Police Chapter 1

Policing

Policing

Maintaining order + dealing with lawbreakers

Private problem in early society

Civil Power of gov

1st Law Enforcement Professionals

Unpaid magistrates appointed by Athens citizens

Questors

1st specialized investigative unit

Praetorian Guard

Select group of highly qualified members of the military est by Roman Emperor Augustus to protect him + his palace

Vigiles

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

Lictors

Public officals appointment to be bodyguards for magistrates

They carry out magistrates orders (like executions)

Sir Robert Peel

Est the 1st English PD

Founder of modern policing

Mutual Pledge

A form of community self-protection developed by King Alfred the Great in the latter part of 19th century England

Constable

An official designed to keep the peace in mutual pledge system England

Paid through fines

Shine-Reeve

Early English official placed in charge of shires (counties) as part of the system of mutual pledge

Became sheriff

Hue + Cry

A method dev in early England for citizens to summon help

Vigilantes + Bounty Hunters

Statute of Winchester

Watch + Ward

A rudimentary form of policing, designed to protect against crime, disturbances + fire

Req for all Englishmen to serve over 15

Watch + Ward 3 Duties

1. Patrolling streets from dusk till dawn to ensure that all local ppl were indoors + quiet, + that no strangers were roaming about

2. Performing duties like lighting street lamps, cleaning garbage from street, + putting out fires

3. Enforcing crim law

When did rise of centralized gov occur?

Early 14th century

Thief Takers

Private English citizens with no official status who were paid by King for every criminal they arrested

Like bounty hunters

Henry Fielding

Laid foundation for 1st modern public fund to est a civilian horse patrol of 8 men to combat robbers

Peel’s 9 Principles Definition

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

Goal → To prevent crime

Peel’s 9 Principles List

1. Basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime + disorder

2. The ability of the police to perform is dependent on public approval of police actions

3. Police must secure the willing cooperation of public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to be secure + maintain respect of public

4. The degree of cooperation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force

5. Police seek + preserve public favors not by catering to public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to all

6. Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance to law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice, + warning insufficient

7. Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police = public + the public = police, the police only being public that’s paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in interests of community welfare + existence

8. Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions + never appear to usurp the powers of judiciary

9. The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime + disorder, not the visible evidence of police action against it

Beat System

System of policing by Sir Robert Peel in which officers were assigned to small permanent posts

Slave Patrols

Police type organizations created in American south during colonial times to control slaves + support the southern economic slavery system

In the north they were drinking + sleeping on job

Dred Scott Decision

SCOTUS decision of 1857 that said slaves had no rights as citizens bc theyre considered property

Sheriff

Locally elected; Usually the only law enforcement available on frontier

Mostly collected tax + did court duties

Would call posse comitatus if there was a crime spree

Posse Comitatus

“Power of the country”

Called by sheriff if there’s a crime spree; Legalized vigilantism

Lynch mobs were common

No one above 15 could refuse it

Federal Marshalls

Can call upon militia for help

Posse Comitatus Act of 1879

Forbids use of military to enforce civilian law except where expressly authorized by law

Volstead Act

National Prohibition in 18th Amend

Became law in 1920 + forbade sale + manufacturing of alcohol

Wickersham Commission

Published 1st national study of cj system in 1931

Blamed shortcomings of police on a lack of police professionalism (criminal, inefficient, racist, brutal) + they use extreme pain (physical + mental) to get confessions or statements

• Critical of prohibition (unenforced bc unenforceable)

• Police commissioner term too short

• No effective, honest, police

• No efforts made to edu, train, or discipline officers

President’s Commission on Law Enforcement + Admin of Justice

Commission that issued a report in 1967 entitled “The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society”

Created in a wake of the problems of the 1960’s particularly the problems b/w police + citizens

National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Commission)

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

CompStat Def

Weekly crime strat meetings featuring the latest computerized crime stats + high stress brainstorming

Dev by NYPD in mid 1990’s

4 steps

CompStat 4 Step Process

1. Timely + accurate intelligence

2. Use of effective tactics in response to that intelligence

3. Rapid deployment of personnel + resources

4. Relentless follow up + assessment

Rodney King Incident

The 1991 videotaped beating of an African American citizen by LAPD

Jury Nullification

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

9/11 Attacks

Terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda

Dept of Homeland Security

Fed cabinet dept est in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks

Politia

Latin word for police meaning civil administration

Military Powers

Used in time of war to destroy + kill enemy

Conquer another by defeating them

Whats the goal of police?

Solve Problems + serve public

Statute of Winchester

Required citizens to arrest criminals, thus creating the hue + cry

Common Law

Our system of law + of policing borrowed from English

Primarily from judicial decisions based on custom + precedent

Statutes

Laws which are passed by the fed Congress + the various state legislatures

Basis of statutory law; Legislature passes statutes which are later put into the fed cod of laws or pertinent state code of laws

Statutory Law

Laws passed by a county or city gov to address areas not covered by fed or state law

Includes local ordinances

Metropolitan Police Act

Created Peels’s first PD

Had hiring standards + some minimal training

3400 og hires after first 8 years only 15% of them remained

Primary Prob in PD was drinking (military influence)

Resistance to Creating a PD

1. Fear of police force

2. Resistance to forming one

3. Did not wanna pay

4. PD would threaten freedom

18th + 19th Century Environments

Brutal + Corrupt

Crime, street riots + drunkenness, lawless

Politics dominated early policing + police served as their enforcement (everyone fired when new politician elected)

Police relied on brute force like English (mutual disrespect b/w PD + community)

Town Marshalls

Semi reformed outlaws

Boston PD

1st organized American dept (1838)

Allen Pinkerton

Est detective agency in 1850

Private Policing + 2 Types

Protected interests of wealthy

1. Proprietary (Large Corporations)

2. Contract (Uniform)

20th Century Policing

Attempts to address probs of the history of ineptness, corruption + brutality

Most reform efforts failed

Boston Police Strike

70% of PD on strike → all of them fired

Immediate rioting + looting

Gov Coolidge (later Pres) mobilized state militia

Public against police

Ended police unionism for years

Wickersham Commission 3 Recommendations

1. Increased sensitivity in recruitment

2. Better pay + benefits

3. More edu

Styles of Leadership

1. Autocratic

2. Participatory

3. Democratic

4. Laissez Faire

(APDL)

Busiest Police Shift?

Afternoons