Law Enforcement Of The United States

In the United States, there are city, county, state, and national police forces. They have very difficult and dangerous responsibilities. These public servants are required to perform many different jobs. They enforce laws and maintain order. They teach people how to help prevent crime and to protect themselves ( Mittleman, 2000). They offer assistance and take charge of many different situations such as car accidents, flooding, and hurricanes. Police

Policing throughout the years. Policing has changed over time to become what it is today. The three eras of policing are, the political era (1840-1930), the reform era (1930-1980), and the community era (1980- present). During the political era, police officers had strong ties to the community because they lived in the communities they served and they focused on foot patrol (Miller et al., 2014). They knew who they served and protected because they were out with the same people each day. Police chiefs

Policing has been a part of America for many decades. In fact, policing was known to exist prior to 1066, the year of the Normandy Invasion of Britain. Throughout the years policing has been a complicated and ongoing progress. The people of England did not have a stabilized policing standard and were often responsible for protecting and serving themselves. As early as the 1600s the Colonial America introduced the English styles of policing; citizens were responsible for monitoring community members’ behavior. Early constables and sheriffs were with the increased rate of crime and developed a ‘sort’ in community policing known as “watch and ward.” Later throughout history in the early 1700s policing became an

The different career types of law enforcement career options may have similarities or be quite different depending on whether the work involves federal, state, or local agency. The differences at local state and federal levels includes: benefits, jurisdictions, pay structure, job responsibilities, travel requirements, and career advancement opportunities among others. The similarities include power to make arrests without warrant for some crimes; they all carry firearms and are trained in similar law enforcement skills. Most of them have the same form of military structure. They also all risk their lives to ensure the law is enforced. According to Scheb&Scheb (2011), “there are different roles played by legislatures, courts, and federal enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels of government”.

The role of police officers is very significant to American history. Police work toward protecting citizens’ rights and helping America become the land of the free. The United States of America is built from the U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights and police play a major role in making sure American rights are met. Evolution has changed many of American history for the better; policing is part of those changes. As new issues in society arise, police must change and adapt to protect and serve the public.

Terrorism has always existed in American policing, and while the groups committing these acts have changed, their intentions have not. Their intentions being to cause maximum fear and scare those who they target into doing and following their ideology. In the 1970’s and 1980’s in America, the main terrorist groups were associated with the environmental movement and race based groups, while other parts of the world were dealing with Islamic extremists, were committing terrorist acts across the Middle East without much intervention from the United States. In fact the group Al-Qaeda, who attacked the World Trade Centers in 1993 and 2001, found its roots in the 1980’s fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan with weapons supplied by the Central Intelligence Agency. While the U.S. Federal Law Enforcement agencies knew of these groups, they underestimated the capabilities of lone wolf, small cell, and whole terrorist organizations. This was due to the fact that the Federal Law Enforcement agencies top priority was general crime such as organized crimes and white-collar crime.

In April of 1635, the City of Boston established the first system of law enforcement in the 13 colonies. They were called the “Night Watch”, the officers worked part-time with no pay. It was until 1712 when the City of Boston hired its first paid full time law enforcement officer in the 13 colonies. On September 24, 1789 “the United States Congress created the first Federal law enforcement officer, the United

Early policing in Colonial America had its beginnings in England. Police departments in America started to follow the trend. Actually, they were not police departments as we know them today. Policing in colonial America began as a night watch program of volunteers in the early 1600’s in the northern colonies, specifically in Boston. Early policing was not the same throughout the colonies. Southern colonies developed their own system of policing based on the needs of the community using watch groups and organized groups of white men known as slave patrols. The policing systems changed as the colonies grew in population, more small businesses, the development of large industries and more funding became available. “War and then revolution strained the Boston watch system…the French and Indian war 1756-1763…” (Wadman &Allison2004,p.10). The watch system in all of the colonies had similarities and differences, however none were very successful in reducing crime. New York, Boston, Charleston, Virginia, and Tennessee all suffered immense problems with their crime rate using the watch system. This was the first form of policing in colonial

Before the advent of the what would be the metropolitan police force, there was in place a system in which citizens, called constables, would patrol certain areas at night. One of the most notable criticisms of the watch system was that the constables would often neglect their duties in favor of getting drunk or sleeping and that they had little to no training. This practice was

The early colonists started policing when they first arrived in America and had established colonies. April of 1631, in Boston, the townspeople volunteered to watch the city at night (Early Days of…). These watchmen would patrol the night trying to catch criminals. If criminals were spotted, the watchmen would scream and set off alarms to raise awareness to the townspeople. In smaller places, the governor would appoint sheriffs to watch over the colony at night. The sheriffs were appointed to watch the town instead of volunteers because of the small number of people in the

The first organized police department in America was created in Boston in 1838. They only worked during the day, until 1851 when they began also working during the night. In 1853, the role of the police chief was formed. In 1854, The first police stations were built in Boston. In 1854, Philadelphia Police Department was formed.

Small town Holdrege, Nebraska is where I decided to look a little further into law enforcement on the State level. There are quite a few State Troopers in this area, or it seems to be that way anyways. I contacted Sargent John Wagner for an interview. I have to say these men/women in uniform are slightly intimidating. I’m not sure if it is the uniform, or the fact I grew up thinking these officers of the law are just that scary. I guess we shall see once we begin the interview.

It is important to examine the history of policing in the United States in order to understand how it has progressed and changed over time. Alterations to the purpose, duties, and structure of American police agencies have allowed this profession to evolve from ineffective watch groups to police agencies that incorporate advanced technology and problem-solving strategies into their daily operations Police officers represents the civil authority of the government. Police typically are responsible for maintaining public order and safety, enforcing the law, and preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal activities. The development of policing in the United States closely followed the development of policing in England. In the early

They are there to keep us safe and feel protected. A Police officer's intention isn't to hurt anyone but it is to make sure no one hurts innocent people and they like what they do. Another example to keep people interested in their job is to get a lot of money. A teacher is a great example. Teachers make enough money to support themselves and maybe one other person but not a whole family.

In England, the sheriff and his men patrolled on the lookout for those who poached game on lands owned by the king and other nobles. In the American South in the 1700s, slave patrols watched for runaway slaves. As urbanization took hold in the early 1800s and 1900s, night watchmen and later uniformed foot patrol officers watched for all kinds of crime and disorder in cities and towns.