History

Willoughby-on-the-Lake became the Village of Willowick in 1923 with a population of approximately 300 people. John J. Polly is considered the first Chief Constable / Chief of Police and worked for the village in this capacity from around 1920 until 1941. Official police protection was begun in 1924. Polly’s successor was Robert T. Collins, who was hired in 1936. Collins was Chief of Police from 1941 until his retirement in 1973. He was Police Chief when Willowick became a City in 1956 and throughout Willowick’s greatest period of growth from 1946 to 1959. The police department also began to expand in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s to meet the new demands of expansion. Chief Collins is considered, by many, to be the “Father” of today’s police department.

In 1934, the first police station was in a 3 story house at the intersection of Lakeshore Blvd. and Vine St. and part of the Village Hall. In 1948, a building was constructed at 31230 Vine St. which housed the City Hall, Police and Fire Depts. The modernization of the Police Department occurred when it moved to its current location at the Municipal Safety Center at 30435 Lakeshore Blvd. in December of 1976.

Take a look into the past with some of these photos from the early days of the Willowick Police Department.