Our Emergency Services

The City of Louisville and Jefferson County, now the combined Louisville Metro Government, has a long and storied history. Both Louisville and Jefferson County had law enforcement agencies from the time of their inception, when the county was part of Virginia. Fires were fought and those needing help were taken for medical attention. Over time, all of the public safety agencies became more organized. In time, new public safety agencies were created to handle newly recognized needs, such as Civil Defense, which evolved to Disaster and Emergency Services and now Emergency Management, as well as Emergency Medical Services. And of course, as technology evolved, emergency communications became the link to direct emergency responders to where they are needed.

In these pages, you will see some of that history.

 
 

Our Emergency Services

  • The Louisville Police Department (also known as the Louisville Division of Police under the Department of Safety) was officially created in 1868, but of course, Louisville has always had law enforcement. See Louisville Police

  • The actual origin of the Jefferson County Police Department is a little more complicated. By the early 1900s, it was a separate agency. See Jefferson County Police.

  • The Louisville Metro Police Department began in 2003, with the merger of the Louisville Division of Police and the Jefferson County Police Department. See Louisville Metro Police

  • The Jefferson County Sheriff predates Kentucky, having begun as a county in Virginia. See Jefferson County Sheriff

  • The Louisville Fire Department,. as it exists today, was born on June 1, 1858,. becoming only the third fully-paid department in the country. See Louisville Fire Department.

  • Emergency Medical Services have existed, in some form, for far longer than most people realize. Both Louisville Police and Jefferson County Police performed tasks that would today be recognized as emergency medical services. See Emergency Medical Services.

  • The name of the agency now known as Louisville Metro Emergency Management Agency has evolved through the years. It was first Civil Defense, and then Disaster and Emergency Management. See Emergency Management and Civil Defense.

  • The Jefferson County Jail, previously under a Jailer and now a department of Metro Government. See Jefferson County Jail.

  • Although Louisville and Jefferson County have long been the large, county-wide law enforcement agencies, many of the smaller incorporated cities in Louisville Metro also have police departments. See Other Law Enforcement Agencies.

  • Fire response in Jefferson County has been provided through the years by a variety of smaller fire departments. See Other Fire Departments.

  • How would emergency responders know where to go without the help of Telecommunications? See Telecommunications.

  • Like the Sheriff, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office was established by the Kentucky Constitution, and has existed since before Kentucky even became a state! See here for more!