The Modern Police Force Of The United States

The social issue that is most important to fix is separating the police from militarization in the U.S. Before the ‘‘War on Drugs’’ police are meant to keep citizen safe, detect and prevent crime and bring public order. Now after the ‘‘War on Drugs’’ was announced, President Ronald Reagan passed the federal law that police cooperate with military and use military equipment as justification on the war on drugs. As time pass in modern times we still see police using military equipment and vehicles around the street. This became an issue to many people, as police carry military possession in their hands. These are my reason why police and military should be separated. My first reason is that police are meant for civil order and keeping the peace.

Many different types of police agencies exist in the United States of America. Each and every police agencies varies from small town police departments to larger federal agencies. The functions of the police agencies usually depend on the type of organization, its size, its mission, and jurisdiction. When selecting an agency that is suitable for you and your interests several things should be considered.

The origins of policing in America can be traced back to its colonial years of the early 1600s. Unlike the formal police forces we have today, policing took different forms during its early years. In the Northern states, policing consisted of volunteers that warned their communities of any upcoming threat or danger. Although this mode of policing was not effective in controlling crime, it continued until the 1830s, at which the city of Boston was the first to establish a police force. By the 1880s, all major cities, such as Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia, had established municipal police forces. More interesting and controversial, the development of policing in the Southern states was shaped by slavery and the control of minorities.

The roles, responsibilities, and styles of policing in the United States have changed dramatically since the first “era” of policing was established in 1840. Until recently, there were only three established eras of policing: The Political Era, Reform Era and Community Era. We are now in a fourth era- the New Era. All of these eras are reflections of evolution amongst law enforcement officers, as well as political figures of their times. The roles and styles of policing have been a never-ending topic of change, which has grown to fit the demands of the public. Each new era has been born out the desire to make the United States as safe as possible given an evolving climate of

Soon after, as the development of policing began to grow, many different cultures made use of different policing systems. Practices created throughout the development of policing has played a major role in shaping modern policing in the U.S. In this paper, I will discuss the history of policing, the different eras, how professional standards have affected the way police officers carry out their duties, how standards have affected modern policing and what can be modified to make policing profession

The evolution of American Policing is perhaps one of the most interesting topics to study pertaining to our American government. The police system that we currently use today has evolved tremendously since it first was established in 1626 while the United States was still under British control. However, some forms of American policing began a few years before 1626. When the colonists first became settled down in America, they realized they needed to keep order through out their towns. That is when the colonists formed the very first Justice Of Peace. It was fairly similar to the Bristish government that was in place during the time period because most of the new American inhabitants came from Great Britain or had British roots. The Justice

The United States police force has become increasingly militarized over the last fifty years due to a reliance on the military for political and economic strength and in response to the introduction of serious domestic threats, such as drug and terrorism (Brown 658-659). This militarization has become a serious issue with many Americans over the last decade because of the injuries and deaths of citizens due to the use of excessive force and misconduct by police officers that have access to military equipment. One group, comprised primarily of conservatives, believes that the United States has a duty to provide the local police force with this equipment so that they can effectively apprehend criminals and protect themselves from harm while defending the nation from domestic threats (Taub). This belief stems from the militarization advocates valuation of their protection from criminal drug activity and terroristic attacks over the loss of some civil liberties. The opposing party consists primarily of liberals and social advocacy groups, but is beginning to include some Republicans, such as Senator Paul Rand. This group believes that, due to a lack of basic training (Ritchie), current protocols are not only dangerous, but ineffective, and that they stray from the fundamental duties of domestic law enforcement. These reformists value their civil liberties and protection from police brutality over their safety related to internal threats. These two factions conflicting

Law enforcement was designed in the early 1800’s by a man named Robert Peal, which is why cops are sometimes referred to as Bobbies in England; designing an organization of law enforcement that would protect people from harming other people (Christ). This was the model that we based our western law enforcement agencies on, until prohibition became a federal task in the 1920’s. This is when the federal government decided to take up the task of protecting people from themselves. Fast forward to the 1960’s; President Richard Nixon took a step forward with prohibition by declaring a war on drugs. This perpetual war has consumed much of our country’s financial resources and profoundly affected our criminal justice system, which governs us today. Many claim that this effect on our country has been negative, but others claim the necessity of it. There have been vast changes in our country since law enforcement instituted the principal of protecting people from themselves. Has this addition to the western model of law enforcement been beneficial? Is it logical in current times?

. Tracing the history of Community policing, There are Compelling reasons why law enforcement leaders believe that time has come to alter the police and practice of their organization. These reasons are rooted in the history of policing and police research during the last quarter of a century in the changing nature of communities, in the shifting characteristics of crime and violence that affect these communities Throughout history individuals have been expected to follow the rules of the majority, the demands to control the behavior of individuals can be traced to the ancient times when the tribe, clan or family controlled the behavior of the individuals and had the responsibility to enforce its informal rules or customs.

Growing up in the early to late two-thousands, I had not really given a thought as to why we need police past their promise “to serve and protect” as every squad car suggests. In reality, the idea of policing dates back to 1754 BC and has progressively changed into its modern form. Every police department has different goals as given in their mission statement or a written expression of a police department’s overall purpose and goals. However, they also share five common goals to aim for as they fulfill their promise “to serve and protect”. Five of those common goals are as follows:

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.

The American law enforcement system is a close representation of the old English law enforcement. The principles that were drafted up by Sir Robert Peel are still very closely followed by police officers today. Some of the most notable things that are influences are his principles. They have remained the same for almost 200 years. One of the main differences though is that in the US law enforcement does not have the same powers all over the country. The social influences are the need for a policing presence in all communities. Not only since the dawn of the early English has there been some sort of policing effort but since the United States became independent they wanted a policing influence as well. It helps to keep the community and individuals safe.

The History of police can help us as citizens to understand why they are rules on todays ,American polices has made a big transformation over the years ,with that being said Historically policing in the 1800’s officers have not received any type of training what soever ,they patrolled on foot and had no type of radios of anything to receive any type of communication with the dispatcher , they carry no weapon in addition the officer had a little bit of education but not enough and some knowledge on policing and procedure .

Historically police were not limited to laws which prohibited bad behavior and/or corruption such as, curbside justice which entailed police beating citizens with nightsticks especially targeting racial minorities. With a lack of organizational control, inefficiencies and disorganization the courts, legislatures and U.S. Constitution stepped in creating retrains on the power of government agencies with what is referred to as “the rule of law”.

From the deviance course at Salem College it has been ascertained that policing is a form of social control. This means that policing is seen as a tool that law enforcement can use to keep