In the early 1970’s various organizations and civic clubs in Dallas came together to organize and formalize their heretofore separate efforts to recognize outstanding officers in our Dallas Police Department.
In the years before the Dallas Community Police Awards Committee (DCPAC) first came together, citizens would often call the Police Department asking for recommendations of Officers to honor. These requests, often on short notice, offered no consistency.
In 1972, DCPAC honored its first officer of the Month. At first, only 6 to 8 officers might be honored over the year. Since the 1980’s, however, an Officer has been honored every month of the year. Over 500 officers have been selected as Officer of the Month. Each of those officers is presented the DCPAC bar, one of only two civilian awarded bars that can be worn on the Officer’s uniform.
From the 12 Officers of the Month, an Officer of the Year is selected.