UNIT I STUDY GUIDE Police History Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 1. Differentiate between historic and contemporary viewpoints regarding types of crime, such as conventional and economic crimes. 1.1 Discuss the history of policing from England to America. 1.2 Describe the roles of English policing, expansion, and development and how it contributed to American policing. 1.3 Discuss the changes in policing throughout the last sixty years in America. Reading Assignment Chapter 1: Police History Unit Lesson To understand the history of policing, one must examine how policing has changed and progressed over time. Throughout history, American policing has been largely influenced by the English system. During the early time of its development, law enforcement in the community was handled by citizens. This was referred to as kin police. This relationship required relatives to watch out for their own family members within the community. Examining the time period between the start of the 19th century and the 21st century is one way to understand policing history in American society. Depending on the resource used, the naming of these eras may slightly differ; however, there is a mutual agreement on the powerful people and the significant events that occurred over this time in American policing. An article from many years ago provides a foundation of these eras that is still relevant to today’s society. An article by George Kelling and Mark Moore written back in 1988, entitled “The Evolving Strategy of Policing”, discusses three eras as the structure of policing in the United States. The first era discussed in Kelling and Moore’s (1988) article is known as the political era. During this era, police were authorized by local municipalities. Authority and resources were derived from local political leaders. Due to the close connection of police and politicians in the political era, police were able to offer a great deal of services to citizens, including social services. During the latter part of the 19th century, police administered soup lines, offered short-term lodging for recently arrived migrant workers, and assisted with locating work for migrants (consisting of police and other types of occupations) (Kelling & Moore, 1988). During the political era, foot patrol was heavily used. It was the main approach used by police, due to the limited use of technology during this time period. Political approval and preservation of citizen and social control was the expected conclusion of policing during the political era (Kelling & Moore, 1988). The second era discussed in the article is called the reform era (Kelling & Moore, 1988). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, conflict between citizens and leaders began to arise, which created a continuous struggle. Citizens began to complain about issues such as abuse and corruption occurring within the policing system, and they set out to change the strategies used within policing, which is why this era came to be known as the reform era (Kelling & Moore, 1988). Reformers considered politics and political association within the policing system a hindrance for American policing. The focus of policing shifted to crime control and criminal apprehension, and agencies were no longer identified as police agencies. The term for the agencies was now classified as law enforcement agencies (Kelling & Moore, 1988). The primary objective of the police was to control crime. “During the late 1960s and 1970s, the reform strategy ran into difficulty. First, regardless of how police effectiveness in dealing with crime was measured, BCJ 2001, Theory and Practices of Law Enforcement 1 police failed to substantially improve their record” (Kelling & Moore, 1988, p. 8). Crime also began to rise UNIT x STUDY GUIDE during the 1960s (Kelling & Moore, 1988). Police were failing to meet the expectations Title of law enforcement agencies and the public, even with the increase in personnel and new equipment (eg, 911 systems and computer dispatch). Secondly, many minority citizens, specifically African Americans during the 1960s and 1970s, questioned the treatment received by police. They believed that they were receiving inequitable and inadequate treatment. This led to Civil Rights Movements to challenge and contest police actions, which, in turn, led to resisting the police within some communities. At this point, the reform strategies seemed doubtful due to the social changes of the 1960s and 1970s, as these strategies were unable to adjust to the changing social conditions (Kelling & Moore, 1988). This leads us to the third and last era discussed in the article. The last era discussed in the article is called the community problem-solving era (Kelling & Moore, 1988). Many cities continued to heavily utilize foot patrol in their communities. Foot patrol contributed to stable life within communities as it decreased fear, increased citizen satisfaction, improved police attitudes toward citizens, and increased the morale and job satisfaction of police. During this time period, many communities were testing the idea of community-oriented policing. With community-oriented policing, the function of the police was expanded to include strategies and emphasis on communities. Unlike the reform era, the community strategy emphasized crime control and prevention. These strategies included community oriented policing, conflict resolution, education, information gathering, and problem solving within the community (Kelling & Moore, 1988). Click the following link to view a presentation that discusses American policing eras: http://www.pearsoncustom.com/mct-enterprise/asset.php?isbn=1256689785&id=16319 Many events that occurred in the last decade or so have changed the dynamics of policing. One important event that occurred was Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005. Hurricane Katrina has been classified as the most expensive natural catastrophe to occur in the United States (Smith & Rojek, 2006). Due to the lack of pre-planning, the devastation of this hurricane was horrendous. Law enforcement agencies in Mississippi and Louisiana lacked any formal hurricane plans. Law enforcement officers had not trained for any natural disaster, especially a hurricane of this magnitude. Prior to the storm, agencies hurried to put a plan of action together. Because of an absence of disaster preparation, law enforcement officers were strained to deliver public safety to the community. Many officers provided efforts that were noble and honorable; however, they could have been even more effective if a response plan had been in place. Above all, Katrina showed that pre-disaster planning and regular training are necessary at all levels of government, including local law enforcement (Smith & Rojek, 2006). Hurricane Katrina offers a great example of what can occur during and after an extreme natural disaster if a formal plan for public safety is not in place. When officers and agencies were questioned about their concerns for what transpired after the storm, many provided a comparable picture of the officers’ response to the catastrophe and the safety matters that needed to be addressed. The first concern discussed by those questioned was how search and rescues were handled. During the storm, law enforcement officials attempted to ensure the safety of the citizens who remained in town. Officers gradually went into neighborhoods and homes to check on any citizens who were left behind. Due to the lack of communication, especially telephone service, law enforcement entities did not have a method to receive calls from citizens; officers could only listen out for cries for assistance. When citizens were discovered, officers attempted to move individuals to places of safety, such as hospitals, police stations, or even land that was not flooded (Smith & Rojek, 2006). As the efforts of search and rescue continued, officers also had to manage looting that was occurring within the community. As relief trucks began to arrive and distribution places were established, officers were tasked with providing security for those relief trucks. Citizens were growing desperate and might have overtaken these centers if law enforcement had not provided security. Officers were also tasked with distributing these supplies to the citizens who were otherwise unable to get to relief trucks. Local authorities across the Gulf Coast frankly admitted that they were ill-prepared for such an unprecedented disaster (Smith & Rojek, 2006). The experience of Katrina served as a lesson to state and local law enforcement. Preparation for natural disasters is a continuous effort as they are inevitable. Katrina provides an ideal backdrop for continuous discussion on how to better prepare at the state and local levels for the next disaster (Smith & Rojek, 2006). Another important event that changed the nature of policing in America was the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011. After the terrorist attacks, President George Bush developed the Department of Homeland Security. BCJ 2001, Theory and Practices of Law Enforcement 2 The creation of this department was the greatest reorganization of federal organization in overGUIDE six decades UNIT x STUDY (Dempsey & Forst, 2013). The primary task of the Department of Homeland Security Title is to preserve and improve the nation’s emergency management system. With the implementation of Homeland Security, the United States enforced stringent safekeeping measures. The task of the Department of Homeland Security is to safeguard the country from additional terrorist attacks. Many federal offices assist with homeland security including the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI; the TSA is one department that is at the forefront of the attempt to protect air transportation. Air travel now involves a vigorous process to include examination of all air travelers. For more information regarding the historical development of law enforcement, please view the following interactive tutorial: http://www.pearsoncustom.com/mct-enterprise/asset.php?isbn=1256689785&id=15270 References Dempsey, J. S., & Forst, L. S. (2013). Police (2nd ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar. Kelling, G. L., & Moore, M. H. (1988, November). The evolving strategy of policing. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/114213.pdf Smith, M. R., & Rojek, J. (2006). Law enforcement lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. Retrieved from http://artsandsciences.sc.edu/crju/pdfs/CrisisLawEnf.pdf Suggested Reading To learn more about the history of policing in the United States, please view the following video: Bucqueroux, B. (2007, March 9) History of policing in the U.S. – part one [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vgh-r_pPxQ BCJ 2001, Theory and Practices of Law Enforcement 3
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