History of Policing

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History of Policing

• PSCI 2481

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF POLICING

• Pre-Colonial Policing in England
• Colonial Policing in America
• Post-Revolutionary Policing
• The Rise of the Police Department (1790s-1840s)
• The Political Era
• The Service Department (1840s-1920s)
• The Reform Era
• Crime Fighting as Police Business (1930s-1970s)
• The Modern Era
• Community-Problem Solving (1980s - ????)

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Early Policing in England

• Era of voluntary peacekeeping
• 1285 Statute of Winchester - Citizens are
  required to pursue criminals under the direction
  of the Constable.
• 1361 Justices of the Peace appointed by the Crown
• Watchmen introduced By King Charles II
  (1649-1685).
• 1748 - Henry Fielding author of Tom Jones
  takes over as JP of the Bow Street Court
• Leads efforts to educate the public about the
  crime problem - Covent Garden Journal
• Also published the Weekly Pursuit - a 1 page
  flyer (precursor of the modern .Ten Most Wanted
  List)
• organized an ex-constable band called the Bow
  Street Runners - salaried group of vigilantes
  but also the first London force.

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American Colonial Period

• Era of Self-policing
• Similar backgrounds, similar religious beliefs,
  little to steal, nowhere to hide, towns provided
  protection against the wilderness. (similar to
  the society found in Tristan de Cuhna)
• Of course the settlers were hardly the cream of
  European society. Many were legal and religious
  castoffs.

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American Colonial Period

• Era of British Rule Two principal police
  institutions
• The Constable
• Chosen by the townspeople
• Job - Suppress violations of community
  religious (moral) edicts, primarily victimless
  crimes. Keep drunks in line. Watch for gambling
  and prostitution.
• The Night Watch
• A patrol of volunteers supervised by a
  Constable
• Report drunks and single women out after dark.
• Duty was avoided by paying others to take your
  shift. (precursor of the paid police force)

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American Colonial Period

• During this period, citizens, regardless of their
  economic status, were responsible for the
  identification and pursuit of criminal offenders.
  
• Once a criminal was identified, it was the
  citizens responsibility to raise the hue and
  cry and to join the posse to track down the
  criminal.
• In those days, the penalties were severe so
  criminals had the incentive to run.
• Detection of crime was largely a private affair.
  Initiatives were encouraged through rewards paid
  to informers.
• The early years were marked by high levels of
  lawlessness especially in certain sections of
  urbanized areas were agents of the law were
  rarely seen.

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American Colonial Period

• While night watch groups were established in the
  northern colonies, groups of white men organized
  into slave patrols in the southern colonies.
• Slave patrols were responsible for controlling,
  returning, and punishing runaway slaves.
• These slave patrols are generally considered to
  be the first "modern" police organizations in
  this country. (In 1837, Charleston, South
  Carolina, had a slave patrol with over one
  hundred officers, which was far larger than any
  northern city police force at that time).

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American Colonial Period

• Policing on the western frontier varied widely.
• Settlers originally from northern colonies
  created marshals and police forces similar to
  those in northern colonies.
• Settlers from southern colonies developed systems
  with sheriffs and posses.
• In many western settlements, however, there was
  no formal organized law enforcement. In these
  areas, groups of vigilantes were formed by
  volunteer citizens to combat any threat to the
  order of the settlements.

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The First Police Departments

• London (The British Model)
• Formed in 1829 under the command of Robert Peel.
• His officers were called Peelers and late
  Bobbies, a derogatory term at first used by
  British citizens suspicious of this new police
  presence in their community.
• Police force of over 1000 officers with a new
  approach to crime fighting.
• The success of the Metropolitan Police of London
  led to Peels eventual rise to Prime Minister of
  England in 1835.

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Peelers PrinciplesThe police are the public
and the public are the police.

• The basic mission for which the police exist is
  to prevent crime and disorder.
• The ability of the police to perform their duties
  is dependent upon the public approval of police
  actions.
• Police must secure the willing co-operation of
  the public in voluntary observation of the law.
• The degree of co-operation of the public that can
  be secured diminishes proportionately to the
  necessity of the use of physical force.
• Police seek and preserve public favor not by
  catering to public opinion, but by constantly
  demonstrating absolute impartial service to the
  law.
• Police use physical force to the extent necessary
  to secure observance of the law or to restore
  order only when persuasion, advice, warning is
  found to be insufficient.

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Boston The American Prototype

• When first initiated by the city Council in 1824,
  the department under the supervision of the city
  Marshall, was charged with "the care of the
  streets, the care of the common sewers, and the
  care of the vaults, and whatever else affects the
  health, security, and comfort of the city."
• In these early days, an officer on duty carried a
  six-foot pole, painted blue and white to protect
  himself, and a "police rattle" to call for
  assistance.

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Boston Police DepartmentA Brief Historical
Chronology

• 1635 First night watch established.
• 1788 The word "police" appeared for the fist
  time, designating a specific office, "Inspector
  of Police".
• 1822 The Town of Boston became the City of
  Boston. Increases in the population and in the
  number of businesses operating created increased
  demand for police patrol.
• 1838 Law passed permitting day patrol. City had
  a Day Police and a Night Watch, which operated
  completely independently of one another.
• 1852 The metal badges were issued a six point
  star made of brass.
• 1854 Boston Police Department established,
  structured after the model developed by Sir
  Robert Peeler.
• 1858 Telegraph system completed, linking central
  office and police stations.
• 1861 White cotton gloves worn by the officers
  for the first time. Thereafter, "full uniform"
  included the wearing of such gloves.
• 1872 The Great Boston Fire of November 9 and 10
  which destroyed 776 buildings. The fire was
  discovered by a patrolman who was chasing boys on
  Lincoln Street.
• 1873 First mounted patrol established.
• 1903 First motor patrol wagon placed in service
  a Stanley Streamer touring car operated by a
  chauffeur the police officer sat on higher seat
  so that he could look over areas back fences.

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The New York Police Department

• In 1844, the NYPD was formed by combining day and
  night forces into a single integrated PD, the
  first such arrangement in this country.
• NYPD adopts a uniform (Blue becomes the color of
  the force in 1853), and a paramilitary structure
  like the British.
• No training, meager salaries, limited public
  respect. Politics influences too much of their
  activities.
• Boston and Philadelphia give its officers guns
  for the first time in 1854 and NY follows suit in
  1857.

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WHERE DID THE TERM "COPS" COME FROM?

• When the first NY police force began patrolling
  in the summer of 1845, they only badges on their
  civilian clothing. The badges were 8 pointed
  stars with the seal of the City at the center and
  were made of stamped copper. The newspapers of
  the time referred to the new force as the "Star
  Police" but people seeing the shiny copper
  shields began to call the new force "Coppers"
  which was later shortened to "Cops."

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Early Police Forces in America
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20th Century Policing

• Technology changes police operations
• The telegraph
• The telephone
• Walkie-talkies
• Cars
• Radio-cars (Angels of Death)
• Radar
• Computers
• Computers in cars
• Crime analysts
• Training techniques and Police academies
• New weaponry

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Reform

• Wickersham Commission of 1931
• Presidents Commission on Law Enforcement and the
  Administration of Justice 1967
• National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice
  Standards and Goals 1973
• Criminology as a college major.

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The Job Today

• Numbers
• Federal Structure
• Salaries

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Number of Fulltime Law Enforcement Personnel
(2003)
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American Police Agencies by Population Served
(2003)
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Average Salaries for Police Officers, by City
Size (2005)
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Average Salaries for Police Chiefs (2005)
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The Chiefs of Big City America
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Our image of police officers and police
departments today
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How much confidence do you have in the ability of
the police to protect you from violent crime?

• A Quite Not None
• great a lot very at all
• deal much
• 2000 (Aug) 20 42 31 6
• 1999 (Mar) 29 41 25 4
• 1998 (0ct) 19 36 37 8
• 1995 (Sep) 20 30 39 9
• 1993 (0ct) 14 31 45 9
• 1989 14 34 42 8
• 1985 15 37 39 6
• 1981 15 34 42 8

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How much respect do you have for the police in
your area?

• A Hardly
• great deal Some any
• 2000 (Aug) 60 30 9
• 1999 (Mar) 64 29 7
• 1991 (Mar) 60 32 7
• 1967 77 17 4
• 1965 70 22 4

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How high would you rate the honesty and ethical
standards of people in these different fields?

• Very High Ave. Low Very High Low
• Clergy 15 39 33 7 2
• Doctors 10 42 38 6 3
• Policemen 8 34 42 10 4
• Journalists 4 23 54 13 2
• Bankers 4 23 53 14 3
• Lawyers 3 15 43 25 11
• Congressmen I 10 43 32 11
• Car Salesmen I 4 32 41 18

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How would you rate the ____ that serve your
community in accomplishing their criminal justice
mission?

• Excellent Only Fair Not Sure
• or Good or Poor
• Police 64 34 2
• Prosecutors 48 44 9
• Judges 45 48 7
• Prisons 32 54 14
• Parole Boards 22 57 21

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Police operations
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Impact of Timeliness in Reporting Crime
Probability of an Arrest Crime
Reported While In Progress 33 1 Minute
Afterwards 9 10 Minutes Afterwards 5
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Reasons for Not Calling the Police Private
Matter Police Would Fear of Didnt
Want Not Be Effective Reprisal CRIME To
Bother Them ( Not Reported) Robbery 27 45
0 (35) Burglary 30 63 2
(42) Sex Offenses 40 50 5
(49) Family 65 17 7 Crimes
(50) Auto 20 60 20 Theft (11)
Other than Rape