The Nevada Capitol Police was organized in the late 1940s as the security detail of the Nevada Division of Buildings and Grounds, with one night watchman patrolling the perimeter of the Nevada State Capitol Complex (including the Governor's Mansion), using any available Buildings and Grounds vehicle to deter crime, sometimes with the assistance of the then-Ormsby County Sheriff and Carson City Police Departments.

[2] In 1966, the night watch crew had grown to three officers, and the department was renamed "Capitol Security".

In 1985, this status was elevated to "official sworn peace officer", meaning that they were now in the same league as the Nevada Highway Patrol, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Reno Police and the reorganized Carson City Sheriff's Office.

He was succeeded by Pat Conmay in June 2009, Jay Logue in January 2010, Thomas Navin in 2012 and the current Chief, Jerome Tushbant, in March 2013.

[2] In 2014, the state settled a lawsuit brought by a former member of the Capitol Police, who said she had been discriminated against on the grounds of sex and age.