Police Chief August Vollmer 's Contributions Of Modern California Law Enforcement

The purpose of this paper is to reflect the historical view of the Summerville Police Department and how it fits into the criminal justice system as either law enforcement, judicial, or corrections. Additionally, the paper discusses the jurisdictional, regulatory, and legal obligations of the department, when and how long has the agency existed, how jurisdictional boundaries changed over time, and the influence of technology, politics, and economic problems.

Broderick, J. J. (1977). Police in a time of change. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.

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.

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.

August Vollmer and his accomplices recommended training and education as two of the main components in professionalism in policing (Bohm & Haley, 2014). When Vollmer advocated for training he begun to hire more qualified and educated people that were able to perform the job more effectively. In the past, there were no requirements for individuals to start the job so the candidates weren’t fitting the job. Vollmer also wanted the politics and policing separated (Bohm & Haley, 2014). His reform was used to “to eliminate political influences, gain control of officers, and establish crime-fighting priorities” (Bohm & Haley, 2014, Pg. 147). Vollmer’s reform had a great impact on the department and made great changes such as: limiting the police functions to law enforcement related functions only, enforced

After the civil war, local politicians rewarded their supporters with jobs as police officers. The officer were not trained and there was not a standard to become an officer. The are were event when entire departments were involved in misconduct and corruption. There was not much hope in this era because there was a lack of supervision that allowed officers to behave the way that they pleased. (Walker, Samuel, and Richards, M. 1996)

From the night watch in Boston, to the present day policing, law enforcement has behind in the world of technology. As time rolled through the political era, professional era, and community-oriented era, police patrols would use the rapidly advancing technology in their favor. "Those were desperate times for policemen in a hostile country with unpaved streets and uneven sidewalks, sometimes miles from the police station, with little prospects of assistance in case of need.... It took nerve to be a policeman in those days," this was reported by Chief Francis O 'Neill of the Chicago Police Department in 1903. With only having a printing press and a multiple-shot revolver over a hundred years ago, the advancement in technology today has helped improve the policing methods in patrol quite significantly. However, technology would eventually out-run the police.

Grant, H.B. and Terry, K.J. 2008: Law Enforcement in the 21st Century. (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle, River, NJ. Pearson/Prentice Hall.

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.

Policing in the United States has changed dramatically since it was first brought to the thirteen colonies from England. However, some of the issues faced then are being faced in policing today. There are also new trends that are prevalent, and these trends will continue to have lasting effects on the future of policing. Even though new trends improve policing overall, they can also cause more serious issues. It is crucial to continue making changes topolicing because it allows law enforcement officers to keep up with the rest of society, including the knowledge of new crime trends. This paper will

Since the decade of the 1990s crime has increased in America, especially in state of California. In 1990s, violent crime plummeted fifty-one percent, property crime fell forty-three percent, homicides are down fifty-four percent compared to previous decade (Chettiar, 2015). Increased police in the 1990s brought down crime by about five percent, police employment increased dramatically in the 1990s, rising twenty-eight percent. One example of state policy that were put in place in the 1990s to address crime was the 1994 Crime Bill, which provided funding for 100,000 new local officers (Chettiar, 2015). Police techniques can be effective in reducing crime especially in the 1990s. Thanks to digital revolution in the 1990s, police forces started using computers to target criminals. But as of today, incarceration rate has increased with six percent of property crime decline in the 1990s and sadly only one percent of property crime

Wilson, credited with being “the most influential figures in making [professionalism] the dominant paradigm in American policing” (Henry, 2003, p. 81). Vollmer served as Berkeley California’s Chief of Police from 1905 to 1932, during which he revolutionized policing by increasing efficiency and providing resources for the police to better serve their community (Henry, 2003). As Chief, Vollmer made Berkeley “the first police agency to deploy its entire patrol force in automobiles, enabling officers to respond to reported crimes even more rapidly” (Henry, 2003, p. 81). Knowing that policing was a multifaceted service, Vollmer believed that police officers should be proficient in knowledge of law and their duties and social skills, but they also should continue their education and receive advanced training (Henry, 2003). He held the belief that higher “education held the key to transforming policing into a true profession, equal in status and stature to the legal and medical professions” (Henry, 2003, p. 81). Holding the same values, Vollmer’s protégée, O.W. Wilson, used the skills and leadership attributes learned from Vollmer to improve and reform the Wichita, Kansas Police Department (Henry, 2003). Wilson, similarly to Vollmer, researched how to improve efficiency and implemented new technology to better serve the community (Henry, 2003). Vollmer and Wilson’s dedication to and implementation of technology in

Police Agencies in modern society are a part of the American fabric to serve and protect the American public. The United States currently have more than 15,000 police agencies, (Walker & Katz, 2011). Police Departments across the United States face similar critical issues policing. All police officers face dangers in the job of policing the dangers can emanate from internal and external origins. Police officers have continued to evolve to serve communities by finding better less than lethal alternatives to weapons used. In addition, police departments have continued to keep up with

     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

During this era citizens felt safer and had a better relationship with the police but as time went on and technology got better the relationship that was developed between police officers and citizens changed dramatically. By the mid-1900s new technology had a significant influence on policing, two-way radio, patrol cars and the telephones, revolutionized policing. “Police: History-Policing Twentieth Century America^ C” the Reform Era( n.d.)