The Gotham City Police Department has long been steeped in corruption. The strongest blow against police corruption came when an increasing amount of conspiracy charges against Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb forced him to resign his position. The Falcone crime family, which had had a stranglehold on Gotham's underground for generations, finally crumbled when a series of killings shook the structure of the mafia organization. After the death of Carmine Falcone, the mob lashed out in sloppy, retaliatory crimes, which, in combination with rising gang violence, severely crippled organized crime in Gotham City. Simultaneously, the ebbing presence of corrupt police officers allowed James Gordon to become the new commissioner, a man determined to eradicate crime wherever it existed.

The GCPD has had a long Love-hate relationship with the city's vigilante known as Batman. Commissioner Gordon went along with him because Batman got the job done. His successor, Commissioner Michael Akins had ordered the arrest of Batman and had the Bat-signal removed from the roof of Gotham Central.

As of DC's One Year Later, James Gordon has been reinstated as Commissioner, along with Harvey Bullock rejoining the force and the reinstatement of the Bat-Signal and relations with Batman.