Updated September 2005
Text by Gary Heath - Records Supervisor

As we start to pull up stories of our past, one thing is becoming evident: the Public Information Officer has never had it easy for long.

In the opening years of this century, Dr. Chandler was setting up camp for what he envisioned as his oasis in the desert. County Constables kept the peace. The Town of Chandler was chartered along with the state on February 14, 1912. In November of 1914, Charles M. Beckham was elected as one of the first Constables for the area. The Constable was an officer of the County Court, very similar to the County Constables of today.

Early on, Beckham solved a break in at the N.L. Nowell store in Gilbert, where the safe was blown up. Constable Beckham had an honorable career for about ten years. Then in 1924, Charles Beckham was convicted of aiding and abetting escapees from the Florence Prison who had killed a Tempe storeowner, his 10-year-old son, and a Tempe night watchman.

On March 9, 1920, Chandler Town Ordinance Title VII was adopted. Section 1 was titled "Police Court and General Penal Provisions." It stated in part, "...the police court of the Town of Chandler shall be presided over by a Police Justice..." Section 2 read, "...the Town Marshal of the Town of Chandler shall be ex-officio Chief of Police of said court..." These ordinances were signed by Chandler's founder and first Mayor, Dr. A.J. Chandler, and by City Clerk W.W. Pickerell. Charles Malone would soon become our First Marshall, serving until March 24, 1921.

As indicated, the Town Marshal served as Police Chief and "Watchman" for the town. For several years, the Marshal would be a one-man "Police Force." A second watchman was later added and served as "Night Watchman" with the Marshal being the "Day Watchman." The County Constable also enforced laws in Chandler along with surrounding areas of his district, including Gilbert.

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