Eras of American Policing and Their Origin American policing originated from early English law and is profoundly influenced by its history. Early law enforcement in England took on two forms of policing, one of which heavily influenced modern policing and it is known as the watch (Potter, 2013). The watch consisted, at first, of volunteers which had to patrol the streets for any kind of disorder including crime and fire. After men attempted to get out of volunteering by paying others, it became a paid professional position (Walker & Katz, 2012). The three eras of policing in America are shaped by these early ideas and practices of law enforcement. Throughout time, sufficient improvements and advancements have been made from the political era to the professional era and finally the community era which attempts to eliminate corruption, hire qualified officers and create an overall effective law enforcement system. The first police department in America developed in New York and began the first era of policing which spanned from the 1830s to 1900 and is known as the political era (Walker & Katz, 2012). As emphasized by Walker (1999) not only did the political era of policing revolve around politics but provided officers with little to no training, education or recruitment standards (as cited in Police: History, 2014). The era also forced shaky job security for law enforcement and officers could be fired and hired at any point with little to no reason. Even men with criminal records were foot patrolling and women were only seen as “matrons” for the jail; they did not carry weapons and often times had very little arrest discretion (Walker & Katz, 2012). According to Walker and Katz (2012), “a $300 payment to the Tammany Hall poli... ... middle of paper ... ...l History Network. Retrieved May 10, 2014, from http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestones:TwoWay_Police_Radio_Communication,_1933 Police: History - Policing Nineteenth-century Americaâ€. (n.d.). "the Political Era. Retrieved May 9, 2014, from http://law.jrank.org/pages/1642/Police-History-Policing-nineteenth-century America-political-era.html Potter, G. (2013, June 25). The History of Policing in the United States, Part 1. Online Police Studies Degrees. Retrieved May 9, 2014, from http://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/history-policing-united-states-part-1 Ruffinengo, M. (2014, February). Chapter 2: The History of American Police. Criminal Justice 102. Lecture conducted from Boise State University, Boise, ID. Walker, S., & Katz, C. (2012). Police in America: An Introduction (8th Edition ed.). New York: Humanities & Social Sciences; 8 edition.
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Show MoreNational Center for Women & Policing. (2013). Changing the Face of Policing. Retrieved May 27, 2014, from http://womenandpolicing.com/
One of the most disturbing trends in American policing in recent years has been the militarization of police weaponry and tactics. In his new book, “The Rise of the Warrior Cop”, author Radley Balko traces the roots of American law enforcement from the constables of colonial times to present day SWAT teams and special response units. With the high controversy surrounding the “war on drugs” and the “war on terrorism,” policymakers have signed off on a dangerously aggressive style of policing that too often leads to unnecessary deaths and injuries. Some people say that modern law enforcement is on a collision course with our Bill of Rights and is unconstitutional. In the book “ Rise of the Warrior Cop” the author talks about how modern day policing are adapting mostly all military tactic. These wars are more than just metaphors designed to rally public support and secure all the money they can to support these programs. They change the way we think about what the police do. Wars mean shooting first and asking questions later. Wars require military tactics and weaponry. Wars mean civilian casualties. Are we at war with our own people?
During the seventies in New Jersey created a program that could change life in society. This program occurred only in twenty-eight cities. Government and public officials were excited about this concept. Police officials were not so much. Foot patrol made officers walk in sleet and snow. Assigned foot patrol was a way of punishment for officers. State funding of foot patrol shut the mouths of some people. Silence stopped after the “Police Foundation”(Kelling) put foot patrol to the actual test. To contrary belief this rattled some arguments in the community an...
...Territo, L., & Taylor, R. W. (2012). Intelligence, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Police administration: structures, processes, and behavior (8th ed., pp. 90-99). Boston: Pearson.
Describe the various "styles of policing" discussed in this chapter. Which do you think are the most popular today? Which do you think are the most effective? Due Date March 11, 2005
According to Kelling, Pate, Dieckman, & Brown (1974), patrol is the “backbone” of police work. This belief is based around the premise that the mere presence of police officers on patrol prohibits criminal activity. Despite increasing budgets and the availability of more officers on the streets, crime rates still rose with the expanding metropolitan populations (Kelling et al., 1974). A one year experiment to determine the effectiveness of routine preventive patrol would be conducted, beginning on the first day of October 1972, and ending on the last day of September 1973.
Rutkin, Aviva. "Policing The Police." New Scientist 226.3023 (2015): 20-21. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
The modern police agencies have grown and developed since the early 1600s to become an increasingly organized group that endeavors to prevent crime while preserving the rights and professionalism of citizens. Generally, modern policing in the United has been shaped by the early English police styles (“The History of the Police”, n.d.). This is primarily because the first organized policing agencies were witnessed in the early 1800s but exper...
Skogan, W., Meares, T. (2004) ‘Lawful Policing’ The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 66 (18)
At the time of the nation’s founding in 1776, the decentralization of police power was seen as a safeguard against government oppression and tyranny. Nevertheless, local police departments in the United States of America often used repressive and illegal tactics, particularly against criminals, members of minority groups, immigrants, and others labeled undesirable (Police Brutality).
From the roots of modern policing, we started with similar ideas as the English policing system in the colonies with a sheriff, constable and a town watch. Eventually, America found issues with this system as England did and had to evolve to withstand populations, civil disorders, and increase of crime. Tensions rose due to growth of immigrants competing for jobs against Native Americans. Thus, become the “Year of Riots” in 1834 which brought larger cities to accept and establish a new London-style police department which took many years due to the process of city and state legislature. Preventive patrol was the number one idea America took from London since it was found police presence does effect individuals’ behaviors. However, the
Peak, K. J. (2006). Views. In K. J. Peak, Policing America: Methods/Issues/Challenges (p. 263). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Barker, Thomas, Ronald D. Hunter, and Pamela D. Mayhall. Police Community Relation and Administration of Justice. 4th ed. NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1995
American law enforcement agencies are based off the English models which began in the early 1800’s. In 1829, the English Parliament passed the Metropolitan Police Act (Walker, 1983). Sir Robert Peel who has been credited as the father of modern policing introduced this act to Parliament (Walker, 1983). This act established the London Metropolitan Police which was the model for American policing. This method of policing incorpor...
America’s first known system of law enforcement originated in Boston more than 350 years ago. Almost as soon as settlers landed on the shores of the “New World”, a system of policing was put into place. This system was structured after the English system and included positions such as constables, watchmen, and sheriffs. As society progressed, so did the system of law enforcement. Law enforcement has grown into a well-honed system that incorporates technology and problem solving strategies into daily operations.