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