Evolution of Policing Gan Thomas Osborne Grantham University Online CJ201 Police Systems & Practices Instructor: Richard

Sayles

Evolution of Policing

Abstract There has been and always will be the need of guardians against violent offenders and those who would seek to do harm. The modern-day police officer in America is the product of evolution from colonial times. The most rapid developments in this evolution have taken place during the past 170 years. The policing institution, which has developed in America during the twentiethcentury has been divided into three eras. The following is a brief critique of the chronological development of policing and the public's views of police officers through the years. The dramatic changes that have taken place are due to the collaboration between each house of the government and the public it serves.

Evolution of Policing

American police institutions have grown from their infancy into the modern adolescent police system of today during the twentieth century. The United States police experiences are divided into three eras with each marking a milestone in the evolution. The political, reform and the community-based policing eras are the topics of our focus. The history we are basing our acceptance of truth on is very often skewed. As Winston Churchill said history is written by the victors. Unfortunately, the popular historical truth is often loosely based on factual events. The political era was the epitome of a patronage system and transpired between the years of 1840 and 1930 A.D. During this era, local politicians would appoint police chiefs into positions so as to advance their own political agenda. Often, the police chiefs merely served their appointers directly. As policing had recently developed, the chiefs had no true authority over police officers and like any institution devoid of leadership, fell into ineffective and unethical practices. The embodiment of the average police officer at the time was the foot patrolman who was charged with the duty of arrest, search and seizure. Due to the lack of training, there were often reports of illegitimate use of force, false arrests and unwarranted searches and seizures. At this point, the political era was geared towards political favoritism and the furthering of political agendas were the focus of policing rather than any control of criminal activities. In 1919, the Volstead act was passed to enforce the 18th amendment, which criminalized intoxicating liquors. Organized crime became more prevalent and corrupt politicians coupled with incompetent policing systems lead the United States towards a crime-ridden Great Depression.

Evolution of Policing

In the early 1900s August Vollmer became the police chief for Berkeley California and initiated the 1st true training program for police officers. He is hailed as the father of American policing, and attempted to evoke a great change in the police service by stamping out corruption and political influence. Vollmer set out to enrich the institution of policing by raising the level of accountability for officers and instill honesty and impartiality. August Vollmer charged into the reform era, which took place between 1930 and 1988 A.D.

The term reform became the word of the day during this era and for the first time; introspection of police practices began to take place. Orlando Winfield Wilson joined the Berkeley police force and is credited with advancing the reform movement by enacting drastic changes in police operations. The reform era yielded significant change and as the police institutions began to develop good structure, a separation was noted between the police and the public. As this berth continue to grow, the police force failed to meet the public's standard for controlling crime. The general public had well-founded fears of criminal activity and faith in the police waned. Subsequently, funding sources were diminished because of the failure of the police hierarchy to steer the country into calm waters. The lower ranking officers lost faith as well which resulted in lower morale and in turn, less actual crime fighting. At the close of the reform era, the civil rights movement in the Vietnam War was in full swing and the views of the American people were changing. The 1960s and the 1970s showed that the average American culture had become very diverse. From this

Evolution of Policing great diversity, a counterculture emerged fueled with this trust of police and a lack of confidence in our political system. The hierarchy of the political system, in an effort to make an accurate diagnosis, investigated and found that changes needed to be made. In 1967 the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice issued a report detailing the strengths and weaknesses and the copious amount of adversities facing various police agencies. The findings encouraged a greater degree of communication and empathy in order to solve problems facing the communities.

The years 1980 through 1995 A.D. ushered in the community problemsolving era and police officers were forced to realize that they were ordinary citizens in a capacity to help people on a full-time basis. As officers became more visible in the community, the individual officers began to be recognized and a greater trust was placed in the police force as a whole. The public felt more comfortable in reporting crime to more trusted officials and therefore arrest rates rose and crime rates decreased, the domino effect was evident. The police force in modern day America continues to evolve to meet the needs of the public it is sworn to protect and serve. The police officer has undergone many changes during the twentieth century from his beginnings as politician's puppets and uneducated foot patrolmen to members of a bureaucratic centralized hierarchy of command. The relationship was once that of complete distrust during the political era, where the officer existed to support his benefactor, but changed to an entity geared towards an educated and impartial law enforcement officer. Despite the tremendous efforts to professionalize the police

Evolution of Policing

organization, there will always be in effect the law of unintended consequences. As the policing community continued to look inward while building their infrastructure, the relationship with the public was slowly forgotten. The reform era had finally come to an end when the demons inherent in the system began to surface. The police began a courtship with the public and continued to enhance the levels of trust, which reshaped the bonds of our society.

Evolution of Policing

References An Introduction to American Policing / by Dennis J. Stevens (2009)