“There are three kinds of people in the world. There are wolves and there are sheep. And then there are those who protect the sheep from the wolves” (Christopher Shields qtd, Police Line). There are many sheep in the world, but for every sheep there is a wolf. In this quote, those protecting the sheep are police officers. The men and women of the police force choose to defend the “sheep” everyday. These “sheep” are everyday citizens, while the wolves are the criminals. Those protecting the sheep in this quote are often in danger just like police officers are often in danger while protecting citizens. Though police cadets go through many months of training, it does not help to fully prepare the new officers for everyday situations. It is necessary for the community that cadets are provided with more complete training that will benefit the officers once they are on the job.
“In 1844, New York City had two police forces; daytime duty and the night watch,” (Sabath, n.d.). Having both night and daytime forces allowed a twenty-four hour watch to protect the “sheep” of such a large city from the “wolves.” The police chiefs were in charge of the police department during this time. (“The Early Days of American,” n.d.). Though police chiefs are still in charge, they are now named Police Commissioner. Having a certain person to preside over the entire department is important, so the police officers are obeying the laws as well, and not just strong-arming the citizens. If the police officers were simply abusing their power over everyone, they would be just as bad as a “wolf.” In making sure that every component of a civilian's life has some form of protection, it allowed the police force to become a profession. The night and daytime shifts ...
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Mandatory In-Service Law Enforcement Training. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2013, from Division of Criminal Justice website: http://www.nj.gov/lps/dcj/agguide/mandator.pdf
The role of a police officer. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2013, from Cambridgeshire website: http://www.cambs.police.uk/recruitment/officer/
Sabath, D. O. (n.d.). The Evolution of American Policing. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from Police History website: http://www.aphf.org/hist.html
Training. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2013, from Florida State University website: http://www.police.fsu.edu/Training
Whitten, E. S. (2013, October 5). [Personal interview by the author].
Wuebben, J. (2009, August). Training tactics. Joe Weider’s Muscle & Fitness., 176-184. Retrieved from Student Research Center database. (Accession No. 43203362)
& Forst, L.S. (2016). An Introduction to Policing (8th Edition). Boston, MA USA: Cengage Learning. p.243 (245). Retrieved June 6, 2017, from https://www.betheluniversityonline.net
It is easy for police to get caught up in the idea that it is them against the rest of society (Barkan, 2012). Many citizens in today’s democratic society have a negative or fearful view of our law enforcement. Think back to grade school, who was that one kid in class that everyone was annoyed by or despised? Most people would answer the teacher’s pet or the tattletale. We have grown up from a young age to have a negative view towards those that get us into trouble when we think we can get away with something we know is wrong. In the adult world, the police force can equate to those tattletales.
Most everyone knows something about the story of Noah and the great flood. It is one of the most illustrated and common stories from the Bible. The knowledge that God was angry, Noah built an ark to carry animals and then there was a flood that killed everything. Though this is the basic picture of the story, it does not capture alone the main point of the story. God’s saving grace is the message. Believe and follow in the path of the Lord and salvation will be yours. All of God’s characteristics and boundaries he conveyed spawn off of the following of this or the ignoring of His omnipotent power and being. Just like in much of the text in the Bible, you have to read between the lines to find the meaning; the same is true for Genesis 5-9.
Perceptions of what constitutes a qualified police officer have been crafted as a result of numerous television shows and movies. They are often portrayed as heroic, invincible, and possessors of brute strength. While some of these physical attributes are in fact expected and required of police officers, they are not the only ones and at times, may come secondary to alternative methods, such as the use of strong communication and critical thinking skills. Policing has changed immensely since the days of resolving issues with a night stick. There is a desire for today’s police officers to possess the educational capacity to develop and implement community policing initiatives. Additionally, there exists a desire to professionalize policing. This drive for professionalism has led to the desire for increased educational requirements (Brecci, 1994).
Police officers serve and protect the people in their community. The earliest police force was established around the 1750’s. Although the first police force in the modern sense came to be over 250 years ago, the purpose they had is the same as today. As with the rest of the world advancing and progressing, the police force has advanced in many ways which have made them a more efficient and capable unit, in order to more fully accomplish their purpose of serving their community. In the next few paragraphs you will learn how training, equipment, work environment and techniques have changed and evolved in the police force.
Walker, S, and C Katz. The Police in America. 7th. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 28-54. Print.
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).
By the turn of the twentieth century, criticism was developing over the ineffective and illegitimate character of local police departments. During this time period, the Progressive Era, many changes were taking place in America. Urbanization was bringing many people to large, increasingly industrial cities of the day. City officials were required to redesign many facets of urban life as cities continued to grow. This atmosphere of reform was also carried over into policing. Roberg et al. argues that the 1920s to 1960s were “probably the most significant period in the development of policing in the United States” (2012). During this time period, the foundations of professionalization were laid down. The reform model of policing dominated police work during this time period (Roberg et al. 2012). This model was characterized by a commitment to base the police-community relationship on law and police policy. It was now understood that police action should not be influenced by politics or personal opinions. To avoid this, police departments were now efficiently and centrally m...
Walker, S., & Katz, C. (2012). Police in America: An Introduction (8th Edition ed.). New York:
It is a myth to believe that an officers job is spend fighting dangerous crimes, in reality officers spend more time handing smaller cases. For example, police officers spend a lot of time doing daily tasks such as giving speeding tickets and being mediators in disputes (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Handing out speeding tickers and handling minor disputes are far from fighting crime. Police officers spend more time doing preventive measures (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Preventive measures involve officers intervening to prevent further altercations. Victor Kappeler and Gary Potter discussed the myth of crime fighting as invalid and misleading notions of an officer’s employment.
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...
Wilson, J. (1978). Varieties of Police Behavior: The Management of Law and Order in Eight American Communities. American Journal of Sociology, 75(1), 160-162
Lyman, Michael D. (2005). The Police an Introduction. Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Walker, S. & Katz, C.M. 2011. The Police in America: An Introduction, 7th ed. New York, NY. McGraw-Hill.