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Period: 1200 to
English Heritage
The first colonists were English and as such brought over with them the English style of policing and the history of it that we would continue to borrow both strengths and weaknesses from to this day. -
Law Enforcement in Colonial America
The colonists brought the British way of policing with them when they sailed over. They maintained the titles of Sheriff, Constable and Watch, but altered the meaning and function of them to best suit the needs of Colonial America. -
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The Political Era
In this era, the police were controlled by the local politicians and whole departments were frequently wiped and redone when a new official took power. Police took bribes constantly and there are even anecdotes of them marking street vendors' carts with chalk if they paid for immunity. -
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The First Modern American Police
The first modern police force in America was started in Boston in 1838 and only had nine officers. It was created after a series of riots and was based on the structure of Robert Pell's modern police department in London, England. I am ending it in 1857 because Baltimore created its force that year and it is the last major city existing at that time to do so. -
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The Professional Era
In this era, police no longer worked at the whim of political figures and instead were seen as serving to uphold the law. Police of this era often attended policing institutions and specialized training for officers. Within this era is also the time that officers began patrolling in cars and carrying weapons regularly. I have another pdf for the guns but I couldn't figure out how to add it so I'll email it to you -
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The Political Crises of the 1960s
On February first of 1960 the Civil Rights movement ramped up starting with a sit-in protest at a lunch counter and continuing with increasing protests and police violence. Then on July 16th of 1964 an African American man was shot by a white officer and triggered six days of protests ending in a riot that would be the first of many to come over the next four years. -
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New Developments in Policing
This marks the shift of policing into a more community based approach. In particular, the textbook highlights the Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment was an experiment to test the efficacy of Robert Peel's idea that visible police presence patrolling a "beat" is an effective way to deter crime(1972-1973). -
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The National Police Crisis
The killing of a young, unarmed, African American man set off a series of protests that were met with increasing violence and caused major investigations and reform. This event also caused the creation of the President's Task Force on 21st-Century Policing. -
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The Reconstruction Era
Considering current and recent events and the evidence that policing centered around the needs of each community works really well, I would guess that something is going to happen that will force the system to radically change if it is going to survive. I personally could imagine ways for the police to become more corrupt and unethical similar to how they were during the Political Era, however I could also see local police forces turning and changing to best suit the needs of their communities.