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The impact of technology on law enforcement
Impact of technology on modern police
Impact of technology on modern police
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Since 27 B.C. law enforcement has been used by humans as a means to defend property and keep peace. Law enforcement has been changing ever since it was created. It will keep changing for the greater good of the community as long is there is a continual need for law enforcement.
According to REAL POLICE. (N.D.) Para 5, the first organized police force was created by the great nephew of Julius Caesar, Gaius Octavius in 27 B.C. These men were called Vigiles. The Vigiles were armed with wooden clubs and small swords. They were formed to perform two duties, fight fires in the city and arrest law breakers. The prefect of the Vigiles became a powerful man. He had the ability to judge and sentence lawbreakers.
In 1200 A.D., English law enforcement evolved into agents called bailiffs. These men were the original peace keepers. They stood night watches to spot thieves and fires. The bailiffs were not tasked with crime prevention, but merely to alert the sleeping public and create a posse to deal with any situation. They worked by staying in one place, a post, and listening for cries of distress from the public. If a cry was heard, the bailiff would bang on every door he could to gather up the townspeople. Once a posse was formed, it would search the city for the law violator. Once the violator was found, a fair trial was not offered. The posses would usually beat or kill the person it suspected committed the crime. This process of gathering the townspeople to punish a crime was called the hue and cry method (Schmalleger, 2005).
In the 1600’s, American colonies used a law enforcement system like England’s. The colonies used the hue and cry method along with a night watch (bailiff). The mid 1600’s slight improvements ...
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... Local law enforcement, known as municipal law, has the largest number of employees. Local law also has the largest amount of precincts. In 2000, 12,666 police departments employed 566,000 people. Local law enforcement is made up of police officers you see on a daily basis driving around town. Schmalleger (2005).
Much has changed since Gaius Octavius created the Vigiles in 27 B.C. Law enforcement has come from posses beating criminals to specializing into three distinct jurisdictions. History has shown that law enforcement must change with the times.
Refrences
Schmalleger, F. (2005). Criminal Justice Today : An Introductory Text for the 21st Century (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, Pearson Prentice Hall.
Unknown (2001). Real Police, History of Police. PG# 1-11
International Association of Women Police (N.D.).Past and Present, 1915-today. PG# 1-4
The system of crime and law enforcement had hardly changed in Britain since the medieval times. Justices of the Peace or JPs were appointed by the Crown since 1361. Before the night watchmen and parish constables were introduced a primitive police force was introduced and the JPs were assisted by constables who only worked part time and were very unreliable as the pay was really bad. The early stages of the force consisted of a night watchmen and parish constables, who were prior to the creation of the main police force. Watchmen were groups of men, usually authorised by a state, government, or society, to deter criminal activity and provide law enforcement. Constables were required to apprehend anyone accused of a felony and bring criminals to a justice of the peace. They also had a general responsibility to keep the peace. There was no expectation that they would investigate and prosecute crimes because of limited responsibility and training. Night watchmen patrolled the streets between 9 or 10pm until sunrise and were expected to examine all suspicious characters. In the City of London, the City Marshall and the Beadles (Parish wardens) conducted daytime patrols. Similar to the night watchmen, primary responsibilities were to patrol and deter, drunkenness, beggars, vagrants and prostitutes and to act as a deterrent against more serious offences. Over the course of this period, the arrangements by which men served as constables and watchmen changed significantly, to incorporate how felons were detected and apprehended.
American policing began around the 17th century. The Northern colonies of the United States were focused on the watch. They had started to institute a Civil Law Enforcement System very similar to the English model. The Southern colonies were focused on slave patrols and codes. The American Colonists were focused on a lot in this time period.
Sir Robert Peel, the creator of the first police force in 1829, London, England, modeled after the British Military. In America, the New York Sheriffs office was founded in 1626, In 1751, the City of Philadelphia established the first police force. A little over 220 years, before Sir Robert Peels police force in London. However, America’s version would soon morph into the Sir Robert Peels police model, following three principles, mission, strategy and organizational structure, moreover, this model could be compared to our two prong approach of “Professional and Community” policing of today. The mission was to prevent crime, by being visible in the community, the strategy was to be proactive, by actively pursuing offenders, and lastly, the
The vigilante is a reoccurring archetype in American entertainment and can be seen from comic books from the early 20th century to films released in 2010. Robert B. Ray in his piece about the vigilante makes it clear that the vigilante is a large part of American entertainment and culture. The vigilante is one that believes that they are above the law and that the law is inadequate. This idea that the law is inadequate or unjust stems from Henry Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience. Thoreau believes that when the government is unjust, that we should do what we believe is moral or right, even if it means breaking the law. The vigilante often takes violent and dangerous measures to create justice in their world and in doing so raise a moral question about our society. If we often idolize the vigilante in films and comic books, do we do the same with vigilantes that have been seen throughout our history and that are currently “creating justice” in our cities? Although the vigilante is a popular archetype in our entertainment the vigilante is not seen in the same light when it comes to reality, the “real” vigilante in American society is seen as a threat or danger and are disbanded in most cases. This idea poses a serious problem’s to Thoreau’s belief because the negative perception of vigilantes is proof that problems in society shouldn’t be solved by the individual, but through legal and civil means set up by our government.
The word culture means a group of people sharing the same beliefs, values, knowledge and behavior. The culture of policemen evolved as with the development of policing. Policeman is individuals empowered by the state to enforce law, serve and protect. The word police have a history from a Greek word called politeia. The word politeia in Greek was used to refer to dealings that affected the stability and safety of the Greek State. In the 18 century the word “police” were taken from the French and brought into the English language. King Louis XlV organized the first central police force in 1667 to police Paris, because back then Paris was the largest city in Europe. August “Gus” Vollmer was known as the father of policing because he started the first school, where officers could learn the law of evidence. In 1905 August became the first chief in Berkeley, California. He also was the first chief to tell his department to use the lie detector. August Vollmer was the first American officer to incorporate the use of blood, fiber, and analysis in a criminal investigation. Technology in policing began to advance in the 1800’s. DNA was discovered 1868, and in 1882 Alphonse Bertillon used anthropometrics as a mean of identification. As years past they continue advancing in policing. How policing is run now and how it was ran in the early years are totally different. Strict laws and consequences are put into place, and by then there was any. All these things affect police culture, and that’s what makes culture of policing different then the culture of policing in the early years.
Tracking the early beginnings of policing in Newark, NJ was first recorded back in the late 1600 when the establishing of police protection begin. It wasn’t until 1681 the beginning of the Watch at Night, where there were two appointed to patrol the town at night. The two men took on the title as Constable’s and their responsibilities were two very familiar duties; first there were responsible for preventing crime and second, preventing the peace. By 1773, the two constables at the time were required to maintain peace and harmony in the city of Newark. Later on the town’s boundaries began to increase, many felt the responsibilities were to a great extent to extravagance for just two people, so the patrol became nine citizens that would be chosen to serve. Newark was then divided into four watch districts, seven watchmen were appointed for night patrol and they were on duty from nine o’clock at night until dawn. The daily pay for each watchmen was one dollar per night. By 1836 the town of Newark was incorporated and the city became the the third oldest major city in the U.S. The city elected their first mayor, who’s first official acts established the “City Watch.” The City of Newark Watchmen’s duties were defined by ordinance was to patrol the streets and the districts throughout Newark, apprehend or detain until daylight, all offenders against the peace and any suspicious persons whom may be found lurking around in the streets late or unreasonable hours of the night. The first ranking officer, appointed as Captain of the Watch was George C. Sindle and he was paid the same wage as the other watchmen. In 1854 a distinguishing badge was authorized and given to the City Watchmen. Created to look like a star, inscribed with the ti...
While the watch system was, hypothetically, staffed by volunteers a great number of those volunteers were simply utilizing the watch system as “a method to avoid the military service,” (Potter) or had been forced into the service by the town and were performing the duties of a watchman as a form of punishment. These decisions were made at the local community level and varied from town to town, it wasn't until the 1830's that the idea of central police department funded by the state was established. By the 1880's all the major United States cities had a centralized police force in place.
One must also consider that almost all the constable’s powers were derivative; because of this it was a bit more difficult to handle crimes where there was no real victim; which is in favor of the criminal( Crime and ...
The origins of law enforcement can be traced back to English roots. The first incorporated stages of policing involved kin policing which “involved families, clans, and tribes enforcing informal rules and customs,” in the community in order to keep the peace. Law enforcement refers to any system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to enforce the law by “preventing, detecting, and investigating.”(Worrall & Schmalleger, 2013, p. 2) People who violated the rules and normal behaviors of the governing system, would be prosecuted in a court of law. The evolution of policing developed into watches, constables, and sheriffs, who took care of their communities. This method of policing eventually changed, when the Greek and Roman Empire took over.
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Law enforcement agencies serve the community in the form of enforcing the laws written by the legislature. They protect the people, prevent crime, and protect civil rights and liberties. The laws written by the legislature are ever changing and adapting to the world we live in. The law enforcement agencies carry out these laws with enforcement and judicial side handles those individuals that have broken these laws. Law enforcement agencies have multiple functions and sizes depending on geographical size and the population of the city/ county. The roles in a county agency may differ from a city or municipal agency. Counties have to cover larger geographical areas as compared to the municipal or city agency that is only responsible for the incorporated areas. The agency with greater availability to financial support is the agency that has the means to devise a team to focus on certain crime areas. All departments regardless of size must have someone at the top of the rank structure. A police department operates much like the military in which structure and chain of command is implemented. Quasi-military is a term used to describe the rank structure of today’s police departments (Grant and Terry 2012). From the bottom to the top of the r...