Recording-2025-02-17T18:16:58.179Z

Political Era of Policing

  • Frank Pledge System:

    • A mutual responsibility system in medieval England.

    • Groups of 10 households (tithings) were responsible for each other's behavior.

  • Constabulary System:

    • Early form of law enforcement in England.

    • Constables were appointed to maintain order and enforce laws in towns.

  • Sheriff:

    • A royal officer in medieval England.

    • Responsible for maintaining law and order, collecting taxes, and managing the king’s affairs in the county.

  • Advocational Policing:

    • Law enforcement carried out by volunteers or non-professionals (watchmen, militias) rather than full-time officers.

  • Robert Peel and the London Police:

    • Peel believed in a professional police force.

    • Founder of the Metropolitan Police in London.

  • Metropolitan Police Act of 1829:

    • Established the first professional police force in London.

    • Emphasized crime prevention and public service.

    • Key principles: accountability to the public, crime prevention, local scope with central control, and a quasi-military structure.

  • Community Policing Era (1970s – Present):

    • Focus on problem-oriented policing to address specific community concerns.

    • Emphasizes officer engagement in communities and identifying root causes of crime.

    • Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment (SARA) Model.

    • Introduced the Broken Windows Theory:

      • Visible signs of disorder can increase fear of crime.

    • Zero Tolerance Policing:

      • Aggressive enforcement of minor offenses to prevent larger crimes.

Professional Era of Policing

  • Era Overview:

    • Professional reform movement from the 1920s to the 1970s.

    • Rejection of corruption and focus on efficiency and fairness in policing.

  • Progressive Movement (1890s – 1920s):

    • Emphasis on a good, efficient government.

    • Police seen as part of a broader penal welfare system.

  • Wickersham Commission (1931):

    • Established by President Herbert Hoover to investigate law enforcement.

    • Found evidence of cruel treatment and unlawful extractions of confessions in police practices.

    • Highlighted common occurrences of visible injuries among detained individuals, often explained away by police with claims of the individuals falling down stairs.

  • Goals of the Professional Era:

    • Introduced by August Vollmer, who modernized policing in the U.S.

    • Focused on technology, education, and scientific methods to improve law enforcement.

    • Adoption of new technology: telephones, squad cars, two-way radios.

    • Shifted from social work to organized, disciplined law enforcement.

    • Emphasis on equal treatment under law.

  • Impact of Professionalization:

    • Random routine patrol and rapid responses were intended as deterrent strategies.

    • Despite increased police presence, crime rates doubled or tripled by the 1980s.

    • Strained community relationships; police often alienated from the communities they served.

  • Civil Disturbances:

    • Significant riots occurred in the 1960s, including the 1964 disturbances in New York.

    • The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice advocated for a national strategy against crime focusing on social justice issues.

    • The Kerner Commission made five key recommendations to address urban police-community tensions and improve policing practices.

  • Failures of the Professional Era:

    • Reactive, incident-driven policing led to ineffective results.

    • The limited impact of random patrols and short response times on crime rates.

    • Series of U.S. Supreme Court rulings in the 1960s and '70s that expanded individual rights within the criminal justice system.