The first police force that would have served what would become Oregon was formed in 1839, before Wisconsin even became a state. Dane County was officially established when the Dane County Board of Commissioners was first formed. On May 15, 1839, the commissioners elected Nathaniel T. Parkinson as the first Sheriff of Dane County, Wisconsin. Parkinson maintained the first County Jail, a two-story log cabin on Butler Street in the city of Madison. The first floor of the jail was a bakery operated by Parkinson. In order to get to the jail, the prisoners had to climb a ladder leading to a hole in the ceiling of the bakery. On June 4, 1839, the County Board of Commissioners authorized the building of a new county jail in Madison. Any arrests in areas without a jail would be taken to Madison and housed in the Dane County Jail.
About a decade later, in 1848, Wisconsin became a state. Oregon, was not incorporated until 1883 which was also when the first police force was established in the Village. On September 4, 1881 the Village of Oregon held an election to select a village president, clerk, treasurer, justice of the peace, and constable.
Norris Getz was the first justice of the peace and J.T. Hayes was the first constable. When someone was arrested, Hayes took the person to jail and then had to find the Justice of the Peace to hear the case and issue a summons and set a hearing. Later Norris gets would order people to go to jail or issue a summons and they’d have to pay a fine. Hayes, the village’s only police officer at the time, would patrol the streets at night. He held a job during the day so only patrolled the streets at night by foot or sometimes by horse. Sometimes the Village hired retired individuals that worked during the day. In the 1880s communication was done by speaking or using whistles. In 1877 the first call box was installed in Chicago and in 1928 the first handheld radio was in use, although not in Oregon. In January 1887, the Oregon Rangers was formed as an anti-horse thief association.
Growth in the Oregon area necessitated more officers and in 1922 Oregon hired 8 officers to run their first 24-hour service was established in the village with the cooperation of the Oregon Business Men’s Club. By the early 1930s, automobiles were used for patrolling with the cars often belonging personally to the officer and with little or no markings. With technical developments, police vehicles acquired signage, sirens, flashing lights and radio communication. Sometime in the 1930s or 1940s, the police department were issued uniforms. Otherwise, little is recorded regarding the Police Department prior to 1941; many records were lost or destroyed in a fire.
On July 5, 1941, Oregon held a dedication for the new village hall on Spring Street. The police department and a small jail were located on the second floor of this new village hall. The village hall also had administrative offices, the public library on the second floor, and a large meeting room and kitchen on the lower level.
Gerald Peeler, Oregon Area Historical Society past board member, was hired by the Oregon Police Department in 1978. The squad cars at the time were station wagons that were equipped with stretchers in the back. If anyone got hurt or had an emergency, the officer could take the person to the Madison hospitals. There were usually 2 officers in a squad car to lift the stretcher. However, on some nights, Gerald worked 3 am -7 am and if there was an emergency, he had to find someone to help him with the stretcher, sometimes resorting to calling the fire department to come help. Later, Oregon got an ambulance service and they took over taking people to the Madison hospital.
In 2001, after 60 years in Village Hall, the police department moved to the new Public Safety Building on Park Street. The space allowed the department to grow with the community’s needs. In October of 2010, K9 Vende began her duties with the Oregon Police Department. Vende was a purebred all black German shepherd K9 used for human tracking and drug detection. Vende retired from police work in October of 2021 having served the Oregon PD for 11 years.
In October of 2022, German shepherd K9 Archie began his tour of service with the Oregon Police Department as a tracking and drug detection dog. The K9 unit and its operation are funded through community donations, local businesses and fundraising events such as the Putts for Paws golfing event and a pancake breakfast with Santa.
After serving as an officer in the Oregon PD for 15 years, Lieutenant Jennifer Pagenkopf was appointed as the Oregon Police Chief on May 14, 2020. Chief Pagenkopf is Oregon’s first woman police chief. The Oregon Police Department as of 2024 has 21 sworn officers, three non-sworn positions and six crossing guards.