About Us
Carrying on a tradition that began in 1805, the Fayetteville Police Department works to protect the citizens of Fayetteville. The City of Fayetteville was formed in 1783 when the two settlements of Cross Creek and Campbellton merged. The City was named after Marquis de Lafayette, a Revolutionary War hero. It grew as an area of government and commerce because of its location as an inland port and the hub of the early “Plank Roads” system. The City of Fayetteville is now the sixth largest municipality in North Carolina. In 2017, per the US Census Bureau, Fayetteville has a population of 209, 889.
In 1805, the General Assembly of North Carolina authorized the appointment of citizen patrols. The head of this group was known as the Magistrate of Police and was an elected position. He was given the authority to sentence individuals for violating the law. In 1816, the jailer of Cumberland County was authorized to receive people taken in by the Town Watch until the magistrate could see them the next morning. The records regarding the Police Department between 1880 and 1909 were lost in a fire.