New Orleans Reforms

Before a Home Rule Charter came into effect, there were several charters before it. The territorial legislature granted New Orleans its first Charter in 1805 and it went into effect the following year. It consisted of a Mayor appointed by the Governor for a term of one year. The council consisted of two members from each ward, they were elected for a term of two years. The Mayor had certain powers. Most of these changes lasted until 1836. After the adoption of the 1805 charter New Orleans was considered an American City after having been a European outpost on American soil for almost a century.

Policing today consists of three eras. These three eras have adapted and built off one another through history (Parr, 2014). The first era started around 1840 to 1930, and is known as the Political Era. The second Era is known as the Reform Era and lasted from 1930 to 1970. The last era is called the Community-Problem Solving Era and is still being adapted and used today. The Political Era emphasizes on meeting the needs of politicians. The police were given power through the local government and the community had very little say in what happened. The police and politicians worked together to control the city and neighborhoods (Palmiotto, 2000). This was often referred to as a ward. The ward politician controlled all the police in their neighborhood. The police officers tasks included not only crime prevention and order but a lot of social service activities that involved their neighborhoods. The officers resembled the ethnic backgrounds of the neighborhoods they lived and worked in and performed their patrols gaining trust from their community (Palmiotto, 2000). This allowed positive integration of police officers leading to more public service, and the trust of the officers to stop crime when is starts.

The work of Michael Ross in The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case: Race, Law, and Justice in the Reconstruction Era, helps us understand the history of New Orleans and Reconstruction Era in only 10 chapters of the book. “Ever since Reconstruction ended in 1877, many have questioned whether the North’s effort to bring a new social, economic and political order to the old Confederacy had any real chance for success” (6). During this essay we are going to discuss how Michael Ross helps understand more about the history of New Orleans in terms of the Reconstruction Era.

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

During this time northerners were very against Johnson's ideals and were working towards impeachment while also denying any policies he tried to pass. The reconstruction acts focused heavily on military, dividing the south into five military controlled districts. The three ideas of focus were described as the Command of Army Act, Military Reconstruction, and Tenure of office. By the 1870s many of the states and people in power had moved on to more current issues and the battles of reconstruction began to wind down. The events by many are seen as lost attempts at helping the African American community and regaining control over the south. During this time carpetbaggers and scalawags patrol the south, the fifteenth amendment is passed, and the Klu Klux Klan begins to develop and protest. Reconstruction was finally ended and moved past with the compromise of

First, between 1890 and 1930, the management of the police force was centralized. Virtually every decision had to go to the top for approval, with the goal of limiting the low-level officer’s exposure to temptation. To reinforce the hierarchy, specialized units were created to deal with such problems as drugs, youth, guns, and gangs. As Bratton described it, [The department] was divided into little fiefdoms, and some bureau chiefs didn’t even talk to each other…. Each bureau was like a silo: Information entered at the bottom and had to be delivered up the chain of command from one level to another until it reached the chief’s office.

U.S. law enforcement was originally a watch group that was created in Boston to protect the colonies. The Early policing system was the adaptation of the English structure of policing. English policing structure incorporated the watch, constables, and sheriffs. Kaba reported that in 1894 police misconduct was being investigation in New York City by Lexow Committee. Minority citizens were being clubbed by officers. The officers were white and they have this thought embedded in their brain that white was the supremacy to all other that are not white. Bureau of justice

The police system was created as a way to control the working class and black communities. Some form of order started in the South during the time of slavery. Slave patrols were made of poor whites and they were given the ability to punish slaves anyway they seem fit. Slave patrolling continued the racist ideas that allowed white people to oppress black people. Another form of a police system in the South were the Texas Rangers. Texas Rangers specifically targeted Native American, Latino and Black groups in the South.

75). However, it should be noted that these new eras of policing did not immediately emerge due to specific actions or events (Henry, 2003); these policing eras came about with time “as law enforcement philosophies and practices of one period became anachronistic, as shortcomings became more and more apparent, as new ideas emerged, or as public dissatisfaction with police performance increased to critical proportions” (Henry, 2003, p. 75). The Reform/Professional Era had its most impact in American policing from the 1920s through the 1960s due to the formation of new policies, theories, leadership, and the overall professionalization of (Roberg et al., 2015). Professionalization, in this case, is defined as the “attempt to improve police behavior and performance by adopting a code of ethics and improving selection, training, and management of police departments” (Roberg et al., 2015, p. 41); in other words, it is the emphasis on implementing a single approach to an issue instead of handling an issue in a plethora of ways ” (Roberg et al.,

America’s first taste of Law Enforcement emerged in Boston hundreds of years ago, where as early as the 1600s they appointed a “watch group”. This group consisted of those who volunteered their time, six “watchmen”, and a constable (nleomf.org). This early policing system didn’t have nearly as many duties and responsibilities as our current police forces do in America. Many of the things they were responsible for included responding to fires, capturing those who did not follow the law, and to help maintain order within their towns (nleomf.org). The constables had slightly different tasks and were the people who were responsible to make sure witness’/suspects attended court when they were required to (nleomf.org). Some constables were even responsible for surveying land, and supervising the watchmen (Potter, 2013). Things we don’t consider offenses in our current society and may even find a little comical today, like working on Sundays or swearing while in public were considered offenses (nleomf.org). In less populated areas there was usually one Sheriff who was responsible for enforcing the law in their area. The sheriff was appointed by the governor, and had similar tasks to the watchmen and

I chose this article because of my interest in police accountability, trust, and issues that stem from enforcing laws that we have discussed in class. I dislike a centralized approach to most things, especially policing. I find the recent marijuana legislation in Washington and Colorado interesting due to their stark contrast to other state and federal laws regarding marijuana regulation. The policing of laws that have proven to be ineffective and cause more problems than they solve has long been a concern of mine. These laws are often created by those in power whom are out of touch with reality and often do not reflect what the general public desires. Decentralizing police forces will reduce the attention required to enforcing certain laws and policies, therefore adding a more personal environment of policing to each district. Theoretically, a person running for the office of Police and Crime Commissioner would be voted in by constituents who care about the state of policing in their local communities and want to see a positive change.

     Law enforcement is divided into three major eras throughout history. These eras are the political era, the reform era and the community era. The political era that took place between 1840-1930 was characterized by five points, which was the authority was coming from politicians and the law, a broad social service function, decentralized organization, an intimate relationship with the

The dictionary definition of the police is “the organized civil force of a state, concerned with maintenance of law and order, the detection and prevention of crime, etc,” (Collins English Dictionary, 2002). This definition states the minimum of what the police actually do. Providing support for families, protecting society from criminals and responding to calls 24 hours a day 7 days a week are just some of the other roles that police have to deal with. In this essay the evolution of the police will be discussed as well as how the police are facing challenges.

This English method also contributed three features: limited police authority, local control of the police agency, and a fragmented system of law enforcement (Walker, 1983). A fragmented system of law enforcement is very evident today. The United States currently has approximately 15,000 different police agencies. These individual police agencies are subject to little coordination with minimal national regulation (Walker, 1983).

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.