With over twenty-five years of combined law enforcement experience, the Marion Police Department is a seven man force headed up by Chief Ray O’Neal. As most small forces across the U.S. have had to do since 9/11/2001, the Marion Police Department has significantly upgraded its weaponry, training, and operations in recent years, and is an active partner in regional and statewide homeland security efforts. It remains, however, dedicated to community-style policing, with activities primarily geared around keeping watch over the City’s homes and businesses. Marion is blessed with an extremely low crime rate—an average year will often see few, if any, reports of major felony acts against persons or property.

The Marion Police Department regularly cooperates with the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office on local law enforcement activities. Over the past year, for instance, the two agencies provided funding for assigning a deputy sheriff to work full time as a Resource Officer at the Middle School-High School Complex during school hours. The Police Department and Sheriff’s Office are also active members of the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force, a multi-jurisdictional drug enforcement agency.

Countywide emergency dispatching, performed by a combination of city and county employees, is also operated out of the Marion Police Department. A total of seven full and part time dispatchers are on staff. Presently, 911 calls originating in Marion and Crittenden County are first routed to an emergency call center operated by the Kentucky State Police in Madisonville, before reaching local dispatchers. Although this set-up has resulted in few potentially life-threatening situations over time, the city and county governments have recently decided to jointly explore establishing an E911 center in Marion. This exploration will begin in earnest during the 2007-2008 fiscal year.

The Marion Police Department is located in the City Hall Complex at 217 South Main Street in downtown Marion. For general information and non-emergency assistance from the department, phone 270-965-3500.

Have an item you thought you'd lost or had stolen? The Police Department's Recovered Property Room may be the place to look. Contact Officer Bobby West at 965-3500 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   for details.