Influence of Vollmer and Wilson on Modern Law Enforcement

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Abstract Concepts like crime prevention, authority, professionalism and discretion have evolved in modern law enforcement since the twentieth century. August Vollmer instituted university training as a tool for young officers in training and under Vollmer’s teachings; O.W. Wilson pioneered the use of advanced training for officers and is also known for the start of criminal justice as an academic field. Wilson was also instrumental in applying modern management and administrative techniques to policing. Vollmer’s drive for educational innovations and improvements has changed policing tremendously and is still practiced heavily upon in today’s modern law enforcement society.

August Vollmer Contribution to Modern Law Enforcement
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The records include case management records, and information on incidents and offenses. Crime labs, lie detector test and fingerprinting are all very well known type of policing introduced by the Berkeley Police Department under August Vollmer. Vollmer’s enthusiasm for scientific lie detection was a natural outcome of his stand against the third degree, and he never lost faith that new breakthroughs would eventually correct the inadequacies that plagued the use
Vollmer and Wilson 6 of the lie detector in criminal investigation. John Larson, a “college cop”, student of Vollmer, who built the first lie detector in the Berkeley department, later said that he felt the technique had been turned into a form of "psychological third degree," and confessed that he sometimes regretted having had a hand in its development (National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement). Community relations also play a major role in the modernization of policing. The interactions among different police departments and communities allow for effective policing. Many of Vollmer’s ideas came from his associates, from police experiences in other countries, and from academic sources. Vollmer recognized the potential of these ideas and unified them into a working whole, using his energy and dedication to set a pattern for police reform that continues to this day.
O.W. Wilson Contribution to Modern Law Enforcement Orlando Winfield Wilson (O.W. Wilson), an influential
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