Chapter 5 Police and Society History and Organization

Chapter 5 Police and Society: History and Organization

The Pledge System Families banded together for protection People raised the “hue and cry” to warn others of trouble and to pursue criminals Tithings were formed (10 families) Ten tithings banded together to form a hundred supervised by a constable Hundreds banded together to form shires supervised by the shire reeve

The Watch System: 13 th Century More formal than the pledge system Employed watchmen to protect property against fire and robbery Justice of the peace established and given judicial duties Constables served as assistants to justices of the peace

18 th Century English Policing Industrial Revolution takes place and crime dramatically increases London experiments with different kinds of policing In 1829, the Metropolitan Police Act (MPA) is passed in Parliament while Sir Robert Peel is home secretary The MPA creates the first organized police force of over 1, 000 men

American Colonial Experience County sheriff was the most important law enforcement person § Investigated complaints § Ran the jail § Collected taxes, supervised elections Town marshal, aided by others, was responsible for urban areas Vigilante groups used to eradicate some social problems

19 th Century American Policing Development of police agencies prompted by mob violence Gentry feared restlessness of the underclass Gin became a major substance abuse problem Fear of urban street crime produced demands for greater police protection

19 th Century American Policing Police were incompetent, disliked and corrupt Primary functions were to: § Serve as enforcement powers for reigning political powers § Protect private property § Control the rising number of foreign immigrants

20 th Century American Policing Technological advancements § Telegraph boxes, motorcycles and police cars Local, state and federal crime commissions Public concern about police corruption led to reform efforts

The Modern Era of Policing: The 1960 s Civil unrest and Vietnam Growing crime rates Supreme Court decisions Desire for more educated officers

The Modern Era of Policing: The 1970 s Emphasis on good police-community relationships Federal assistance to local and state agencies to fight the war on crime Recruitment and promotion of women and minorities increased

The Modern Era of Policing: The 1980 s Concepts of community and problem-oriented policing emerged Police unions grew Governments faced fiscal constraints and forced budget cutbacks in policing Riots and brutality claims led to an examination of traditional police practices and roles

Policing in the 1990 s Rodney King case prompted a renewed interest in police reform Evaluation of police broadened to include courteousness, helpfulness and deportment of the officers

Federal Law Enforcement Numerous agencies found in a variety of departments of federal government No single agency has unlimited jurisdiction Most agencies have primarily investigative functions Function of each agency is determined by specific laws

U. S. Department of Justice Headed by the U. S. Attorney General and is empowered to: § Enforce all federal laws § Represent the U. S. in court actions § Conduct independent investigations through its law enforcement services, e. g. , FBI, DEA, U. S. Marshals The DEA home page is located at http: //www. usdoj. gov/dea/

The Federal Bureau of Investigation An investigative rather than police agency Jurisdiction includes all federal laws not specifically assigned to another agency Has over 11, 000 Special Agents and over 16, 000 other professional, administrative and clerical staff Provides services to local agencies

Department of Homeland Security The assigned mission of Homeland Security: § Prevent terrorist attacks within the United States § Reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism § Minimize the damage from attacks that do occur and recover from them

Five Independent Branches of the Department of Homeland Security Border and Transportation Security Emergency Preparedness and Response Science and Technology Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Management

U. S. Treasury Department Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms § Controls sale of untaxed liquor and cigarettes and illegal sales, importation & criminal misuses of firearms and explosives Internal Revenue Service § Enforces violations of income, excise, stamp and other tax laws § Often involved with a variety of types of crimes from a tax “point of view”

U. S. Treasury Department (cont. ) U. S. Customs Service § Guards points of entry into the U. S. and prevents smuggling of contraband into and out of the country U. S. Secret Service § Enforces laws against counterfeiting § Protects the President, VP and others § Maintains the White House Police Force

State Police Agencies Texas Rangers was one of the first state agencies formed § Responsible for: § Highway safety § Law enforcement in various areas § Technical support to other agencies

County Law Enforcement Either the County Sheriff’s Department (most common) or County Police Department 3, 100 sheriffs operating nationwide Responsible for: § Law enforcement § Local corrections (jail) § Civil law authority § Court-related duties

Metropolitan Police Have majority of personnel NYPD is largest Large and small departments have same functions

Technology in Law Enforcement Criminal identification through computer imaging (biometrics) Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems DNA testing