authorized two additional patrol officers for the Fiscal Year 2007-2008. The population of Youngtown is over 6,000 people. The current police officer staffing level is at approximately .02 officers per 1,000 residents, which is 1/3 less than the national average for cities and towns with a population the size of Youngtown (Federal DOJ Statistics for 2004). Applications are being accepted for Arizona POST certified officers for the position of compensated police officer and reserve police officer. In July 2007, the department reorganized the Table of Organization in order to optimize patrol service operations with the selection and appointment of veteran officers David Evans and Greg Hunter to the position of patrol sergeants.

In 1999, the Department adopted as their slogan “Committed to the Community.”