The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) was formally established on July 1, 1973. Before the LVMPD, Las Vegas was policed by the City of Las Vegas Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Every City of Las Vegas cop and Sheriff’s deputy who showed up for briefing on day one of “Metro” is a plank owner of what is now an agency employing almost 3,400 commissioned police and corrections officers. 

Every Metro employee receives a personnel number, or “P number.” P number 1* was assigned to George Allen Jr., who began his policing career with the City of Las Vegas Police Department in April 1946. George went on to serve as the chief of police in 1953, 1955 and 1956. He also served as an assistant chief in 1960 and as a retiree representative on the LVPPA’s Board of Directors.

George served on the Committee on Police Consolidation and oversaw the merger of the Las Vegas Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. After the merger, George served as the assistant sheriff of Staff Operations under Ralph Lamb. George retired in 1976 and lived until the age of 85, passing away in 2001. 

George’s career, nor anyone else’s for that matter, cannot be summarized into two simple paragraphs. Having said that, the bigger point is that our history matters. Over the years, we as an agency have done a mediocre job of preserving our history and legacy. We have fallen short of memorializing the stories of what made this Department what it is. Moving forward, we will look at ways to do just that. 

In August, the PPA held its first-ever retired membership social event. We wanted to provide a venue for our retired members to gather, visit, see old friends and make new ones. The response was incredible. Sitting in our conference room on August 31 was over 830 collective years of Las Vegas policing. 

It was a privilege to meet officers who had worked for the old City of Las Vegas Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Double-digit P numbers 93 * and 94 ,* sitting at a table talking about what the job was like before our officers of today were even born. The attendance for this event was unique in that we had officers who had been retired, ranging from one to 30-plus years.  

Moving forward, the PPA will continue to host these events to provide our retired members an opportunity to gather and visit with their old partners and fellow officers. On behalf of the Association, thank you to all who showed up and to those planning on attending future events. Please look for the emails. Starting next year, we plan to host the event every quarter.  

*Not part of the hidden card contest