Police In The United States: A Political Analysis

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.

In this paper I will discuss the history of the NYPD Corruption. I will address the founding of the department in 1845 and a few early scandals. The New York City Police Department officially is the largest municipal police force in the United States Established in 1845, the agency has primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City.The NYPD is one of the oldest police departments established in the U.S tracing its roots back to the seventeenth century. The NYPD has specialized services, including the Emergency Service Unit, K9, harbor patrol, air support, bomb disposal, counter-terrorism, criminal intelligence, anti-gang, anti-organized crime, narcotics, public transportation and public

Uchida detailed the beginning and progression of American policing in his article. Police departments were originally under the control of city governments and city officials and was heavily influenced by politics (Uchida, 2004, p. 12). Because of this political influence, there were no hiring or training standards. Elected officials would hire men that would agree to keep them in office and further their agenda with no regard for whether the men were the most qualified people to police (Uchida, 2004, p. 12). Politicians exchanged positions for political support and resources, resulting in an environment that fostered police misconduct and corruption. This system fostered loyalty to the person and/or party that helped the job-seeker acquire

“Overall, reported homicides were up 16% in 2015, but a majority of cities (44 of 60) have not seen a statistically significant increase in homicides” (Congressional Research Service). Some believe the rate of violent crimes in the United States is increasing due to the Ferguson incident. The Ferguson incident is the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. The shooting aroused protests around the United States pertaining to reforming on how police use force. Experts have been pegging the general increase in violent crimes in the United States due to the Ferguson incident the “Ferguson effect.” The Ferguson effect tells that in wake of the incident, police have become more reluctant to engage in proactive policing.

In the early stages of the development of policing in the United States there were a lot of issues, concerns and problems with how police forces functioned through the entire country. All these Issues were noticed and changes within police departments began to take place. Before any changes were implemented American Police Departments fell directly under the influence of each state specific partisan government. Fortunately, America was able to stray away from the corruptions of how police officers were selected into their position because of their political preferences and also, how departments functioned, and other exploitations from law enforcement agencies throughout the country.

The three eras discussed in this week’s reading are the Political, Reform, and Community-based eras (The fourth era detailing policing in the 21st Century hasn’t been covered yet). The Political Era - 1840-1930 - was characterized by the appointment of police chiefs by local politicians and so were beholden to those that appointed them, often times adjusting the justice they exercised to the benefit of their patron, or rather the politician or party that appointed them. Due to this essentially powerless policing, chiefs tended to be no more than political strong-arms with very little authority over the officers under them. This lack of oversight and control tended towards corrupt or incompetent officers. Because there was virtually no hierarchy or accountability, most officers lacked adequate training which caused poor decisions and unlawful arrests and searches.

“The History of Policing in the United States” by Dr. Gray Potter raises an important question of how the idea of policies roll has changed over time. In the late 18th century the watch system was created to enforce 24/7 surveillance on the neighborhood and warn the community of incoming danger. However, the selective few were not the most reliable at the job; because many were found drunk on the job, or sleeping during the shift. Not much watching was actually taking place because the conditions of the position were all voluntary, many took the job lightly. Over time the United States organized this ‘modern police’ organization group who was supported publicly by a bureaucratic style of government administration. This set police office apart

Throughout its’ history, the United States of America has had a military branch in order to protect the country from foreign enemies, dating back all the way to the Revolutionary War when the brave young Colonies declared independence from Great Britain. However, the first official domestic defense did not come until almost one hundred years later when the city of Boston established the first official American police force in 1838, followed by New York City in 1845 (Potter 1). Soon major cities all over the country followed in the footsteps of Boston and New York City. Police forces were seen as a positive presence in the United States when they were established; enforcing justice against the unjust. Law enforcement in the United States has been scrutinized from the beginning of its’ creation due to bad apples within police forces across the nation. The bad apples unfortunately were corrupting an organization that was supposed to be serving and protecting the people of the United States for approximately a couple hundred years. Fortunately, the evil and undue police within departments across the country were heavily outnumbered by the good cops in this country. The same is true today, but in recent history police brutality has been a widespread issue in the United States. Although police corruption and brutality is present in America today, the need for police is more apparent now than ever because police forces across the country as a whole are keeping the peace and are

This paper is about the history of police in America. This paper will describe the impact of Sir Robert Peel on American policing. Also, it will discuss the different stages of police in America. In addition, it will analyze the relationship between the government and the policing organizations throughout the United States.

As opposed to the old times, such departments had been fully entrenched in political affairs and were used as political mercenaries. In particular, they offered assistance to political allies and even harassed their opponents. The irony of this is that police departments were promoting the vices that they were expected to fight. For instance, they were fully expected to fight crime. However, it was widely known that the political machines that the police were protecting and acting to their interests ran activities such as prostitution, illegal gambling, racketeering, and even distribution of drugs. It was, therefore, impossible for the officers to act against their masters; all in all, they ended up protecting the vices that they were supposed to fight. By the turn of the 20th century, police were seen as agents of politicians, enforcing organized crimes in every city in the United States of America. This tarnished their reputation, and they were subjected to public ridicule by the citizens who needed

By the mid 1800’s, in metropolitan America we see a shift in the organization of agencies. Until this time police activities were considered reactive in nature. In this new era police now began to focus more on crime prevention rather than catching criminals after the fact, (Schmallager, 2009). In 1844, New York created the first unified, uniformed department, setting standards for policing to improve community relations and professionalism. Other cities followed suit creating their own departments often merely an organization of existing day and night watchmen. These changes were

The American policing system has its origin already in the 1600s when the first police officer was referred to as a shout. Due to the demographic shift between rural and urban areas in the 1800s, a need for protection became apparent in the city environment. During such urbanization period, British, as well as New York policing forces, presented great similarities. Initially, the policing system was strictly connected to the ‘watch system’. The watchmen were mostly responsible for protecting urban property and population from rapidly increasing crime and fire. In 1829, Sir Robert Peel reforms the watch system making it one of the first full-time professional force controlled by the British government. The professionals watched London streets constantly; they were also “uniformed and highly visible; and they stressed prevention rather than investigation of crime” (Lardner and Reppetto 17). As it can be seen, policing became an apparent and visible component of social and urban setting.

The United States is one of the most civilized and structured countries in the World. Since the early settlers came to the new country and established settlements there has been a need for law enforcement. As most of the settlers immigrated from English colonies it is no surprise that law enforcement in the new world was modeled from English culture however, no matter if its United States or England government is the foundation of law enforcement. As such, policing in this country was created and controlled by the ruling classes. In this paper the relationship between law enforcement and ethnic groups will be explored.

The United States today is undergoing a societal change in the way we view policing. From this police departments and corrections are having to change and adapt to meet the needs of the people they are serving. Over the history of the country, many types of policies and practices have been implemented in an effort to decrease or at least control the crime. This paper will evaluate current and past practices and analyze the pros and cons in hopes to realize effective methods that can benefit both the citizens and the police.

Police have been linked to citizens since the reform era redefined the nature of the relationship between police and citizens (Kelling, & Moore, 1988). The new model demanded an impartial law officer who related professionally, neutrally, and in distant terms to citizens. Weaknesses in the model were displayed through a decentralized organizational structure which failed to provide supervision to patrol officers, resulting in a rise in police corruption (Kelling, & Moore, 1988). Continuing reformations put officers in automobiles reasoning that the automobile would increase the extent of the patrol and give the officers a greater advantage over criminals (Kelling, & Moore, 1988).