History and Organization of Law Enforcement

1
History and Organization of Law Enforcement

• Intro to Administration of Justice
• Chapter 5
• Bill Henry

2
History and Organization

• Law enforcement is given the responsibility for
  maintaining social control
• As long as people live in groups, the need for
  control will exist
• Law enforcements responsibility includes
• preventing crime
• detecting crime
• arresting offenders

3
History and Organization

• Tithing system
• community divided into groups of 10 men
  responsible for safety of group
• groups were gathered into groups of ten. group
  was headed by the hundred-man.
• Position acted as administrator and judge
• Position of constable added later

4
History and Organization

• Shire-reeve or sheriff was created by the early
  English system.
• Responsibility included military forces, trial of
  minor criminal/civil cases.
• Day to day law enforcement wa responsibility of
  citizens
• called hue and cry
• Citizens would sound alarm, are responsible for
  apprehension

5
History and Organization

• This is where the term citizens arrest was
  derived from
• Several issues with this system
• Individuals resented the duty
• alcohol became an issue
• streets were dark-unsafe
• watchmen would hide
• system was only reactive

6
History and Organization

• Gin production became a boon for law enforcement
• Availability of alcohol created
• increased public drunkenness
• rate of violent crime/theft increased
• conduct of individuals on the street was
  unpredictable
• Activity created a necessity to hire more
  watchmen

7
History and Organization

• Thames River Police
• created in 1798
• first paid professional police force
• created to prevent theft at ports
• actually conducted preventative patrol
• salary was only money officers were allowed to
  make

8
History and Organization

• Metropolitan Police Act of 1829
• Sponsored by Sir Robert Peel
• First public police force
• carried out preventative patrol
• paid regular salaries
• placed in uniform
• strict military discipline
• instrument to improve civil relations
• developed the nine principles of policing

9
Peels Principles of Policing

• The police force must be organized along military
  lines
• Police administrators and officers must be under
  government control
• Emphasis must be placed on hiring qualified
  individuals and training them properly
• New police officers must complete a probationary
  period, during which time if they fail to meet
  standards they will not be hired as permanent
  officers

10
Peels Principles of Policing

• Police personnel should be assigned to specific
  areas of the city for a specific time period
• Police headquarters should be centrally located
  in the city
• Police officers must maintain proper appearances
  at all times in order to gain and keep the
  respect of citizens
• Individual officers should be able to control
  their temper and refrain from violence whenever
  possible

11
Peels Principles of Policing

• Police, at all times, should maintain a
  relationship with the public that gives reality
  to the historic tradition that the police are the
  public and the public are the police the police
  being only members of the public who are paid to
  give full-time attention to duties which are
  incumbent on every citizen in the interests of
  community welfare and existence

12
Peels Principles of Policing

• Police records must be kept to measure police
  effectiveness

13
Policing in the United States

• Early English policing contributed three
  long-lasting characteristics
• Limited police authority emphasis is placed on
  individual rights
• Local control law enforcement agencies are
  basically local, city or county institutions
• Fragmented system over 18,000 separate law
  enforcement agencies in the U.S.

14
Policing in the United States

• Informal policing started in New York, 1625
• Rattle watch
• English police relied on discretion granted by
  government, New York police relied on individual
  discretionary decisions
• First professional law enforcement formed in 1845
• 800 officers
• Badges were made of copper (coppers)

15
Policing in the United States

• Chicago-created law enforcement in 1855
• Four orientations towards the law
• Police and courts highly decentralized
• At the command of local organizations
• Developed informal systems of operation
• System operated as rackets

16
Policing in the United States

• Vigilante system
• Part of the American way of life
• As frontier moved west, law enforcement could not
  keep up and was very inadequate
• Reflected values of those in power
• Justice that was meted out was brutal, served as
  both punishment and deterrence

17
Policing in the United States

• At the beginning of the 20th century law
  enforcement was known to be corrupt and
  inefficient
• Used to bolster special-interest politics
• Used to control the lower classes

18
Policing in the United States

• Eras of Policing
• The political Era
• 1840-1930very decentralized, used to provide
  social services, widespread corruption
• Reform Era
• 1930-1960 centralized system, distant
  relationship with the public, crime control was
  primary function
• Community Era
• 1980-present decentralized with specialty units,
  partnerships with community, crime control
  remains function

19
Reforming the System

• Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883
• Wickersham Commission 1931-August Vollmer
• Initiated movement to professionalism
• Emphasis on education and technology
• First to recruit college graduates

20
Reforming the System

• Reforming was based on six objectives
• Policing is a profession that serves the entire
  community
• Free from political influence
• Centralized command structure
• Development of specialized units
• Department growth
• Women in law enforcement

21
Modern Law Enforcement

• Influenced by structural components
• Vary little from agency to agency (structure)
• Supervision in law enforcement tougher than
  military
• Biggest differences
• Discretion military, rests at the top police,
  individual officer
• Visibility military, not normally in public
  view police very public
• Authority military, commanders have more
  authority over soldiers than police commanders
  have over officers

22
Modern Law Enforcement

• Police organizations are bureaucratic by nature
• Strict rules make policies predictable
• Bureaucratic structure prevents quick change or
  innovation
• Restricts personal growth-development
• Discourages communication

23
Modern Law Enforcement

• Law enforcement development did not result from
  careful planning
• Historical accident
• Special interests
• Politics
• Public welfare
• Communities developed laws that reflected
  community needs
• Reflects diversity, not uniformity
• Service provided based on location, social class,
  race and gender

24
Innovations

• Kansas City Experiment
• Tested the theory of omnipresence
• Rand experiment
• Tested effectiveness of detectives
• Determined that detective work was largely
  routine and non-productive
• DARE
• Started by LAPD in 1983
• Study shows no significant impact

25
For Review

• Eras of Policing
• Kansas City Experiment-results
• Rand Experiment
• DARE
• Peels Principles of Policing
• Wickersham Commission
• Differences in military/policing discretion
• Objectives of the Reform Movement