Formal law enforcement in the village of Red Deer began in 1885 when concerns surrounding the Northwest Resistance led to the fortification of the original Red Deer Crossing stopping house and its renaming as Fort Normandeau. From 1886 to 1893, the fort was occupied by the 65th Battalion of the Mount Royal Rifles of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) under the command of Lieutenant J.E. Bédard Normandeau. In its first year, the detachment stationed at the newly renovated fort consisted of five officers and seven horses. In1893, when the NWMP relocated from Fort Normandeau to the newly established Village of Red Deer, the force had been reduced to four officers and five horses. In 1904, King Edward VII granted the North-West Mounted Police the title “Royal” in recognition of the organization’s service, officially renaming it the Royal North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP).

In 1917, after a period of high turnover and a shortage of resources in the city police force due to the First World War, City Council proposed eliminating the position of day policeman to cut policing costs. At this time the day policeman dealt with fines, licenses, and ticketing issues, as well as being the acting Health Commissioner for the town. Ultimately, Mayor George W. Smith refused to reduce the police force. That same year, the Alberta Provincial Police (APP) was established, with the headquarters of its "B" Division located in Red Deer near St. Luke's Anglican Church on Gaetz Avenue. The “B” Division covered a larger geographic area than the Red Deer City P Force, extending north to Wetaskiwin, south past Innisfail, and from the eastern to western provincial boundaries, with detachments operated in Red Deer, Lacombe, Camrose, Monitor, Coronation, Rocky Mountain House, and Nordegg. The APP mainly oversaw crimes regarding Prohibition such as the illegal manufacturing of alcohol, possession of alcohol, and bootlegging.

The Town of Red Deer was established in 1901, and its first town police officer was Cornelius "Neil" Mifflin, who was born in Ontario in 1860 and later settled in Red Deer. He retired as an officer in December 1906, after which he worked as a foreman and inspector for the Town before passing away in 1914. After the retirement of Neil Mifflin, Mr. George Rothnie was appointed chief of police and license inspector in 1906, with up to four police officers in the force throughout the following decade.

In 1920, the Royal North-West Mounted Police became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), maintaining the same organization but moving headquarters from Regina to Ottawa. On April 1, 1932, the RCMP assumed provincial policing duties from the Alberta Provincial Police. This meant the city police were now in charge of day-to-day policing and the RCMP oversaw the larger investigations, especially ones that involved other municipalities, and more serious crimes.

After rising costs led to the dissolution of the city police force, on April 1, 1943, the RCMP took over policing services for the City of Red Deer, providing five constables at a cost of $5,000 per year. Since then, the city has maintained a policing contract with the RCMP. Over the years more RCMP officers were brought in and additional detachment offices, administration offices, radio rooms, and cells were built.

Since approximately 1979, City of Red Deer employees in the Municipal Policing Services department also support the RCMP activities through administrative and records management support, victim services, and municipal enforcement officers.

In contrast, the modern Red Deer Police Commission, founded in 1969, was a way for residents to communicate with the police while not taking up front-line law enforcement resources. The Commission, made up of RCMP officers, the city inspector, city councillors, the city commissioner, and members of the public, also dealt with by-laws, traffic/parking, police-based victim services, as well as police reports.

By 1981, RCMP "K" Division detachment policing included 108 rural offices and 59 municipal offices, including Red Deer. Today, the Red Deer RCMP detachment, in the “K” Division, has approximately 175 officers, including 80 general duty members and more than 17 specialized units over Red Deer’s 3 police detachments. Discussions about establishing a municipally run police force have occurred periodically, including formal proposals in 1968 and again in 1991, 2017, 2020, and most recently in 2026.