History of American Law Enforcement What is your opinion about law enforcement??? Why is law enforcement necessary in our society???

British Roots Tithing system families would pool together to follow and enforce the laws. Sheriffs would enforce laws in a shire (county) and use posses to catch law breakers

Constable-Watch System A constable was hired in a city to keep peace Could draft watchmen to stand guard at night All males from 15-60 had to have weapons and help the constable when peace was threatened

Bow Street Runners 1st professional law enforcement Paid to arrest criminals and recover stolen property in London

London Metropolitan Police Because of Industrial Revolution, pop. in cities was exploding, along with crime British Parliament created the Metropolitan Police 1,000 officers Professional standards Became known as bobbies

Organized by military rank and discipline Goal was to prevent crime through patrols in community

British Influences on American Law Enforcement 1. Community based 2. Citizen involvement 3. Paid professionals 4. Military rank and discipline 5. Limits on police power

History of American Law Enforcement 1. Early Law Enforcement In most urban areas, Americans used the watch system to stand guard at night In rural areas, the sheriff and posse system was used to maintain order. 2. Law Enforcement in Cities Just like Britain, as people moved to cities, crime became more of an issue

NYC was 1st American city to create a paid police force Municipal Police Department Metropolitan Police Created to replace the MPD Very corrupt, city tried to get rid of it Fights broke out b/w two police forces; eventually MPD was disbanded Other American cities copied New York and created their own professional police forces

Problems with Early American Policing 1. Corruption Most early police departments were used by corrupt politicians to control local politics in cities Police routinely accepted bribes Police would pay bribes to accept jobs 2. Discrimination Early police forces were mostly made up of white men Treatment by all white police departments against African Americans routinely violated human and legal rights.

Early Law Enforcement in Rural Areas South Law enforcement centered around slave patrols; men who tracked down, captured and controlled slaves. Patrols helped to keep slaves in a position of subordination to whites in the South (illegal to read, meet together, leave the plantation w/o permission, etc.) The legacy of slave patrols survived the Civil War with the Ku Klux Klan

The West Law and order was tough in the frontier; vigilantism was often the only means of justice Private citizen who takes law into their own hands States started to create "state police" departments to deal with horrible local police dept.

Texas Rangers state police department created to protect settlers in Texas from Native Americans and Mexican bandits The state of Pennsylvania was the first to create an official state police force

Professionalism and Reform of Police In the late 1800s and early 1900s, movements for reform began to change American police forces Areas of Police Reform 1. Departments made more professional 2. Police required to get training/education and pass examinations 3. Personalities screenings put in place 4. Military discipline and order established 5. Politics removed from police 6. Review boards created to investigate police misconduct 7. Prioritize crime fighting roles of police