Intro to Policing Notes pt 1

Reasonable Suspicion

• an innate suspicion of seemingly regular activities helpful for detecting wrongdoings that might seem regular/normal to the regular citizen 

Communal Form

• Duties shared by everyone in the community.

• Anyone could be a police officer or a protector.

• No distinctions, directives, general orders, duties, or responsibilities 

Informal Form

• also had no defined structure and hierarchy

• made up of volunteers who were willing to serve as protectors.

• The “watch” system also emerged from these early forms of policing

Night Watch

• not very effective because consisted of volunteers who had no prior training or experiences who were notorious for engaging in inappropriate activities while on duty, including drinking, gambling, and sleeping.

  • on top of enforcing aws, night watch was charged with lighting street lamps at night, patrolling on foot from dusk to dawn, cleaning the garbage from the streets, and extinguishing fires

Day Watch

• had issues as well: volunteers were individuals volunteering as a form of punishment for continually breaking minor rules and did not perform as expected but colonies needed protection so they had to take what they could get

  • Philadelphia was the first to adopt this form of policing in 1833, followed by New York in 1844

Slave Patrols

• Authorized to track runaway slaves and “protect” the White population from slave revolutions 

  • usually White men or women, some poor Whites, all equipped with ships, whistles, firearms, and other forms of weaponry. had the authority from their southern localities to enter any dwelling without a warrant to enforce slave codes

Constable System

• somewhat organized and had minimal training and experiences. Some former servicemen with prior military experiences.

• responsibilities included catching thieves, arresting criminals, transporting and serving warrants and other government papers, and supervising the watchmen entirely.

• *The constable system can be attributed as the first formalized police force in early America

Tithing Systems

• made up of 10 families expected to police within themselves and protect the families from outside wrongdoings.

• The next level was made up of 10 tithings, which was a collected group of 100 families.

• These tithings were under the supervision of the constable. Eventually, a constable (who was assigned by the king) was the higher authority and was authorized to oversee these families

Shire Reeve

• The role and title constable evolved into shire reeve, later called the sheriff. 

  • The sheriff was the law enforcement officer for the county, region, or province

• have a star-shaped badge that was made from copper. This became the famous nickname for police officers as either “copper” or “cops.” 

State and federal law enforcement agencies

• Some of the earliest state police agencies included the Massachusetts District Police, the Connecticut State Police Department, the Texas Rangers, South Dakota State Constabulary, and the Idaho Department of Law Enforcement.

• The author noted that these agencies were created as early as 1865 to 1870.

Coal Strike of 1902

Resulted in creation of Pennsylvania State Police agency to maintain order during labor disputes and protect public safety.

Bow Street Runners

• individuals were tasked with preventing crimes, arresting and charging criminals, investigating crimes, and pursuing social justice

Political Era

• 1830’s to 1900 

• Considered the most corrupt era 

• Police agencies were decentralized

• Corrupt officers and leadership 

  • Policing influenced by politicians 

  • Politicians influenced hiring process 

• Accountability was minimal and catered to political agendas 

Reform Era

• 1930-1980 

• Wickersham reports influenced August Vollmer and O.W. wilson

• Police agencies became highly centralized 

• Uproot political influence which influenced

  • Incorporating college degree requirements for police officers 

  • Improving the basic standards for police recruiting

  • Recruiting more college graduates 

  • Implementing automobiles in police patrolling; and 

  • Incorporating the telephone and the police radio systems for easier communications 

• Television booms during the reform era thus police activities were broadcast on a grand scale

Community Era

• 1960’s to present 

• The civil rights movement  and excessive force in 50s and 60s heavily causes the move to this era 

• New transparency and visibility due to media 

• U.S. Department of justice’s office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) 

  • Inspired research and academics to publish ideals that have influenced modern policing and modern policing practices 

• Back to the basics: 

  • Community outreach 

  • Keeping peace 

  • Maintain order

Community Era utilizes

• Problem solving: 

  • Police administrators and community come together to collaborate to find solutions to community problems 

• Community partnership:

  • Administrators take the concerns of the community to create initiatives 

  • Ex: faith based homeless resources  

• Organizational transformation:

  • Internal transformation of the department by administrators 

  • Ex: use of technology in policing structure

Decentralized

The majority of police services are spread within various local and municipal agencies

• *different agencies responsible for different functions*

Wickersham Commision

• created by herbert hoover in 1929 due to corruption of political era

• Examine current police practices and all criminal justice practices

Centralized

A single agency has control over all operations

• State can undertake investigation 

• Centralized duties and maintain central database systems 

• fewer agencies such as state agencies have the authority to undertake criminal investigations and patrol state highways. In this case, state police agencies perform centralized duties and maintain central database systems for criminal records and other biographical information.