KJBS and the San Francisco Police Department
Beginning
in December, 1929, the station cooperated with the San Francisco Police
Department by broadcasting police dispatches to special radio-equipped
San Francisco patrol cars. This experimental effort was initially only
a part of the all-night "Owl" program. Harry Wickersham, former KJBS
announcer, recalled that the bulletins were phoned to KJBS from the
Police Station and taken down by a Sargeant on duty in the studios. The
announcer would then interrupt whatever program was on the air by
sounding a police siren under his desk, and he would then read the
bulletin on the air. The effort was so successful that by
1931 the city had installed its own police radio station, KGPO - one of
the first in the country.
In this photo, police chief William J. Quinn is narrating a weekly series of radio scripts by Carleton E. Morse about the San Francisco Police Department; such episodes as 'Tales of the Chinatown Squad' and 'The Roll of Honor'." (San Francisco Public Library photo)
In this photo, police chief William J. Quinn is narrating a weekly series of radio scripts by Carleton E. Morse about the San Francisco Police Department; such episodes as 'Tales of the Chinatown Squad' and 'The Roll of Honor'." (San Francisco Public Library photo)