Police History

Political Model

  • Primary Agents & Duties

    • Sheriff/Constable
    • The “Watch”
    • Slave patrols, private detectives/security, frontier security forces (TX Rangers)
    • CITIZENS are primary agents of social control

  • Political Era – English Heritage

    • Primary Features From England
    • Local Control
    • Decentralized/Fragmented System
    • Three Elements of Modern Policing (England)
    • Mission? (implied focus on prevention)
    • Strategy? (implied patrol patterns and prevention efforts)
    • Organizational Structure? (paramilitary tendencies)

  • Political Era – English Heritage (continued details)

    • Primary Features From England
    • Local Control
    • Decentralized/Fragmented System
    • Three Elements of Modern Policing (England)
    • Mission – Crime Prevention
    • Strategy – Random patrolling on foot
    • Organizational Structure – Paramilitary

  • First Modern-Day Police

    • Took a long time to develop in the US
    • Why?
    • $1900s$ (timeframe label) context: (early modern policing delayed)

  • First Modern-Day Police – Why development was slow (expanded)

    • Reasons for delay
    • $Lack of need in rural society; urbanization = police$ (urban areas required formal policing)
    • Fear of a National Police Force
    • Political Fights for Control (State and Local)
      • Current struggle in DC for control of metropolitan PD
      • Implementation of National Guard in Washington
    • Taxes to Pay

  • Changing American Landscape

    • Industrial revolution created urbanization – Relationship between population dynamics & crime
    • Increasing representation of immigrant groups – Minority threat hypothesis
    • Lack of informal social controls through collective efficacy
    • Prevalence of effective firearms in US society – Armed state powers

  • Policing in the Political Era

    • Inefficient characteristics
    • Foot
    • Unsupervised
    • Little communication
    • Expansive Role
    • Brutal
    • Corrupt
    • Battle for control
    • Selection issues
    • No Personnel Standards
    • No training
    • Pay to play
    • Fired at will
    • Great pay

Professional Model

  • Features / Elements

    • Eliminate Politics – Response to Corruption
    • Increase Personnel Standards – Training, Education
    • Provide Adequate Leaders
    • Specialization
    • Centralize Command – Supervision ramped up – Discipline (punishment) is the only tool

  • Technology Drove the Movement

    • Patrol Car
    • Two-way Radio
    • Telephone
    • Outcome:
    • Rounded out service
    • Increased demand and expectation of service

  • Challenges and Disconnects

    • US government increases funding for education and training – Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA)
    • Law enforcement orientation burdens communities of color – Civil unrest, complaints, and lawsuits
    • Crime rate increases consistently from $1960$-$1994$ – Inconsistent with public expectations

Community Policing – A Response to the Professionalism Movement

  • Rationale

    • “Law Enforcement” focus alienated citizens
    • Treatment during Professional Model = unrest
    • Kerner Commission reform recommendations

  • CP – Features

    • Focus on citizen (no monopoly) – Increase Police-Citizen contact – Rely on citizens for crime control
    • Return to a broad role – Emphasize service and problem solving
    • Specialization (generalists) – De-emphasize crime fighting

  • CP Approaches

    • Community organizing (Chicago model)
    • Problem-solving (Goldstein)
    • Aggressive order maintenance (Broken Windows)