McGraw-Hill OnlineMcGraw-Hill Higher EducationLearning Center
Student Center | Instructor Center | Information Center | Home
Glossary
Career Opportinities
Chapter Overview
Chapter Outline
Chapter Objectives
PowerPoint Presentations
Multiple Choice Quiz
True or False
Flashcards
Internet Exercises
Interactive Summary
Feedback
Help Center


The Police in America, 4/e
Samuel Walker, University of Nebraska
Charles M. Katz, Arizona State University-West

Foundations
The History of the American Police

Chapter Outline

Chapter Two: The History of the American Police

Lecture Outline

I. Relevance of police history
	A. Dramatize the fact of change
	B. Put current problems into perspective
	C. Help us understand what reforms have worked
	D. Alert us to the unintended consequences of reform

II. The English heritage
	A. Three enduring features
		1. Limited police authority
		2. Local control of law enforcement agencies
		3. Decentralized and fragmented system
	B. Creation of the modern police--London
		1. Riots, disorder and poverty triggered need for better public safety
		2. Sir Robert Peel--"father" of modern policing 
			a. established London Metropolitan Police in 1829
			b. reflected vision of efficient proactive police force
			c. London officers named "Bobbies" after Sir Robert Peel
		3. Key elements
			a. mission: crime prevention
			b. strategy: preventative patrol 
			c. organizational structure: quasi-military
		4. Other features
			a. public: responsible for public safety
			b. specialized: mission of law enforcement and crime prevention
			c. professional: full-time, paid employees

III. Law enforcement in colonial America
	A. Law enforcement institutions
		1. Sheriff
		2. Constable 
		3. Watch
		4. Slave patrol
	B. Characteristics of colonial law enforcement
		1. Inefficient, corrupt, subject to political interference
		2. Crime control
			a. little capacity to prevent crime or apprehend offenders
			b. reactive--did not engage in preventative patrol
			c. lack of personnel to investigate crimes
			d. no convenient way to report crimes
			e. officials paid for civil responsibilities
			f. little deterrence for crime
			g. lack of communication among watch members
		3. Order maintenance
			a. ill-equipped due to lack of personnel
			b. citizens could not readily report disturbances
			c. sheriff nor constable could respond effectively
		4. Service--nonexistent

IV. The first modern American police
	A. Modern forces established in 1830s and 1840s
		1. Older system broken down due to:
			a. urbanization
			b. industrialization
			c. immigration--riots between ethnic groups
		2. Delays in creation of police forces due to:
			a. memories of hated British colonization
			b. fear of political control
			c. lack of preparation to pay for public police force
		3. Differences between U.S. and British policing
			a. U.S. more democratic than Britain: citizens had direct control of 
			   government
			b. London 
				i. no direct control over police
				ii. free from political influence
				iii. ability to maintain high personnel standards.
			c. result: U.S. police departments immersed in local politics

V. American policing in the nineteenth century, 1834-1900
	A. Personnel 
		1. Non-existent standards
			a. officers selected on political connections
			b. few female patrons--no female officers
		2. Little pre-service training 
		3. No job security
		4. Patronage
			a. jobs used to reward friends
			b. jobs based on political power
	B. Patrol work
		1. Foot patrol
			a. large beats
			b. little coverage
		2. Lack of communications system
		3. Supervision
			a. weak or nonexistent
			b. officers evaded duty
			c. sergeants unable to keep track of officers 
		4. EX: Officer Wakeman, Boston, 1895
			a. "officer of the neighborhood"
			b. most time spent on minor crimes: disputes, property crime
			c. little time spent on major crimes: murder, robbery, rape
			d. resolved problems informally
		5. Communications system
			a. call boxes linked to precinct stations--sabotaged by officers
			b. difficult to supervise officers
			c. difficult for citizens to contact police
	C. The police and the public
		1. Myths
			a. officers were friendly, knowledgeable, helpful
			b. methods of policing were rough, but they maintained order
		2. Realities
			a. few officers
			b. high personnel turnover
			c. officers had serious drinking problems, used excessive force
			d. officers enjoyed little public respect
			e. police were a major social welfare institution
	D. Corruption and politics
		1. Endemic in the 19th century
		2. Police received payoffs for not enforcing the law
		3. Officers often paid bribes for promotion
		4. Corruption served social and political ends
		5. EX: alcohol--symbolic issue in American politics
			a. prostestants' attempt to impose morality on immigrant groups by 
			   outlawing and controlling drinking
			b. immigrants fought back by controlling law enforcement
	E. The failure of police reform
		1. Reformers made police corruption a major issue in 19th century
			a. concentrated on changing structural control of police departments
			b. usually by creating board of commissioners appointed by governor of 
			   the legislature
			c. struggle for control reflected divisions along political parties,
			   ethnic groups and urban and rural perspectives
		2. Reasons for failure
			a. emphasized replacing political opponents with their own supporters
			b. lacked substantive ideas about police administration
			c. made no significant changes in standards, training or supervision
			d. no attention given to excessive force or race discrimination
			e. Theodoore Roosevelt's attempt at reform--NYPD Police Commissioner
	F. The impact of police on society is debated by historians
		1. positive: some argue police helped to maintain order 
		2. negative: 
			a. police so few in number--could not have deterred crime
			b. police served the interests of business and were used to harass labor	
			   unions and break strikes
			c. they became a social and political problem themselves
			d. police were corrupt and inefficient

VI. The origins of police professionalism, 1900-1930
	A. The professionalization movement
		1. August Vollmer: police chief in Berkeley, CA 1905-1932
			a. advocated higher education for police officers
			b. wrote Wickersham Commission (1931) Report on Police
		2. Part of the progressivism movement (1900-1917): reformers sought to regulate
		   big business, eliminate child labor, professionalize the police, etc. 
	B. The reform agenda
		1. Reformers sought to:
			a. define policing as a profession
			b. eliminate political influence from policing
			c. appoint qualified chief executives
			d. raise personnel standards
			e. introduce principles of scientific management
			f. develop specialized units
		2. First female sworn officers
			a. assigned to juvenile units
			b. Lola Baldwin--first female officer, 1905
			c. Alice Stebbins Wells-LAPD, 1910
				i. established International Association of Policewomen,1915
			d. first female officers
				i. did not perform regular patrol duty
				ii. usually did not wear uniforms
				iii. did not carry weapons
				iv. most had limited arrest powers 
	C. The impact of professionalization
		1. Reform progressed very slowly--mostly failures
		2. Some successes:
			a. firmly established the idea of professionalism as the goal for modern
			   policing, and defined a specific agenda for reform
			b. increased military ethos of police departments
			   (EX: added parades, close order drill, military-style commendations)
	D. Problems of professionalization
		1. Police subculture
			a. rank and file officers--forgotten in professionalization movement
			b. creation of isolated and alienated subculture that opposed most reforms
		2. Police unions
			a. officers demanded better salaries and a voice in decisions affecting 
			   their jobs
			b. Boston police strike (1919) destroyed police unionism for next twenty years
		3. Police administration--growth and specialization created difficult to manage 
		   complex bureaucracies
	E. Police and racial minorities
		1. Conflict between police and African-American community intensified during WWI years
		2. Major race riots in St. Louis, Chicago and other cities--investigation of riots
		   found race discrimination by the police 
		3. African-American officers
			a. few hired
			b. those hired were assigned to African-American communities
			c. not allowed to arrest whites
		4. Conflict did not receive serious attention until 1960s
	F. New law enforcement agencies
		1. State police
			a. half were highway patrols--traffic control
			b. half were general law enforcement agencies
			(EX: Texas Rangers (1835), Pennsylvania State Constabulary (1905))
		2. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
			a. established in 1908 by Theodore Roosevelt
			b. first full-time federal criminal investigation agency
			c. immediately involved in scandal

VII. The new communications technology
	A. Patrol car (1920s)
		1. Police had to keep up with criminals who had cars
		2. Efficient patrol coverage that would effectively deter crime 
		3. Allow the police to respond quickly to crimes and other problems
		4. Effects
			a. reduced informal contact with law-abiding citizens
			b. racial minorities saw police as an occupying army
	B. Two-way radio (late 1930s)
		1. Allowed departments to dispatch officers in response to citizen calls
		2. Supervision--allowed continuous contact with patrol officers
	C. Telephone 
		1. Combination of phone with patrol car and two-way radio created communications
		   link between citizens and police
		2. Allowed citizens to contact the police and request service
		3. Enabled police to dispatch a patrol officer to the scene--allowed quick police response
		4. Results of "calling the cops"
			a. police called to handle very minor problems
			b. citizens developed higher expectations of quality of life
			c. call workload steadily increased
			d. responses to increasing workload 
				i. more officers
				ii. more patrol cars
				iii. more sophisticated communications systems
			e. in turn created more calls--pattern repeated itself
		5. Altered nature of police-citizen contacts
			a. brought police into homes
			b. officers became involved in intimate domestic problems
			(EX: husband-wife disputes, alcohol abuse, parent-child conflicts)

VIII. New directions in police administration, 1930-1960
	A. The Wickersham Commission Report
		1. First national study of the American criminal justice system
		2. Report on Lawlessness in Law Enforcement
		3. Findings
			a. the practice of the "third degree" was used to gain confessions
			b. police routinely beat, threatened and illegally held suspects
	B. Professionalization continues
		1. August Vollmer
			a. Vollmer's protégés became police chiefs who spread reform agenda 
			   throughout California
			b. first undergraduate law enforcement program established in San Jose
		2. O.W. Wilson
			a. Vollmer's most famous protégé
			b. wrote two influential books on police management
			c. major contribution was efficient management of personnel
				i. developed workload formula for patrol officer assignment
				ii. emphasis on efficiency was the major influence in the basic 
				    shift of American policing from foot patrol to automobile patrol
	C. J. Edgar Hoover and the war on crime
		1. Appointed director of the FBI in 1924
		2. Accomplishments
			a. increased size and scope of FBI 
			b. won control of Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
			c. acquired increased federal jurisdiction
			d. opened the National Police Academy
			e. emphasis on education and training--established model for local police 
			   personnel standards
		3. Consequences
			a. exaggerated FBI's effectiveness
			b. focused on smaller minor crimes while ignoring major criminal activity
			c. violated citizens' constitutional rights
			d. emphasized crime fighting at the expense of other aspects of policing

IX. The police crisis of the 1960s
	A. The cops and the Supreme Court
		1. Mapp v. Ohio (1961): evidence gathered in an illegal search and seizure could
		   not be used against the defendant
		2. Miranda v. Arizona (1966) : police required to advise suspects of their rights
		   before interrogating them
			a. the right to remain silent
			b. anything they said could be used against them
			c. the right to an attorney
			d. if they could not afford an attorney, one would be appointed
		3. Mapp, Miranda and other cases caused great controversy
			a. police claimed Court had "handcuffed" their fight against crime
			b. conservatives accused the Court of favoring criminals' rights over 
			   rights of victims and law-abiding citizens
	B. The cops and civil rights
		1. Civil rights movement-1960s
			a. challenged race discrimination
			b. civil rights groups attacked race discrimination and physical brutality
			   by the police
			c. deadly force studies found that police officers shot and killed 
			   African-Americans about eight times as often as white citizens
			d. African-Americans were underrepresented as police officers
			e. conflict between police and black communities sparked nationwide race riots
		2. Response
			a. establishment of police-community relations (PCR) units
			b. demand for the hiring of African-American officers
			c. demand for creation of citizen review boards
	C. The police in the national spotlight
		1. American Bar Foundation (ABF) study: findings
			a. officers exercised broad discretion
			b. most police work involved noncriminal activity
		2. President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice
			a. endorsed agenda of professionalization
				i. higher recruitment standards
				ii. more training
				iii. better management and supervision
			b. sponsored pioneering research 
		3. National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Commission)
			a. created after 1967 riots to study race relations
			b. found deep hostility between police and ghetto communities
			c. recommendations
				i. change police operations to  ensure proper individual conduct
				   and to eliminate abusive practices
				ii. hire more African-American officers
				iii. departments improve procedures for handling citizen complaints
			d. raised questions about traditional assumptions of professionalization
				i. noted many disturbances took place in cities where police were 
				   the most professional, best trained, best lead, etc.
				ii. patrol car alienated officer from ordinary citizens
				iii. aggressive crime-fighting caused tension
		4. American Bar Association (ABA)--Standards Relating to the Urban Police Function 
			a. recognized police as primarily "peacekeepers" rather than "crimefighters"
			b. emphasized the need to control officer discretion
		5. Police research
			a. Kansas City Preventative Patrol Experiment (1972-1973)
				i. one of the most important research projects ever conducted 
				ii. tested the effect of different levels of patrol
				iii. increased patrol did not reduce crime 
				iv. increased patrol had no significant effect on public awareness 
				    about police presence
				v. reduced patrol did not lead to an increase in crime or fear of crime
				vi. challenged basic assumptions about effect of patrol on crime
			b. Other research
				i. questioned the value of rapid police response
				ii. faster response times did not lead to more arrests
				iii. few calls involved crimes in progress
				iv. most victims did not call the police immediately
			c.  Rand Corporation--study of criminal investigation
				i. destroyed traditional myths about detective work
				ii. follow-up investigations are very unproductive
				iii. most crimes are solved through information obtained by the
				     first officer on the scene
				iv. most detective work is boring, routine, paperwork
	D. The research revolution
		1. Research on police attitudes and behavior
			a. William Westley--identified distinct subculture, characterized by 
			   hostility toward the public, group solidarity and secrecy
			b. Jerome Skolnick-policing has a distinct working environment
				i. dominated by danger and exercise of authority
				ii. officers might violate legal procedures under pressure to 
				    achieve results
				    (EX: arrests, convictions)
			c. studies found that officer attitudes were shaped by nature of police 
			   work, not individual characteristics
		2. Research affected reform efforts
			a. destroyed traditional assumptions about policing
			b. had adverse consequences for police community relations
			c. police reform at a "standstill" by the early 1970s

X. New developments in policing, 1970-2000
	A. The changing police officer
		1. Profile of police officer changed significantly between 1960s-1990
		2. Increased racial and ethnic minority representation
		3. Increased female representation
			a. largely due to 1964 Civil Rights Act and women's movement
		4. Better educated officers
		5. Training improvements
			a. increase in pre-service training
			b. broader curriculum (EX: race relations, domestic violence, ethics)
			c. by 1970s, every state had mandatory training
	B. The control of police discretion
		1. Basis of control
			a. Supreme Court decisions
			b. minority community protests
			c. lawsuits
		2. Results
			a. procedures instituted to control on-the-street police behavior 
			b. written policies governing police work
			(EX: search and search, deadly force, domestic violence, high speed pursuits)
		3. Reforms
			a. deadly force
				i. police shoot eight African-Americans for every one citizen[MHE1]
				ii. most departments had no policy or relied on fleeing felon rule
				iii. early 1970s--adopted more restrictive defense of life rule
				iv. enacted reforms reduced number of citizens killed by police
			b. domestic violence
				i. lawsuits filed for failure to arrest men who committed domestic assault
				ii. lawsuits prompted policies prescribing mandatory arrest
	C. Police unions
		1. Spread rapidly in the 1960s
		2. Impact on police administration
			a. salary and benefits improvements
			b. protection of officers' rights in disciplinary hearings
			c. reduced power of police chiefs
		3. Reformers alarmed by the growth of unions--unions tended to resist innovation
		   and were hostile toward police-community relations 
	D. Citizen oversight of police
		1. Citizen review of complaints--major demand of civil rights groups in 1960s
		2. By 2000, over 100 citizen oversight procedures in the U.S.
		3. Many varieties of citizen oversight agencies
	E. Community policing and problem-oriented policing
		1. New developments in policing in 1980s and 1990s
		2. Community policing
			a. police develop partnerships with residents
			b. develop programs tailored for specific problems
			c. give rank and file more freedom to handle problems
			(EX: Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS))
		3. Wilson and Kelling--Broken Windows
			a. suggested police could not fight crime themselves; they are dependent
			   on citizens
			b. police could reduce fear by focusing on "quality of life" issues
		4. Problem-oriented policing
			a. police address specific problems and create responses to each one
			b. police function as "problem-solvers," "planners," not "crime-fighters"
			(EX: Newport News, Virginia)
		5. Hailed as a "new era" in policing
			a. many departments received federal funds for community policing
			b. difficult to assess effectiveness or impact of community policing
	F. Race and ethnic conflict continues
		1. Conflict between police and racial and ethnic minority groups reemerge in 
		   late 1990s
		2. Rodney King (1991)
		3. New York City (1997): Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo 
		4. Los Angeles (1999) : Rampart Scandal
		5. Driving while black (DWB)
			a. "racial profiling"--civil rights leader charge that police stop 
			    African Americans solely on the basis of their race
			b. focus for corrective action--traffic stop data collection
			c. growing number of police agencies collect data
		6. Possible reasons for existing police misconduct 
			a. some departments have moved toward accountability, while others have not
			b. police problems are "contextual", concentrated in certain departments,
			   practices, and officers
			c. rise in public expectations as departments are now held to higher standards

XI. Conclusion: The lessons of the past