National Police Week 2023

What is National Police Week? 

National Police Week occurs every May. The National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum will hold ceremonies, including the 35th Annual Candlelight Vigil, to honor the fallen officers whose names have recently been added to the Memorial.

Honor. Gratitude. Remembrance. Servitude. Peer Support. - The Five Pillars of National Police Week

We respect, honor, and thank our Urbana Police Department for their service to our community. 

Locally, this year the Urbana Police Department held a flag ceremony where the Honor Guard Unit raised the Law Enforcement Flag at the Urbana City Building. The flag will remain in place for the remainder of National Police Week. 

HISTORY:  In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls, as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. 

Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, DC to participate in a number of planned events which honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice. The Memorial Service began in 1982 as a gathering in Senate Park of approximately 120 survivors and supporters of law enforcement. Decades later, the event, more commonly known as National Police Week, has grown to a series of events which attracts thousands of survivors and law enforcement officers to our Nation's Capital each year.

The National Peace Officers Memorial Service, which is sponsored by the Grand Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, is one in a series of events which includes the Candlelight Vigil, which is sponsored by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and seminars sponsored by Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) National Police Week draws in between 25,000 to 40,000 attendees. The attendees come from departments throughout the United States as well as from agencies throughout the world. This provides a unique opportunity to meet others who work in law enforcement.

In that spirit, the Fraternal Order of Police DC Lodge #1 sponsors receptions each afternoon and evening during Police Week. These events are open to all law enforcement personnel and are an experience unlike any other.

Here is an article that the News-Gazette featured for National Police Week. Some of our UPD are featured in this article. 

National Police Week is a collaborative effort of many organizations dedicated to honoring America’s law enforcement community.