Chapter 2: Origins and Development of Law Enforcement

Introduction

• Development of formal policing systems
• Changes when Industrial Revolution arrived
• The emergence of modern professional police

Early Origins of Social Control

• Lex Talionis
• Code of Hammurabi
• Vigiles (Vigilante)

Development of Formal Policing

• 2200 BC: Code of Hammurabi standardizes laws and punishments in Babylon
• 1340 BC: Nile River Police established in Egypt
• 510 BC: Romans establish the Praetorian Guard and Urban Court
• 27 BC: a Roman system of vigiles instituted by Emperor Augustus
• 400-800: Law enforcement in England is based on traditional notions of individual justice and punishment
• 899: The system of shires, hundreds, and tithes is established by Alfred the Great
• 1285: The statute of Winchester establishes the watch and ward system in England
• 1326: Justices of the peace first appointed by the kind of England
• 1748: Founding of the Bow Street Runners in London
• 1829: Creation of the London Metropolitan Police

Development of Formal Policing:

England--From tithing to Posse Comitatus

• The King’s Peace
• King’s subjects are his property
• Shires and tithes
• Constables and posses
• Bow Street Runners

England--The Formal System of Policing

• Sir Robert Peel
• Peel’s Principles of Policing:"
  • The police must be reliable, effective, and structured in a military-like manner.
  • The police must be regulated by the government.
  • The police's effectiveness will be best demonstrated by the lack of crime.
  • It is crucial to spread crime news.
  • It is crucial to deploy police resources according to time and location.
  • Police officer needs full control of their emotions more than anything else because acting calmly and firmly requires more work than acting violently.
  • Look professional and presentable
  • The core of efficiency lies in the recruitment and training of qualified personnel.
  • Every police officer must be assigned a number for public safety.
  • The location of the police headquarters should be convenient for the public.
  • Police officers should be hired on a trial basis.
  • The need for a police record
• Metropolitan Police Act (1829): Created a centralized, coordinated police system in England
• Bobbies (1856): This refers to policemen

United States--Early Watch Systems

• Justice of the Peace
• Sheriff
• Constables
• Night Watch
• Vigilante Committees

United States--Slave Patrols and Jim Crow Laws

• Slave Codes
• Slave Patrols were established in the mid-1740s
• Precursors to modern police forces
• Jim Crow Laws enacted in the 1880s
  • Plessy v. Ferguson: “Separate but equal”
  • Examples
  • Interracial Marriage: An African American and a white person are not allowed to get married
  • Restrooms: There must be separate restrooms at establishments and institutions for African American and white people
  • Sports: African Americans and white people must have separate teams.

Eras of American Policing

The Political Era (1840-1930)

• Spoils System: When political party members will reward their supporters with government posts when they win the election.
• Pendleton Act of 1883
  • It was created to abolish the spoils system and reduce corruption in the government.
  • Legalistic vs. Order Maintenance
  • Legalistic: This refers to policemen who give threats or actually arrest someone to control their behavior
  • Order Maintenance: When there is policing or regulating in a public area. For example, noise violations, public indecency, or public drinking.
• Wickersham Commission 1929: This commission was enacted to find and solve problems in the criminal justice system.
  • For example, it was increasing crime rates or any issues in the juvenile system.
• Women and Minorities
  • The first African American police officer served in Washington, D.C.
  • New Orleans was the first to actively recruit African Americans.
  • Los Angeles police department was the first to have a woman officer.
  • The 1960s was when women and minorities started taking equal roles in law enforcement.

Origins of the Reform Era

• Faces of Reform: Early Leaders
  • August Vollmer--Father of Police Professionalism
  • O.W. Wilson--The protégé
  • J. Edgar Hoover--The FBI

Policing as a Profession

• Replacement of patronage systems
• Job security for administrators and leaders
• Centralized policing and record keeping

Profession Criteria

• An organized body of knowledge
• Advanced study
  • In the 1960s High school degree was required
  • 1964 Law Enforcement Education Program: This was created to help educate more officers
  • National Institute of Justice: The research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice.
  • American Society of Criminology
• Code of Ethics
  • Organizational value system
  • Accountability mechanisms
  • 1957 IACP Law Enforcement Code of Ethics and Police Code of Conduct
• Prestige: The desire or admiration that makes a job seem worthwhile.
• Standards of admissions
  • Character and background checks
  • Psychological testing
  • Requirements modified over time
• Professional association
  • 1893- International Association of Chiefs of Police
  • 1915- International Association of Policewomen
  • Currently
  • Police Executive Forum
  • Police Foundation
  • Commission for the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies
• Service ideal
  • Crime Control
  • Community Service
  • Speed of response time
  • Incident handling efficiency
  • Police community relations

Measuring the Effectiveness of the Traditional Model of Policing

• Traditional strategies
• Police community relations
• Rising crime rates
• Uniform Crime Reports
  • Structure
  • Part I: Violent personal crimes
  • Part II: Property crimes
  • Crime Indices: Provide a view of the relative risk of specific crime types
  • Limitations
• Dark Figure of Crime
  • Underreported crime
  • National Crime Victimization Survey
  • Only about 39% of crimes reported to the police
  • Limitations of NCVS