University of Kansas' campus police first emerged in the 1920s amidst the popularization of automobiles: a single traffic officer was hired in 1927, who pulled over speeding students. This iteration of the KUPD would last until 1945, when the university hired five new officers to deal with the influx of students returning from World War II.

In 1950, the university began the official Traffic and Parking Department under its first director, Officer Joe Skillman. Under Skillman, the Traffic and Parking Department turned its focus to campus crime generally, and officers were trained in police science and forensics. Throughout the 1950s, the Traffic and Parking Department would grow in both size and mission, hiring new officers and stopping more crimes.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, as protests against the Vietnam war grew more fervent, the Traffic and Parking Department would take on an even bigger role on campus. In 1974, KUPD separated from the parking department, and the police department was desegregated in 1975.

From 1974 to 1997, the director of police was James Denney, whose tenure saw bomb threats in 1980 and a wave of protests in the early 1990s. In 1997, the KU public safety directorship passed on to Ralph Oliver, who would hold the position until 2015. Chris Keary held the role of chief of police until 2021, when Nelson Mosley took over the role.