Oddly enough though, the use of military weapons and tactics found their way into law enforcement around the time Andy and Barney were seen on the aforementioned television program. The mid-1960s saw a transition from a reliance on the US military for those issues that popped up on home soil, to an abridgment of militarized police forces (Katel, 2014). Instead of needing approval from the government and a resulting movement of troops, law enforcement agencies could begin to use their very own ‘military-style’ force if the need ever arose in their area. As Katel describes in his CQ Research document on police tactics, events like the University of Texas clock tower sniper were just enough to push agencies in the direction of adapting military weapons and tactics. This event, along with civil unrest, would actually lead to the creation of the LAPD’s first SWAT team in 1967 (2014). Like many other innovations that big cities decide to come up with, smaller cities would attempt to follow in their footsteps.
The mid-1960s were in full swing, and disorder was beginning to be seen as a political issue. With the crime rate in the US climbing and the media jumping on the bandwagon of publicizing every moment of it, President Johnson enacted the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, which eventually became the DEA (Balko, 2013). This executive action ended up being only one of many new responses to crime and how the US government was not going to sit idly by. As the 20th century
Throughout the years the DEA has done many operations in the United States and in foreign countries. During the 1960s drugs were becoming a serious problem in the United States. Drugs began to spread throughout the nation forcing the government to turn their focus on helping the prevention of this problem. The drug enforcement administration was fairly new in the early 1970s, but started right away in capturing many drug traffickers. On January of 1974, the DEA
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.
World War II is one of the most recognized battles in the history of the world. The battle originated with Germany’s invasion of Poland. This sparked the beginning of the war, though the United States was not yet involved. The U.S. came into the picture after the attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. Though Japan was the more “direct opponent”, the United States Army Rangers, Marine Corps., and every other branch of military took on Japan and Germany.
New technology and social reform for policing happened in the twentieth century. This brought about the first woman police officer. The invention of automobiles, telephones, and radios was also developed, which helped police officers in a major way. Automobiles allowed police a quick responds and allowed them to serve bigger areas. Radios allowed better communication between police officers. Telephones allowed better communication between officers and civilians. Teddy Roosevelt help promote the first call box system, which is compared to the 911 system used today; also he helped organize the FBI, one of the most famous government agencies. The history of policing is divided into four periods. The political era (1840s-1930) was the first, police agencies were more concerned with the interest of powerful politicians. The second era (1930s-1970s) police were more concerned with solving traditional crimes. Today the third period is used in contemporary policing, which deal with community policing. Last is the homeland security era, which grew after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. All levels of law enforcement agencies have devoted more time and effort for homeland security after the attack.
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.
To begin with, Balko talks about how our police forces have intensified over the years. He introduces trends that have been continuing on for a very long time. These trends include police becoming more violent and using way more force. This is especially seen in the SWAT team. The SWAT team was initially created because of the killings in Austin, “[it] marked the birth date of the modern police SWAT concept. Since that day, almost every police department in the United States has formed a special response
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.
In 1971 President Nixon declared an all-out war on drugs, now over a million non-violent drug offenders live behind bars. The war on drugs has been the longest, most costly, and destructive war in the US history as of today (Booth , 2007). The war on drugs focuses on the poor people, and not the bankers that launder the money. In 1973 Nixon created the DEA, which stands for Drug Enforcement Agency. The DEA is a federal agency responsible for enforcing laws and regulations governing narcotics, and controlled substances. Their job is to immobilize drug trafficking organizations. When Nixon declared the war on drugs in 1971, the federal budget was 101 million dollars, going into the year 2000; the federal budget allegation was 20 billion dollars. Half of what we spend in the court systems and prison is drug related (Booth , 2007).
The result of World War II was affected by many different factors. One major factor which affected the war was the weapons and artillery used during the war. Since the beginnings of time, weapons have always been around. From swords and knives to nuclear weapons and missiles, weapons have evolved greatly throughout the years. The weapons and artillery used in World War II basically were evolved types of weaponry that were used during World War I (Military History 1).
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
The LAPD became professionalized in the mid-century. The argument provided that, “…as professionals, police officers deserved the same level of respect and autonomy as doctors and lawyers.” (Escobar, p. 5). This professionalism, Escobar explains, would also lead to the
During the Reform era in 1890 to 1920, American policing created a crime control model. During this time building a relationship with the community was not a priority to the police. Giving off the impression the police were non-approachable and only handled things professionally. With technology changing, police officers no longer invested time to get to build relationships with the community. Instead the police spent more time patrolling in police vehicles with the intention of decreasing response times for emergencies.
In late 1961, America took physical force in the Vietnam War. War is a complex series of political events that leads to physical involvement in the form of armed combat. Technology is a major deciding factor in war, along with the battle tactics used, terrain, experience and professionalism of the opposing forces. By 1961 both the United States and Vietnam had developed a broad array of guns and weapons to fight off one another. Coupled with battle tactics this provides a deadly and extremely hostile environment.
Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs with various other law enforcement and intelligence gathering agencies, including the ODALE, was given the responsibility of enforcing the nation’s federal drug laws. It’s enormous sphere of influence is reflected in its Mission Statement which states among other things; “The mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration is to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States, or any other competent jurisdiction, those organizations and principal members of organizations involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the United States…”(15) The DEA was designed as an American agency with an international agenda.
Once new technology stepped in it changed policing dramatically, police officers were removed from foot patrol and placed in patrol cars and given two-way radios and citizens were told to call police anytime they had a problem, according to Police: History-Policing Twentieth Century America^ C” the Reform Era, (n.d.) This new wave also isolated police officers from the citizens on the street and brought police officers into their homes to handle more personal problems. These changes would have a huge impact on how citizens looked at police officers who patrolled their neighborhood, police officers were no longer considered visitors but outsiders within their community. This was the beginning of a new era of policing which gave direction and is similar on how policing is today within the communities.