About Us
Our Mission
K.A.P.& D.A. Background
Uniforms
Kenosha Public Safety
Why Cops and Firemen Play Bagpipes
Our Mission...
to honor our fallen law enforcement officers and firefighters who have given their lives in service to the community, promote relations between the protective services and the public, preserve cultural heritage and enrich our community by providing traditional music of the bagpipes and drums.
K.A.P.& D.A. Background...
In the fall of 2002, Kenosha, WI, area police officers, firefighters and sheriff's deputies embarked on a joint effort to create a musical association of public safety personnel to supplement the existing honor guards. The result is the Kenosha Area Pipes and Drums Association. (K.A.P.& D.A.) This association was formed in the interest of honoring those who risk their lives serving the public, preserving cultural heritage and enriching the community. We are recognized by the IRS as a not-for-profit (501c3) organization.
Bagpipe and drum bands are a long-standing tradition of the protective services. This tradition has been preserved for many generations by law enforcement and fire personnel who understand its importance. Bagpipes offer a unique listening experience, whether it be the mournful, inspiring sound of "Amazing Grace" performed by a solo piper or a stirring march played by a full pipe and drum band. Over the years, police and fire pipe and drum bands have been used for public relations, cultural preservation and honoring those who have made the supreme sacrifice in the performance of their duties. Today, the pipe and drum corps is symbolic of fire and police services all over the world.
Forming the Kenosha Area Pipes and Drums Association has been a challenge. There are many obstacles to overcome, not the least of which is learning to play the pipes and drums. There are also substantial costs involved (see our "donations" page). We have been working hard to meet the challenges we face, both organizational and musical and are making great progress. KAP&DA pipers have been performing at functions since mid-2003. Our hope is that we will be performing at more and more civic and cultural events and other functions to share this great tradition in the future.
K.A.P.&D.A. is proud to
serve as the pipe and drum band for the Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin
State Honor Guard!!
Uniforms...
The Kenosha Area Pipes and Drums Association wears a military-style traditional highland dress uniform: kilt, horsehair sporran, glengarry, etc. We chose to wear the MacLennan modern tartan because of its attractive appearance and its use of the representative colors of the band: blue for police, red for fire and gold for sheriff. Once we chose the tartan, we opted to also use the MacLennan crest, which features a bagpiper, for our kilt pins and cap badges. We'd like to thank the MacLennan clan for granting us permission.
Click the thumbnail to view full size picture.
Kenosha Public Safety...
Kenosha Police Department
The Kenosha Police Department is one of the leading law
enforcement agencies in the Midwest, well-respected and admired for its
progressive approach to modern-day problems. Its mission is to serve all people
with respect, fairness and compassion. The department is committed to preserving
peace, order, and safety; enforcing laws and ordinances, and safeguarding
constitutional rights.
Today, the department balances a $15 million budget, works
with 180 sworn police officers, 12 civilians, and another entity called “Joint
Services.” The Joint Services Organization, a combined city/county operation,
provides services to the police that consist of dispatch, records, fleet
maintenance, evidence and the identification bureau activities.
As law enforcement progressed throughout the years, so did the Kenosha Police
Department. Two officers were employed in 1880 when the city had a population of
5,039. The officers’ duties consisted of filling the four kerosene street
lamps in Kenosha. The city grew and so did the police department. Today, 180
sworn officers are employed to serve and protect Kenosha citizens.
Kenosha Police Department Facts
In 1910, a telephone switchboard was installed at the station and police call
boxes were made available to officers.
In 1920, the first police woman was hired.
In 1930, the threat of John Dillinger persuaded the police department to acquire
an armored car.
In 1996, in-car computers were installed.
In 1998, the first computerized polygraph system was acquired. It boasts a 99.9
percent accuracy rate.
Kenosha Police Department Trivia
There are 47 patrol cars and 4 police motorcycles.
There are 16 bicycle patrols.
Officers patrol an average of 80 miles of city streets per day. The city has
approximately 290 miles of city streets. Average total annual mileage for a
police car is 35,000 miles.
The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department
The Office of Sheriff is a constitutional position. Under the
provisions of the Constitution and state law the sheriff serves as the top law
enforcement officer in the county. The sheriff is elected to the office in a
countywide election and is responsible for certain mandated functions and
coordinates law enforcement matters throughout the county.
The sheriff’s budget contains eight different
organizational accounts: Administration, Jail, Court Services, Patrol,
Detectives, Support Services, Special Investigative Unit, and the Kenosha County
Controlled Substance Unit. The Sheriff’s Operational Budget not only
covers its traditional services to the public — patrol, investigations,
servicing the courts, detentions, and civil process — but various specialized
functions as well:
Motorcycle unit: Subsidizes normal patrol operations within the county on all
roads, subdivisions and the Interstate.
Marine unit: Patrols all inland lakes and Lake Michigan for enforcement,
evidence recovery and search and rescue operations.
Hazardous Device Squad (Bomb Unit): Utilizes fully trained and equipped bomb
technicians to handle explosive device problems.
Bicycle unit: Patrols all county parks and bike trails during spring, summer,
and fall. Dive team: Utilizes fully equipped personnel trained to handle all
evidence recovery and search and rescue operations.
Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department Facts
The Sheriff’s Department operates 24 marked patrol cars.
The department operates four marked Harley Davidson motorcycles.
There are 12 patrol bicycles.
There are 107 deputy sheriffs.
The sheriff’s department has 135 correctional officers.
There are 314 total employees in the department.
The department has 6 scuba divers.
Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department Trivia
On average, a typical sheriff’s department squad car travels 40,000 miles per
year.
A sheriff’s squad patrols anywhere from five to 130 miles a day, depending on
assignment.
It takes 400 hours of training to become certified by the State of Wisconsin as
a correctional officer.
The County Jail books between 500 and 600 prisoners a month.
Kenosha Fire Department
The Kenosha Fire Department is one of the primary agencies
responsible for the safety of the citizens of the City of Kenosha. The
department’s focus is in three distinct areas: fire suppression, fire
prevention and emergency medical services. To accomplish this mission, the
department is organized into six divisions:
Fire suppression: The Fire Suppression Division is the largest unit within the
Fire Department. It includes the Hazardous Incident Response Team (HIRT). The
overriding purpose of the division is to minimize the loss of life and property
during emergency situations. Five engine companies and two ladder companies are
staffed 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week, to assure this division’s function.
Fire prevention: The Fire Prevention Division’s mission is to reduce life and
property loss by eliminating hazards. The division accomplishes this through
training the public in emergency life saving techniques, fire evacuation drills,
inspections and fire investigations.
Emergency medical services: This division provides access to basic and advanced
levels of emergency medical care to the public. The Kenosha Fire Department
operates four paramedic units and one basic life support unit around the clock.
Training division: This division is responsible for coordinating, evaluating and
conducting training for all members of the department.
Maintenance division: The maintenance division is responsible for keeping
over 30 vehicles and apparatus (ranging from 4-door sedans to aerial ladder trucks)
used
by the fire department operationally ready and able to respond to emergencies.
Administration division: Fire administration is responsible for administering
the total Fire Department operations.
Kenosha Fire Department Facts
In a year, the Kenosha Fire Department responds to more than 7,500 calls for
service and performs 7,250 building inspections. CPR training is provided to more than 200 citizens. In 2004, all KFD vehicles were equipped with portable computers to provide vital information to fire personnel
at the touch of a button.
Kenosha Fire Department Trivia
There are 2,300 fire hydrants in Kenosha.
Forty-five firefighters are licensed
paramedics.
The gear a firefighter wears weighs 75 pounds.
The average useful life of a fire truck is 20 years.
Kenosha County Fire & Rescue Safety Association
The 46,000 Kenosha County residents (including 5,000 school children) living
outside the City of Kenosha are served and protected by 14 individual
Fire/Rescue Departments.
Frequently Asked Fire Department Questions
Question: Why is a fire engine sent to ambulance calls?
Answer: Fire engines respond to some ambulance calls based on the nature of the
call as reported to the 911 operator. The reason for this is to assure that help
is sent from the closest location to the call. Also, some calls require more
people than are assigned to the ambulance units to deliver all the treatment we
now provide.
Question: How does the fire department get to addresses so fast?
Answer: Kenosha is blessed with a street numbering system and layout that makes
it easy to locate addresses. Avenues run north and south, streets run east and
west. In addition, the crews in each station make it a point to know all of the
peculiarities of their local areas.
Protecting Our Children
The City of Kenosha and Kenosha County are committed to protecting our children.
Two programs that are devoted to educating children are the Kenosha Rotary
Safety Center and the Kenosha County Fire Safety House.
The Kenosha Rotary Safety Center
The Kenosha Rotary Safety Center at 5716 14th Avenue houses the Safety Education
Division of the Kenosha Police Department. The Kenosha Police Department’s
Safety Officer, along with a civilian assistant, are responsible for scheduling
safety classes throughout the entire school year with private, public, and
parochial schools.
The purpose of the Kenosha Rotary Safety Center and Safety Education is to:
encourage a positive relationship between the child and police department;
instill important safety values with elementary school children; reduce the
chance of children becoming victims of crimes, and provide a safe environment
around elementary schools.
Children’s Fire Safety House
The purpose of a Fire Safety House is to teach school children fire safety at
home. The Kenosha County Fire and Rescue Departments use the Safety House at all
of the schools and have it available at many activities that take place in local
communities. The City of Kenosha also operates a Children’s Fire Safety House.
Children are taught what to do in the event of a fire, the importance of smoke
detectors, how to develop an exit plan, and more. More than 5,000 kindergarten
through grade three children take part in this program every year.
Kenosha City/County Joint Services
Kenosha City/County Joint Services is the result of a combined effort between
city and county governments. It was established in 1982 as a separate government
agency to provide the safety and support services for the Kenosha City Police
and Fire Departments, Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, and various other
law enforcement and emergency services agencies.
Joint Services is divided into four departments: Administration, Communications,
Records, Fleet Maintenance and Evidence/Identification. Seventy three people are
employed by Joint Services with the Communications and Records Departments being
staffed on a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week basis.
Joint Services Purposes:
To handle all 911 calls and other emergency and non emergency calls on a
24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week basis.
To maintain all records pertaining to arrests, complaints, incidents, and
investigations and provide reports to citizens upon request on a 24 hour a day,
7 day a week basis.
To prepare, maintain and repair the fleet of Police and Sheriff’s Department
vehicles.
Perform identification, evidence and photographic processing; identify criminals
through the use of physical evidence, and testify in court as to the physical
evidence of a crime.
For more information, visit the Kenosha related links on the "Links" page.
<The preceding public safety information was excerpted, in
part, from BearRealty.com.>
updated 01-14-05
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Contact KAP&DA: 5108 33rd St. Kenosha, WI 53144