Policing in America was first discovered by the British colonists who fled their homeland because they wanted religious freedom. In the 1600s and 1700s the colonists founded their four primary policing entities: constables, watches, slave patrol, and sheriffs. Although during that time there was very little need for law enforcement, the colonist still found it necessary in order to settle disputes such as; stray cattle and dogs to misbehaving children. Which was the job of the constables. The watches task was just as it sounds. They were a group of men appointed to watch the town, especially at night. Looking out for suspicious people, but mainly fires; being as those can destroy entire villages. Once the settlers were settled and had established a growing economy, they realized there was a need for laborers, better known as slaves. After a bulk importation of slaves, slave patrols were established. Their job was to guard the roads and make sure slaves had permission to be away from their plantations. Along with that, they had the power to enter plantations and search through the slaves living areas for weapons, stolen items, runaway slaves, books, paper and pens. Lastly, the sheriff’s duties were to detain criminals, assist the justice of the peace, collect taxes, and supervise elections. Based off the descriptions given above, our policing system today has some of the same similarities. The constables today would be considered the police officers, the watches would be the community, of course there are no slave patrols and we still have sheriffs. The responsibilities of each have changed drastically throughout time.
In the last 50 years America has completed one era of policing and is 48 years into another. The era already completed is the reform era, which was from the years 1905-1970. The easiest way to explain this era is by calling it the technology era. During these years was when technology started to really shape the way police departments would do things. Automobiles was a huge advancement for technology and although Americans love the fact that cars were invented; during this era automobiles created new demands for policing. One example for the increased demands automobiles placed on police officers used in Steven G. Brandl’s “Police in America” book, was that cars allowed for criminals to commit a crime in one jurisdiction and quickly and easily flee to another. Causing complications for the police. With the invention of cars came the need for traffic enforcement, which back then was also the responsibilities of police officers. Two way radios came alive during this era, giving officers the ability to stay in constant communication with one another and allowing supervisors to stay in close contact with their officers. Another piece of technology that eventually turned police departments into 24 hour organizations, was the telephone.
August Vollmer and O.W. Wilson are considered the leaders of the reform era. They established the idea of “good policing” – which focused on viewing police as experts, police professionalism, and getting the police out from under the control the control of politicians. Vollmer saw policing as a profession instead of just a job. Due to that he changed policing in a way no one else could. Once he became police chief in Berkeley, California Vollmer turned his whole department around. Which in turn made his department an agency that was the role model for others around the world. Along with instituting car, motorcycle, and bicycle patrols in his department, August also developed the first crime laboratory in a police department. The biggest change he created in my opinion was hiring police officers with college educations and recruiting female and African American officers. Vollmer was dedicated to bettering policing and wanted people to see that police are good guys. O.W. Wilson who was August Vollmer’s student took Vollmer’s ideas and extended them after his death.
Policing seemed to be going smoothly throughout the 1950’s. Over 90% of homicides were solved by police according to the FBI. Which to me means that not only were the crime laboratories created by Vollmer were working but police officers were doing their jobs; the right way. As Vollmer intended. Then the 1960’s hit. And crime rates double. It was the time of the civil rights movement, and policing took ten huge steps back. Police officers found themselves in the front of the riots and quite frankly I believe they did not know how to react, there was no training that could prepare someone for this kind of outbreak. And just like that August Vollmer’s theory of good policing went right out the window. During this time officers were viewed as racist, they could not be trusted and you could probably say police departments gave up on trying to control things, if anything, they were partly to blame. Police officers did not try to bring the peace at all. Further research found that car patrols did not prevent crime, detectives were not solving crimes, and no matter how fast police response was, it rarely led to police making on scene arrest. By the end of the reform era it was extremely clear that the current police system was not working.
When one door closes, another always opens. That door being the community problem-solving era – an era of policing that emphasizes the assistance and support of the community in fighting crime (Steven G. Brandl: police in America). After the horrific ending to the reform era, officers recognized there had to be a change. Departments around the world knew they needed the citizens on their side. If policing is not hard enough, imagine doing it while everyone one is hating you. The primary idea of community policing is that the police install policies and practices that include citizens in policing. What makes this idea of community policing possible is the concept of coproduction – a concept in which the police and the community work together to prevent crime (Steven G. Brandl: police in America). Community policing is only made possible by the day-to-day interactions that the officers have people of that community. This idea is based 100% of relationships and trust. If a police department can prove to its community that they are with them and not against them, this concept runs smoothly. To allow this idea of community policing a chance to work, departments have thought to do things such as: holding community meetings, community surveys, and a more up close and personal means of patrol besides the car. Another central focus that allows community policing to run efficiently is the broken windows theory. This is the theory that disorder leads to fear of crime, which in turn leads to citizens of a community not interacting with or caring for each other. When a community is suffering from broken windows, it allows for criminals to think it is easier to commit crimes in those areas because they naturally think it has a low police presents. As long as police take the necessary steps to maintain order that will lessen citizens fear of crime in their neighborhood.
Policing has advanced so much in terms of training. But it has also upped its equipment use. One of the most effective and well thought out piece of equipment officers have today is the body camera. Police officers encounter many different situations throughout their day to day life style, and along the way with their line of work, they may make some enemies or sadly get turned and become corrupted. As a police officer you never know what is going to be thrown at you as you work your shift, but I’m sure it would be nice to know as an officer that as long as you do what you vowed to do which is serve and protect your community no curve balls can be thrown at you. Having a police issued body camera could ensure your safety and innocents; or it could capture the things you should not being doing as an officer.
