History of Policing Essay

The function of policing has played a considerable role in American history. The policing occupation has worked toward protecting citizens’ rights and helping America to become the free nation it is today. The United States of America is built from the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights, from this document we gather the rules of policing and make sure that every Americans rights are met. The evolutions of policing practices that officers have learned have changed American history for the better. As new problems in society arise, police must change and adapt to protect and serve the public. Early American policing strategies were based off of a similar British model. Law enforcement was not well organized or structured until 1200 A.D., after that time offenders were being pursued by an organized posse. In those times offenders were caught be the organized posse and were usually tortured and faced public execution. Rarely were the criminals or the accused of this time given the right to fair trail, and were not considered innocent until proven guilty like the laws we have today state, it was the other way around, where citizens that were accused of crimes were guilty before any evidence or testimony were ever provided. One of the earliest forms of policing came about in English cities and towns and were called night watches.(Schmalleger, 2009). The primary purpose of a night watch was to watch out for fires and thievery. There was also a day watch which basically was the same job as night watch, but in the day. Eventually this form of policing led to a written law being proposed in 1285 called the Statute of Winchester. This law created a watch and ward system that gave early watches a systems and structure to form themselves around. This law gave early English towns the policing practices and guidelines needed to produce a stable society, free of criminal activities, allowing the towns the type of policing that they needed to thrive. The Statute of Winchester law consisted of four main points, things that were specific to the watch of that town, the mandating of age eligible men to serve, institutionalizing the use of the hue and cry, and for answering the call of duty. Prior structuring and laws such as the Statue of Winchester propelled law enforcement into its future when prime minister of England Sir Robert Peel formed the world’s first modern police force. Peel’s model of new police became the model for police all across the globe. He formed the police with more of a military outline; giving uniforms for better origination and structure. Early American leaders followed the day and night watch approach, later American leaders followed Sir Robert Peel method, which is what American policing still utilize today. New technological advances and social reform for policing were brought about in the twentieth century. The invention of automobiles, telephones, and radios were developments of the twentieth century, which have helped police officers with their communications, speed of investigations and coordination of efforts. Automobiles allowed police a quick responds and allowed them to serve greater areas. Radios and telephones allowed for the communication and coordination of efforts between police officers. Teddy Roosevelt contributed his part of advancement of the policing system by organizing the FBI and helping to promote the first call box system, which is closely associated with the 911 system used today. The political era (1840s-1930) was an era that policing organizations were more concerned with the interest of powerful politicians rather than the rights and laws of the people. The next eras of policing came from 1930s-1970s where police became increasingly concerned with solving of more traditional style of crimes. The time from the 1970s to the end of the twentieth century is considered to be the third period of policing and the most contemporary of policing practices, acting on policing of each community. Finally present day policing is or the modern era has given way to that of homeland security, which grew after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States. All levels of law enforcement agencies, local; state; and federal have devoted more time and effort toward the protection of our nation and homeland security, in an effort to thwart any future attacks. Local, state, and federal law enforcement are tasked with the enforcement of the laws. Federal law enforcement agencies are government agencies whose primary function is the protection and enforcement of federal laws. State law enforcement agencies were created for specified set of needs. State law enforcement was built from one of two models. The first model combines major criminal investigations with the patrolling of state highways. The second model is the culmination of two functions which consist of traffic enforcement and other laws that need upheld. Today’s duties of the modern state policing are to assist local law enforcement in criminal investigations, operate identification bureaus, maintain criminal records repository, patrol states highways, and provide training for municipals and county officers. Today they have also stepped up to a role of homeland security, for identifying precursors to acts of terrorism. The third level of law enforcement is that of the local policing authorities, i.e. county sheriffs or town marshals. City and county agencies are both part of the local level, mayors or city council appoint the officers to their offices and their jurisdictions are limited only to the boundary of their communities. Sheriffs are responsible for law enforcement in unincorporated areas and for the operation of the county jail. Local police play their role in the new era of homeland security as well by ascertaining the changes in the community that are out of place or unusual. Local police help do this task by interacting with the public, and constantly patrolling neighborhoods and other parts of their community. The increases of population, crime, and the advancement of technologies have challenged our policing forces but it has also allowed it to make necessary changes and advancements in law enforcement evolve with the times, with each generation of Americans we continue to increase our knowledge, experience and technological advances. The structure and technologies of the policing may change over a given time but the ideal of protecting and serving the community will not. With increasing threats on the rise, the police force must be capable and flexible. Making sure they have the most innovative technologies to oppose impending threats and overcome the future challenges that may lie ahead. Reference Schmalleger, F. (2009). Criminal Justice Today: an Introductory Text for the 21st Century (10th ed.). New York, NY: Prentice-Hall. 2007. â€Å"DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Progress Report on Implementation of Mission and Management Functions.† GAO Reports i. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed June 12, 2011). Dodsworth, F. M. (2008). The Idea of Police in Eighteenth-Century England: Discipline, Reformation, Superintendence, c. 1780-1800. Journal of the History of Ideas, 69(4), 583-604. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Scott, J. E. (2010). Evolving Strategies: A Historical Examination of Changes in Principle, Authority and Function to Inform Policing in the Twenty-First Century. Police Journal, 83(2), 126-163. doi:10.1350/pojo.2010.83.2.490