Police History

Beat System

System of policing created by Sir Robert Peel for the London Metropolitan Police in 1829 in which officers were assigned to relatively small permanent posts.

CompStat

Weekly crime strategy meetings, featuring the latest computerized crime statistics and high-stress brainstorming; developed by the New York City Police Department in the mid-1990s.

Constable

An official assigned to keep the peace in the mutual pledge system in England.

Department of Homeland Security

Federal cabinet department established in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Dred Scott Decision

Infamous U.S. Supreme Court decision of 1857 ruling that slaves had no rights as citizens because they were considered to be property.

Equity

Something that is just and fair.

Hue and Cry

A method developed in early England for citizens to summon assistance from fellow members of the community.

Jury Nullification

A vote by jurors to either ignore the evidence in a trial or disregard the instructions of a judge to reach a verdict based on their own consciences.

Mutual Pledge

A form of community self-protection developed by King Alfred the Great in the latter part of the ninth century in England.

National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Commission)

Commission created in 1968 to address the reasons for the riots of the 1960s.

Peel’s Nine Principles

Basic guidelines created by Sir Robert Peel for the London Metropolitan Police in 1829.

Posse Comitatus

Common law descendent of the old hue and cry. If a crime spree occurred or a dangerous criminal was in the area, the U.S. frontier sheriff would call upon the posse comitatus, a Latin term meaning “the power of the county.”

Praetorian Guard

Select group of highly qualified members of the military established by the Roman emperor Augustus to protect him and his palace.

President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice

Commission that issued a report in 1967 titled The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society. The commission was created in the wake of the problems of the 1960s, particularly the problems between police and citizens.

Rodney King Incident

The 1991 videotaped beating of a Black citizen by members of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Shire-Reeve

Early English official placed in charge of shires (counties) as part of the system of mutual pledge; evolved into the modern concept of the sheriff.

Slave Patrols

Police-type organizations created in the American South during colonial times to control slaves and support the southern economic system of slavery.

Social Justice

The fair treatment and equitable status of all individuals and social groups within a state or society.

9/11

The terrorist attacks committed by al Qaeda.

Thief Takers

Private English citizens with no official status who were paid by the king for every criminal they arrested. They were similar to the bounty hunter of the American West.

Vigiles

Early Roman firefighters who also patrolled Rome’s streets to protect citizens.

Volstead Act (National Prohibition, Eighteenth Amendment)

Became law in 1920 and forbade the sale and manufacture of alcohol.

Watch and Warde

A rudimentary form of policing, designed to protect against crime, disturbances, and fire. All Englishmen were required to serve on it.

Wickersham Commission

Published the first national study of the U.S. criminal justice system, in 1931.