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Ninth Edition
POLICING AMERICA CHALLENGES AND BEST PRACTICES
Kenneth J. Peak University of Nevada, Reno
William H. Sousa University of Nevada, Las Vegas
330 Hudson Street, NY, NY 10013
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Peak, Kenneth J., author. | Sousa, William H., author.
Title: Policing America : challenges and best practices / Kenneth J. Peak, University of Nevada, Reno,
William H. Sousa, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Description: Ninth edition. | Boston : Pearson, [2018] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016035762| ISBN 9780134526959 | ISBN 0134526953
Subjects: LCSH: Police–United States. | Law enforcement–United States.
Classification: LCC HV8141 .P33 2018 | DDC 363.20973–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.
gov/2016035762
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To the several members of my family circle—an attorney, sheriff, police commander, assistant
sheriff, federal agent—who uphold the legal maxim “Mind your manners, tell the truth, know
the law.”
—K. J. P.
To Mom and Dad, who have always stuck by me wherever my travels have led.
—W. H. S.
iv
▼
P A R T 1 Foundations: Development of American Policing and Police Officers 1
CHAPTER 1 History: From English Origins to the United States 2
CHAPTER 2 Preparing for the Street: Recruitment, Training, and Socialization 35
CHAPTER 3 On Patrol: Methods and Menaces 67
P A R T 2 Practices and Challenges 97
CHAPTER 4 Community Policing: “Guardians,” or “Soldiers”? 98
CHAPTER 5 Criminal Investigation: The Science of Sleuthing 121
CHAPTER 6 Personnel Issues and Practices: Stress, Labor Relations, Higher Education, and Private Police 149
P A R T 3 Adhering to Law, Ethical Principles, and Public Expectations 171
CHAPTER 7 Rule of Law: Expounding the Constitution 172
CHAPTER 8 Accountability: Use of Force, Ethics, Corruption, and Discipline 202
CHAPTER 9 Civil Liability: Failing the Public Trust 238
P A R T 4 Agency Organization and Administration 259
CHAPTER 10 Federal and State Agencies: Protecting Our Borders and Freedoms 260
CHAPTER 11 Municipal and County Agencies: Organization, Administration, and Roles 286
P A R T 5 Best Practices: Addressing Special Populations, Using Specialized Equipment 317
CHAPTER 12 Policing Criminal Organizations: The Changing War on Drugs, Terrorists, Cybercriminals, and Gangs 318
CHAPTER 13 Policing Special Populations and Problems: Mental Illness, Domestic Violence, Immigrants, and Human Trafficking 346
CHAPTER 14 Information Technologies: Contributions and Caveats 364
Brief Contents
v
▼
Preface xiv
Acknowledgments xx
About the Authors xxi
P A R T 1 Foundations: Development of American Policing and Police Officers 1
CHAPTER 1 History: From English Origins to the United States 2
Learning Objectives 2
Introduction 3
English and Colonial Officers
of the Law 3
Sheriff 3
Constable 5
Coroner 5
Justice of the Peace 6
The Old English and Colonial
Systems of Policing 7
Old English Traditions 7
Policing in Colonial America 8
Legacies of the Colonial Period 8
Police Reform in England 10
Policing Comes to the United
States 14
Southern Slave Patrols 15
The Political Era: 1840s
to 1930s 16
Imitating Peel 16
Early Issues
and Traditions 17
Attempts at Reform
in Difficult Times 17
Increased Politics
and Corruption 18
Meanwhile, on the American
Frontier . . . 19
The Entrenchment of Political
Influence 21
The Reform Era: 1930s
to 1980s 22
Attempts to Thwart Political
Patronage 22
The Era of August Vollmer 22
The Crime Fighter Image 25
The Wickersham
Commission 25
Police as the “Thin Blue Line”:
William H. Parker 26
1960s and 1970s: The Struggle
for Civil Rights 27
A Retreat from the Professional
Model 28
Coming Full Circle to Peel:
President’s Crime Commission
and Beyond 28
The Community Era: 1980s
to Present 29
Summary 31
Key Terms 31
Review Questions 32
Learn by Doing 32
Notes 32
CHAPTER 2 Preparing for the Street: Recruitment, Training, and Socialization 35
Learning Objectives 35
Introduction 36
First Things First: Recruiting
Qualified Applicants 36
Contents
CONTENTS vi
▼
Wanted: Those Who Walk
on Water 36
Recruiting Problems
and Successes 38
Testing 39
Hurdle Process 39
Written Examinations: General
Knowledge and Psychological
Tests 40
Physical Agility 41
Personal Interview 42
Character Investigation 42
Polygraph Examination 43
Medical Examination and Drug
Screening 44
Assessment Center 44
Formal Entry into Policing:
Academy Training 45
Training Nature and Topics 45
New Demeanor
and Uniform 47
Suspicion: The “Sixth
Sense” 49
Postacademy Field Training 51
Field Training Officer (FTO)
Program 51
Police Training Officer (PTO)
Program 52
New Technology 52
In-Service Training 53
Working Personality: Having the
“Right Stuff” 53
Developing a Police
Personality 53
What Traits Make a
Good Cop? 55
Roles, Functions, and Styles
of Policing 56
Definition and Knowledge of the
Police Role 56
Role Conflicts 57
Policing Functions and Styles 58
Which Role, Function, and Style
Prevail? 59
Breaking Through Glass
Ceilings: Women
and Minorities 59
Women as Officers and Chief
Executives 59
Advantages 59
Minorities as Law Enforcement
Officers 61
Summary 62
Key Terms 63
Review Questions 63
Learn by Doing 63
Notes 64
CHAPTER 3 On Patrol: Methods and Menaces 67
Learning Objectives 67
Introduction 68
Studies of the Patrol Function:
An Overview 68
Patrol as Work: Culture
of the Beat 71
Purposes and Nature
of Patrol 71
Patrol Work as a Function
of Shift Assignment 73
Influence of an Assigned
Beat 74
Where Danger Lurks:
Occupational Hazards
of Patrol 75
At Their Peril 75
Suicide by Cop 76
Arms and Armor
for Duty 78
H.R. 218 79
Officers on Display:
Appearance, Uniforms,
and Dress Codes 79
Legal Aspects 80
Psychological Aspects 80
Instituting (and Enforcing)
a Dress Code 81
CONTENTS vii
▼
The Officer’s “Rolling
Office” 82
A Sanctuary 82
Patrolling on Two Wheels 83
Discretionary Use of Police
Authority 86
Myth of Full Enforcement 86
Attempts to Define
Discretion 86
Determinants of Officer
Discretion 87
Pros, Cons, and Politics
of Discretionary Authority 88
A Related Function: Traffic 89
Enforcement of Traffic Laws:
Triumph and Trouble 89
Traffic Crash Investigation 90
Pursuit of the “Phantom”
Driver 91
The Patrol Lifeline: Dispatchers
and Communications 91
Summary 92
Key Terms 92
Review Questions 93
Learn by Doing 93
Notes 93
P A R T 2 Practices and Challenges 97
CHAPTER 4 Community Policing: “Guardians,” or “Soldiers”? 98
Learning Objectives 98
Introduction 99
Lessons from History
and Ferguson 99
A Brief Reflection 99
Police Responses to
Violence: Modifications in
Tactics, Training, and
Equipment 101
How to Achieve Harmony,
Justice, and Policy? 101
Transparency and Trust
Building: Opportunities
and Challenges 103
A Change in Mindset 103
Calls for Police Body
Cameras 104
Basic Principles of Community
Policing 104
A Redefined Role 104
A Necessary Extension:
Problem-Oriented Policing 104
The Problem-Solving Process:
SARA 106
Scanning: Problem
Identification 106
Analysis: Heart of Problem
Solving 106
Response: Formulation
of Tailor-Made Strategies 108
Assessment: Evaluation
of Overall Effectiveness 109
A Broader Role for the Street
Officer 109
CompStat: Utilizing Information
Technology to Manage
Crime 109
Crime Prevention 110
Crime Prevention Through
Environmental Design 111
Repeat Victimization 112
Community Policing
and Problem Solving
at Work 113
An Emerging Paradigm:
Smart Policing 115
Origins 115
How It Works: An Array
of Strategies and Tactics 116
Summary 117
Key Terms 118
Review Questions 118
Learn by Doing 118
Notes 119
CONTENTS viii
▼
CHAPTER 5 Criminal Investigation: The Science of Sleuthing 121
Learning Objectives 121
Introduction 122
Scope of Forensic Science
and Criminalistics 122
Definitions of Terms 122
A Word About Crime
Scenes 124
Origins of Criminalistics 125
Personal Identification:
Anthropometry
and Dactylography 125
Locard’s Exchange
Principle 128
Firearms Identification 128
Contributions of August Vollmer
and Others 128
Forensic Science and the
Criminal Justice System 129
Investigative Stages
and Activities 129
Arrest and Case
Preparation 130
Detectives: Qualities, Myths,
and Attributes 130
Officers Who “Disappear”:
Working Undercover 132
Problems with the Role 132
Return to Patrol Duties 133
Contributions of Medical
Examiners and Coroners 133
Uses of the Polygraph 134
DNA Analysis 134
Discovery and Types
of Analyses 134
CODIS 137
DNA Policy Nightmare:
Solving Property Crimes 137
Postconviction DNA Tests:
The Supreme Court Speaks 138
A Wider Net: New Law Expands
DNA Gathering 138
Familial DNA 138
Criminal Profiling
and Psycholinguistics 139
Developing Areas in Forensic
Science and Investigation 140
Using Social Networking
Sites 140
No Stone Unturned:
Cold Cases 141
Use of “Nonhuman Detectives”:
Dogs 141
Is There a “CSI Effect”? 142
Investigative Tools:
Informants, Interviews,
and Interrogations 142
Use of Confidential
Informants 142
Conducting Interviews
and Interrogations 143
Summary 144
Key Terms 144
Review Questions 145
Learn by Doing 145
Notes 145
CHAPTER 6 Personnel Issues and Practices: Stress, Labor Relations, Higher Education, and Private Police 149
Learning Objectives 149
Introduction 150
The Silent Epidemic:
Stress 150
Nature and Types
of Stress 150
Sources of Stress 151
Effects of Stress 153
Employee Assistance
Programs 153
Labor Relations: Officers’
Rights, Unionization,
and Collective Bargaining 154
The Continuing Discussion:
Higher Education 159
CONTENTS ix
▼
Lagging Behind 159
An Enduring Controversy 160
Rationales For and Against
Higher Education
for Police 160
On Guard: The Private
Police 162
Nature and Types 162
Attempts to Legislate
Regulation 164
An Organization at the
Forefront 165
A Sidebar Note: Arrival of the
Millennials 165
Summary 166
Key Terms 166
Review Questions 167
Learn by Doing 167
Notes 167
P A R T 3 Adhering to Law, Ethical Principles, and Public Expectations 171
CHAPTER 7 Rule of Law: Expounding the Constitution 172
Learning Objectives 172
Introduction 173
Fourth Amendment 174
Probable Cause 175
Exclusionary Rule 175
Arrests 177
Searches and Seizures 180
Electronic Surveillance 191
Lineups 191
Fifth Amendment 191
Decisions Supporting Miranda:
Confessions 192
Decisions Modifying Miranda:
Interrogations 193
Entrapment 194
Sixth Amendment 195
Right to Counsel 195
What Constitutes
an Interrogation? 195
Juvenile Rights 196
Summary 198
Key Terms 199
Review Questions 199
Learn by Doing 199
Notes 200
CHAPTER 8 Accountability: Use of Force, Ethics, Corruption, and Discipline 202
Learning Objectives 202
Introduction 203
First Things First:
The Constitution as “Boss”
and Police Legitimacy 204
Police Use of Force,
Generally 205
Legitimate Purposes 205
Legal Restrictions 206
Which Type and How Much?
Use-of-Force Continuums 206
Another “Lesson Learned”:
Responding to Mass
Demonstrations 208
Police Brutality 209
Vehicle Pursuits 210
Police Shootings: Conundrum
and Controversy 210
America’s Angst 211
Wanted: A National
Database 211
Posting Information about Police
Shootings 212
The Early Intervention System:
Identifying Problem
Employees 212
Police Ethics 213
A Scenario 214
Definitions and Types
of Problems 214
CONTENTS x
▼
Police Corruption 216
History: A Long-Standing
“Plague” 216
Types and Causes 217
Code of Silence 218
Investigation
and Prosecution 219
Limitations on Officers’
Constitutional Rights 219
Alcohol and Drug Abuse 223
Brady Material 223
Social Networking: Issues
and Policy Guidance 224
Disciplinary Policies
and Practices 226
Maintenance of Public
Trust 226
Due Process
Requirements 226
Complaints 227
Level of Discipline and Type
of Sanction 229
Civilian Review Boards:
A Blessing or a Curse? 231
Extent and Rationale 231
Police Distrust 231
In Sum . . . 232
Summary 232
Key Terms 233
Review Questions 233
Learn by Doing 233
Notes 234
CHAPTER 9 Civil Liability: Failing the Public Trust 238
Learning Objectives 238
Introduction 239
Incidence, Expense, Benefits,
and Nature of Lawsuits 239
Basic Terms and Concepts 240
Section 1983 Litigation 243
History and Escalation 243
Police Actions Leading to
Section 1983 Liability 244
Criminal Prosecutions for Police
Misconduct 247
Liability of Police
Supervisors 247
Other Areas of Potential
Liability 248
Less-Lethal Tools
and Technologies 248
Duty of Care 249
Failure to Protect 251
Vehicle Pursuits 251
Computer Evidence 252
Qualified Immunity
for Police 254
Summary 255
Key Terms 255
Review Questions 255
Learn by Doing 256
Notes 256
P A R T 4 Agency Organization and Administration 259
CHAPTER 10 Federal and State Agencies: Protecting Our Borders and Freedoms 260
Learning Objectives 260
Introduction 261
Federal Law Enforcement
Agencies with Arrest
and Firearms Authority 261
Department of Homeland
Security 262
Department of Justice 267
Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) 269
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives
(ATF) 273
CONTENTS xi
▼
Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) 274
U.S. Marshals Service
(USMS) 274
Other Federal Agencies 276
Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) 276
Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) 276
Federal Law Enforcement
Training Center (FLETC) 277
State Agencies 278
State Police and Law
Enforcement Agencies:
General Types 278
Other Special-Purpose State
Agencies 279
Why No Single, Consolidated
Police Force? 281
Career Considerations 281
Summary 283
Key Terms 283
Review Questions 283
Learn by Doing 283
Notes 284
CHAPTER 11 Municipal and County Agencies: Organization, Administration, and Roles 286
Learning Objectives 286
Introduction 287
Organizations, Generally 287
What Are Organizations? 287
Organizations as
Bureaucracies: In Principle
and Perception 288
Organizational
Communication 289
Police Agencies
as Organizations 290
Chain of Command 290
Organizational Structure 291
Unity of Command and Span
of Control 292
Organizational Policies
and Procedures 294
Communication Within Police
Organizations 294
Barriers to Effective
Communication 296
Local Agencies 296
Police Departments and Sheriff’s
Offices: A Comparison 296
Executive Officers: Police Chief
and County Sheriff 297
Mintzberg Model of Chief
Executive Officers 301
Interpersonal Role 301
Informational Role 301
Decision-Maker Role 302
Middle Managers: Captains
and Lieutenants 303
First-Line Supervisors 304
Ten Tasks 305
Police and Politics 305
Good Politics,
Bad Politics 305
Police Executive Relations
and Expectations 307
Policing in Small and Rural
Jurisdictions 307
Fewer People, Greater
Needs 307
Unique Duties 308
Criminal Activity 308
Ways to Stretch
Resources 309
Consolidated Policing 310
Civilianization 310
Agency Accreditation 311
Summary 312
Key Terms 312
Review Questions 312
Learn by Doing 313
Notes 313
CONTENTS xii
▼
P A R T 5 Best Practices: Addressing Special Populations, Using Specialized Equipment 317
CHAPTER 12 Policing Criminal Organizations: The Changing War on Drugs, Terrorism, Cybercriminals, and Gangs 318
Learning Objectives 318
Introduction 319
The Changing War
on Drugs 319
Marijuana: Conflicting Federal
and State Laws 319
Other Controlled Drugs 320
What Works: “Pulling
Levers” 324
High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Areas Program 325
The Many Faces
of Terrorism 325
Definitions and Types 325
An International Problem 326
New Worries: Homegrown
Violent Extremists and the Lone
Wolf Terrorist 327
Bioterrorism 327
Police Approaches
and Methods 328
Also in Law Enforcement’s
Toolkit: Legislation, Planning,
and Social Media 330
Cybercriminals 331
Not Only in Film:
Extent of Victimization 331
Types, Tactics,
and Training 333
Identify Theft 335
Nature and Victim/Police
Responses 335
Toward an Effective Response
Strategy 335
Addressing Youth Gangs:
“Pulling Levers” 337
Juvenile Offending Today 337
Gang Overview 337
What Works? 338
Summary 340
Key Terms 340
Review Questions 341
Learn by Doing 341
Notes 342
CHAPTER 13 Policing Special Populations and Problems: Mental Illness, Domestic Violence, Immigrants, and Human Trafficking 346
Learning Objectives 346
Introduction 347
Coping with the Mentally Ill
Population 347
When the Problem Becomes
Lethal 347
Front-End, Back-End
Issues 349
What Can Police Do?
The Success of CIT 349
Domestic Violence 351
Dangers and Approaches 351
Immigration to the Land
of Opportunity 354
The Changing Numbers, Faces
of Undocumented Immigrants
in the United States 354
The Role of Local
Police 356
Human Trafficking 358
“Modern Day Slavery”
for Victims 358
What Works? Collaboration
is Key 359
CONTENTS xiii
▼
The T Visa 359
The Office of Victims
of Crime 360
Additional Efforts:
The Diagnostic Center 360
Gang Involvement 361
Summary 361
Key Terms 361
Review Questions 361
Learn by Doing 362
Notes 362
CHAPTER 14 Information Technologies: Contributions and Caveats 364
Learning Objectives 364
Introduction 365
Which IT Tools to Use?
Consider the Type of Task
Involved 365
IT for Problem-Oriented
Policing: A Conceptual
Framework 366
Rationale for IT 366
A Primer: IT Systems
for Acquiring Crime
Information 367
The Cry Heard ‘Round The
Country: “Wear Body
Cameras!”’ 368
Crime Mapping 370
Real-Time Crime Centers 371
Applying Social Media 372
Lessons from Boston’s Marathon
Bombing 372
A Concern: When Police
Use Facebook 373
Civic Apps
for Crime-Fighting 373
IT for Traffic-Related
Tasks 374
GPS and 3D Tech for Crash
Investigations 374
IT with High-Speed
Pursuits 375
What Must Be Done for New IT
to Improve Policing? 376
Other Caveats: Legal, Moral,
Practical Considerations 377
Selected Technologies
and Policies to Watch for 379
Addressing Texting While
Driving 379
Electronic Control Devices:
Safe—or Not? 380
Rules and Restriction
on Drones 381
You Decide: Police Use
of Drones 382
Facial Recognition:
Progress and Protest 382
Fingerprinting: Expanding
Tech and Databases 384
Uses of Robots 385
3D Apps for Crime-Fighting—
As Well As Following/Recording
Police 386
Summary 387
Key Terms 387
Review Questions 387
Learn by Doing 388
Notes 388
Index 392
xiv
▼
PrefaCe
▶ Purposes and Approaches
Famed educator John Dewey advocated the “learning by doing” approach to education
or problem-based learning. The ninth edition is written, from start to finish, with that
philosophy in mind and is ref lected in the book’s subtitle, Challenges and Best
Practices. And, as with its eight predecessors, this book benefits from the authors’
many years of combined practical and academic experience. Its chapters contain a
real-world, applied f lavor not found in most policing textbooks and ref lect the
changing times in which we live and the tremendous challenges facing federal, state,
and local agents and officers every day. And like its eight preceding editions, this
edition continues to represent our best attempts to allow the reader, to the fullest
extent possible, to vicariously experience carrying a law enforcement badge or
wearing a police uniform by providing a highly practical, comprehensive world view
of the challenging occupation. As shown above in the below “New Topics” section,
included are several beneficial additions in topics as well as changes in its organization
and content.
▶ Special Features and Attributes
The first aspect of the book that will be noted are its several pedagogical attributes. First,
to help make this textbook more reader-friendly, each chapter begins with learning
objectives and an introduction. A summary, list of key terms, review questions, “Learn by
Doing,” and endnotes are found at the end of each chapter. Other instructional aids found
in the chapters include the Career Profiles, Court Close-ups, tables and figures, and
exhibits describing police methods and news items. Finally, a detailed index at the end of
the book makes it easy to find information on specific topics.
A few additional comments are in order concerning the “Learn by Doing” and
“Career Profiles” sections of this edition, which are to further enhance its applied
nature. Coupled with John Dewey’s aforementioned “learning by doing” approach to
education, or problem-based learning, another popular learning method was espoused
by Benjamin Bloom known as “Bloom’s Taxonomy.” Bloom called for “higher-order
thinking skills”—critical and creative thinking that involves analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation. These chapter scenarios and activities place you in hypothetical situations,
shifting attention away from the textbook-centered instruction and moving the empha-
sis to student-centered projects. These activities also allow you to practice skills in
communication and self-management, act as a problem-solver, and learn about/address
current community issues. Hopefully, you will be inspired to become engaged in some
or all of these scenarios and activities.
The “Career Profiles,” appearing in several chapters contain information provided by
current police practitioners and provide the reader with their insights concerning the nature
of their duties, a “typical day,” and some career advice.
PREFACE xv
▼
▶ New Topics in This Ninth Edition
In addition to updated information throughout the book as well as new case studies and
exercises, following are other substantively new materials added to this revised ninth
edition:
Chapter 1: New material concerning the community era of policing
Chapter 2: Muir’s characteristics of a good police officer
Chapter 3: Profile of officers feloniously killed and other occupational hazards;
types of uniforms, generally, and those for female officers.
Chapter 4: Recent events involving police shootings and use of force, and their
effects on police–community relationships; officers as “guardians”
rather than “soldiers”; suggested means of achieving harmony, justice,
and policy development; changing mindset, having transparency,
building trust; calls for police body-worn cameras; problem-solving
case studies.
Chapter 5: Example of a famous cold case recently solved using modern
investigative techniques.
Chapter 6: Continuing discussions of police higher education; unique statutory
powers of private police; attempts to regulate private police; arrival,
traits, and needs of the Millennial generation in policing;
Chapter 7: U.S. Supreme Court and federal district court decisions concerning
“mistake of law,” police searching contents of cellphones (including
incidental to lawful arrest), stop and frisk vis-à-vis racial profiling; duty
to retreat laws.
Chapter 8: The Constitution as “boss”; police legitimacy; responding to mass
demonstrations; America’s angst toward police shootings, and the need for
a national database concerning same; posting shooting facts and
disciplinary outcomes on the internet; early intervention system for
identifying problem employees; civilian review boards (blessing or curse?).
Chapter 9: Soaring costs of lawsuits and wrongful death claims; use of U.S. Code
Section 242; injuries due to police pursuits.
Chapter 10: Selected federal law enforcement agencies’ priorities, expenditures,
employment, arrests; pros and cons of having a single consolidated,
national law enforcement agency (as in many foreign venues); career
considerations.
Chapter 11: New material concerning the composition of municipal police and
county sheriff’s departments
Chapter 12: The changing war on drugs; conflicting federal/state marijuana laws and
marijuana legislation in foreign venues; status of other controlled drugs;
what “works” with policing drug abuse; international terrorism and
changes in recruitment; the rise of “lone wolf ” terrorists and the Islamic
State; how a U.S. citizen becomes radicalized; federal, state, and local
strategies for addressing terrorism; methods and case studies of
cybercriminals, and federal, state, local, and INTERPOL efforts for
PREFACE xvi
▼
policing them; identity theft (same general topics as with cybercriminals);
“pulling levers” with, and problem-solving responses to gangs;
Homeboy Industries.
Chapter 13: Growing problems and issues involving, and policing methods with the
mentally ill population; problems, approaches, legal aspects of domestic
violence; contemporary immigration issues, including political
conundrums, legislation, and sanctuary cities; human, legal and societal
aspects of human trafficking, and law enforcement and gang involvement.
Chapter 14: Determining which types of IT tool to use; IT for police problem-
solving; the national demand for, problems and issues with body-worn
cameras; real-time crime centers; contemporary uses of, problems with
social media; civic apps for crime-fighting; IT for traffic crash
investigations and high-speed chases; how new IT can improve
policing; legal, moral, practical issues surrounding uses of new
technologies; arguments for and against license plate readers; selected
technologies and policies that are on the horizon for: texting while
driving, electronic control devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones),
facial recognition, homeland security efforts, solving cold cases, apps
for tracking police, the Internet of Things.
▶ Chapter Organization and Contents
The book’s fourteen chapters are divided into five parts; following is a description of the
organization and contents of those parts and chapters that compose this ninth edition, as
well as its supplemental attributes.
In Part 1, the foci are on the foundations—that is, evolution and development—of
policing. Chapter 1 traces policing in history, from its English origins through its migra-
tion to the United States; included are discussions of its striving for acceptance both here
and abroad as well as its struggles (e.g., political influence, reform, and the civil rights
movement in the United States) and transformations during this historical period. Chapter 2
charts the “making” of a police officer and begins by examining how common citizens are
prepared for doing the work of policing: recruitment (to include the testing process used to
discern whether one possesses the physical and psychological attributes that are sought),
training (both during and after the recruit academy), and the different styles and roles of
policing. Next, having hired and formed citizens into police officers, Chapter 3 takes the
officers to the street, looking at the very fundamental (and at times hazardous) function of
patrolling and its purposes and nature; the variations in patrol work by shift, beat, and
assignment; officers’ use of discretion; and the traditional traffic function.
Part 2 considers contemporary policing practices and challenges and begins with a
discussion of community policing, community-oriented policing, and problem solving
(Chapter 4), and includes this strategy’s principles, strategies, and various applications, as
well as Smart Policing, intelligence-led policing, and predictive policing. Next, Chapter 5
focuses on criminal investigation, including some discussion of how this field evolved, the
roles of detectives, working undercover, DNA and other forms of analysis and technolo-
gies, uses of behavioral science, and recent developments in the field. This part’s conclud-
ing chapter, Chapter 6, examines selected personnel issues: stress, labor relations, higher
education, and the private police.
Next, in the three chapters composing Part 3, we combine several means by which
police authority is constrained. More specifically, Chapter 7 looks at the rule of law: court
decisions and constitutional enactments that direct and constrain police actions; the focus
PREFACE xvii
▼
here is on the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, particularly the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth
Amendments. Chapter 8 considers police accountability from several perspectives, includ-
ing the issue of police ethics, use of force, corruption, and discipline (particularly in light
of recent deterioration in police–minority relations and unlawful use of deadly force).
Potential civil liability of the police is the focus of Chapter 9, to include various areas in
which officers may be liable, and the means by which citizens may seek legal redress
when they believe their civil rights have been violated.
Part 4 has as its underlying theme the fact that federal and state law enforcement as
well as local (municipal and county) policing in the United States doesn’t “just happen”
or occur in random, unplanned fashion. Such organizations are in fact organized and
administered by virtue of their sovereignty, jurisdiction, and type of assignment so as to
be more effective and efficient. Chapter 10 examines the organization and administra-
tion of U.S. federal and state law enforcement agencies, and Chapter 11 continues this
type of discussion, examining the organization and administration of local (i.e., munici-
pal police and county sheriff) agencies; included are profiles of both and comparisons
with each other. Also discussed are definitions of organizations; organizational commu-
nication; functions of police executive officers, middle managers, and supervisors;
influence of politics; media relations; contract and consolidated policing; and agency
accreditation.
Part 5, like the three previous ones, is intended to have a grouping effect in terms of
common attributes, with the emphasis here being on the problems caused by special
populations of criminals, the challenges they pose for the police, and some of the methods
and tools being used to deal with those problems. Chapter 12 examines several criminal
organizations that plague our society, including drug traffickers, terrorists, cybercriminals,
and gang members. Methods, relevant legislation, and other tools for coping with these
crime collectives is included. Chapter 13 largely moves away from this “collective”
grouping of offenders as discussed in Chapter 12 and looks instead at selected individual
offenders as well as other “people problems.” Included in this chapter are the problems
posed by the mentally ill population, domestic violence, crimes involving illegal
immigrants, and human trafficking; emphases here, as in the previous chapter, are on the
best practices, relevant legislation, and other tools that are available to the police for
coping with these crimes. Finally, Chapter 14 examines a wide array of exciting police
technologies that exist today or are on the horizon for detecting crime, analyzing evidence,
and doing everyday work.
From its beginning through the final chapter, this book provides a penetrating view of
policing in America, demonstrating that this occupation inherently continues to be one of
the most challenging and difficult occupations our society has ever witnessed.
▶ Instructor Supplements
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PREFACE xviii
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PREFACE xix
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xx
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aCknoWLeDGMents
The authors would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to those reviewers named below who
are responsible for the improvements and overall product found within this book’s covers.
Textbook authors—not unlike artists at their easels—constantly strive to upgrade the qual-
ity of our “pallet,” so as to deliver a better product to our “gallery.” Reviewers are the
unheralded heroes in this regard, examining each chapter so as to provide the author(s)
with comprehensive, thoughtful, and cogent reviews. Their incisive and insightful work
with each chapter far exceeds what we could accomplish alone, and the final product is
immeasurably improved because of those efforts. Again, many thanks to the following:
Melchor deGuzman, The College at Brockport, SUNY
Michael Freeman, Brookhaven College/Dallas County Community College
Cherly Furdge, North Central Texas College
Pearl Jacobs, Sacred Heart University
Brandon Kooi, Aurora University
Mary Pyle, Tyler Junior College
Finally, this edition, like its eight predecessors, is the result of the professional assis-
tance and forbearance of several people at Pearson Education. Specifically, we wish to
acknowledge the yeoman’s efforts of Gary Bauer, our Portfolio Manager. And the produc-
tion team of Lynda Cramer, Editorial Assistant at Pearson and Mickey Mankus and Sudip
Sinha, Project Managers at iEnergizer Aptara, Inc.
xxi
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aBout the authors
Kenneth J. Peak is emeritus professor and former chairman of
the Department of Criminal Justice, University of Nevada,
Reno, where he was named “Teacher of the Year” by the
university’s Honor Society. Following four years as a municipal
police officer in Kansas, he subsequently held positions as a
nine-county criminal justice planner for southeast Kansas;
director of a four-state technical assistance institute for the
Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (based at
W ashburn University in Topeka); director of university police
at Pittsburg State University (Kansas); acting director of public
safety, University of Nevada, Reno; and assistant professor of
criminal justice at Wichita State University. He has authored or
coauthored 32 textbooks (relating to introduction to criminal
justice, general policing, community policing, criminal justice administration, police
supervision and management, and women in law enforcement), two historical books (on
Kansas temperance and bootlegging), and more than 60 journal articles and invited book
chapters. He is past chairman of the Police Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice
Sciences and president of the Western and Pacific Association of Criminal Justice E ducators.
He received two gubernatorial appointments to statewide criminal justice committees while
residing in Kansas and holds a doctorate from the University of Kansas.
William H. Sousa is the Director of the Center for Crime and
Justice Policy and an Associate Professor in the Department of
Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Sousa
received his B.A. from Stonehill College (Easton, MA), his
M.S. from Northeastern University (Boston, MA), and his
Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University (Newark,
NJ). His past research projects include evaluations of policing
programs and technologies. The focus of his writing is on
crime and disorder reduction policies implemented by police
agencies, including the New York City Police Department and
the Los Angeles Police Department. Sousa’s current projects
involve police order-maintenance practices, police manage-
ment, and community crime prevention in Las Vegas neighbor-
hoods. His recent publications appear in Police Quarterly, The
Journal of Experimental Criminology, and Police Practice and Research.
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1
▼
In Part 1, the foci are on the foundations—that is, evolution and development—of polic-
ing. Chapter 1 traces policing in history, from its English origins through its migration to
the United States; included are discussions of its striving for acceptance both here and
abroad as well as its struggles (e.g., political influence, reform, and the civil rights move-
ment in the United States) and transformations during this historical period. Chapter 2
charts the “making” of a police officer and begins by examining how common citizens are
prepared for doing the work of policing: recruitment (to include the testing process used to
discern whether one possesses the physical and psychological attributes that are sought),
training (both during and after the recruit academy), and the different styles and roles of
policing. Next, having hired and formed citizens into police officers, Chapter 3 takes the
officers to the street, looking at the very fundamental (and at times, hazardous) function of
patrolling and its purposes and nature; the variations in patrol work by shift, beat, and
assignment; officers’ use of discretion; and the traditional traffic function.
1 History: From English Origins to the United States
2 Preparing for the Street: Recruitment, Training, and Socialization
3 On Patrol: Methods and Menaces
Part 1
Foundations: Development of American Policing and Police Officers
1 History From English Origins to the United States
Learning Objectives
As a result of reading this chapter, the student will be able to:
❶ Explain the four major police-related offices and their functions during the early English and colonial periods
❷ Explain the old English and colonial systems of policing and their legacies
❸ Describe changes in policing in the nineteenth century in England and the United States
❹ Describe the political era of policing and list its major characteristics
▲ Landing immigrants at Castle Garden, New York City. Engraving from Harper’s
Monthly Magazine, June 1884. (Courtesy Stocksnapper/Shutterstock.)
2
▼
CHAPTER 1 History 3
▼
❺ Describe the reform era of policing and list its major characteristics
❻ Describe the community era of policing and list its major characteristics
▶ English and Colonial Officers of the Law
All four of the primary criminal justice officials of early England—the sheriff, constable,
coroner, and justice of the peace—either still exist or existed until recently in the United
States. Accordingly, it is important to have a basic understanding of these offices. The fol-
lowing section therefore discusses each of these positions, first as they functioned in
England and then as they appeared in the American colonies.
Sheriff
The word sheriff is derived from the term shire reeve—shire meaning “county” and reeve
meaning “agent of the king.” The shire reeve appeared in England before the Norman con-
quest of 1066. His job was to maintain law and order in the tithings. (Tithings will be dis-
cussed further in the next section.) The office survived in England, although the sheriff was
never a popular officer in England, and since the nineteenth century the sheriff has had no
police powers. When the office began, the sheriff assisted the king in fiscal, military, and
judicial affairs and was referred to as the “king’s steward.” As men could buy their appoint-
ment from the Crown, the office was often held by nonresidents of the county who seemed
Introduction
To understand contemporary policing in America, it is necessary to understand its antecedents; we will
gain a better understanding of this history by looking at its three eras. The police, it has been said, are
“to a great extent, the prisoners of the past. Day-to-day practices are influenced by deeply ingrained
traditions.”1 Another reason for analyzing historical developments and trends is that several discrete
legacies have been transmitted to modern police agencies. In view of the significant historical impact
on modern policing, it is necessary to turn back the clock to about A.D. 900.
Therefore, we begin with a brief history of the evolution of four primary criminal justice officers—sheriff,
constable, coroner, and justice of the peace—from early England to the twentieth century in America.
We then examine policing from its early beginnings in England to the American colonial period, when
volunteers watched over their “human flock.” The concepts of patrol, crime prevention, authority, profes-
sionalism, and discretion can be traced to the colonial period. We move on to the adoption of full-time
policing in American cities (beginning with the Southern slave patrols and then what is termed the
political era, with its predominant issues, political influences, and other problems) and on the Western
frontier. Then we consider the reform (or professional) era, the movement to professionalize the police by
removing them from politics (and, at the same time, the citizenry) and casting them as crime fighters;
included here is a look at the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s, which often saw the police pitted against
minority groups who were seeking equal rights. Next, we discuss the movement away from the profes-
sional model into the community era, centering on the influence of the President’s Crime Commission;
this portion of the chapter also briefly considers community-oriented policing and problem solving
( discussed thoroughly in Chapter 4), including its three eras. Included at the chapter’s end are a sum-
mary, key terms, review questions, and several scenarios and activities that provide opportunities for
you to learn by doing.
CHAPTER 1 History 4
▼
intent only upon fattening their purses and abusing the public. In addition, English sheriffs
were often charged with being lazy in the pursuit of criminals. Indeed, by the late thir-
teenth century, sheriffs were forbidden to act as justices. The position of coroner was cre-
ated to act as a monitor over the sheriff. Thereafter, the status and responsibility of the
position began to diminish. In response, just before his death, King Edward I granted to the
counties the right to select their sheriffs. With the subsequent appearance of the justice of
the peace, the sheriff’s office declined in power even further. At the present time in
England, a sheriff’s only duties are to act as officer of the court, summon juries, and enforce
civil judgments.2
The first sheriffs in America appeared in the early colonial period, where control over
sheriffs has rested with the county electorate since 1886. Today, the American sheriff
remains the basic source of rural crime control. When the office appeared in the American
colonies, it was little changed from the English model. However, the power of appoint-
ment was originally vested in the governor, and the sheriff’s duties included apprehending
criminals, caring for prisoners, executing civil process, conducting elections, and collect-
ing taxes.3
▲ Constables (also known as leatherheads because of their
leather helmets) existed in every parish and township in
England in the early 1800s, patrolling from scattered sentry
boxes; they later existed in the early American colonies.
(Courtesy International Association of Chiefs of Police.)
CHAPTER 1 History 5
▼
In the late nineteenth century, the sheriff became a popular figure in the legendary Wild
West (discussed later in this chapter). The frontier sheriffs often used the concept of posse
comitatus, an important part of the criminal justice machine that allowed the sheriff to
deputize common citizens to assist in the capture of outlaws, among other tasks. Overall,
by the turn of the twentieth century the powers and duties of the sheriff in America had
changed very little in status or function. In fact, the office has not changed much today.
Constable
Like the sheriff, the constable can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon times. The office began
during the reign of Edward I, when every parish or township had a constable. As the county
militia turned more and more to matters of defense, the constable alone pursued felons—
hence the ancient custom of citizens raising a loud “hue and cry” and joining in pursuit of
criminals lapsed into disuse. During the Middle Ages, there was as yet no high degree of
specialization. The constable had a variety of duties, including collecting taxes, supervis-
ing highways, and serving as magistrate. The office soon became subject to election and
was conferred upon local men of prominence. However, the creation of the office of justice
of the peace around 1200 quickly changed this trend forever; soon the constable was lim-
ited to making arrests only with warrants issued by a justice of the peace. As a result, the
office, deprived of social and civic prestige, was no longer attractive. It carried no salary,
and the duties were often dangerous. In addition, there was heavy attrition in the office, so
the constable’s term was limited to one year in an attempt to attract officeholders; in 1856
Parliament completely discarded the office.4
The office of constable experienced a similar process of disintegration in the colonies.
However, the American constables, usually two in each town, were given control over the
night watch. By the 1930s, constitutions in twenty-one states provided for the office of
constable, but constables still received no pay, and like their British colleagues they
enjoyed little prestige or popularity after the early 1900s. The position fell into disfavor
largely because most constables were untrained and were believed to be wholly inadequate
as officials of the law.5
Coroner
The office of coroner is more difficult to describe. It has been used to fulfill many different
roles throughout its history and has steadily changed over the centuries. There is no agree-
ment concerning the date when the coroner first appeared in England, but there is general
consensus that the office was functioning by the end of the twelfth century.
From the beginning, the coroner was elected; his duties included oversight of the inter-
ests of the Crown, not only in criminal matters but in fiscal matters as well. In felony cases,
the coroner could conduct a preliminary hearing, and the sheriff often came to the coro-
ner’s court to preside over the coroner’s jury. The coroner’s inquest provided another
means of power and prestige, determining the cause of death and the party responsible for
it. Initially, coroners were elected for life. Soon becoming unhappy with the absence of
compensation, however, eventually they were given the right to charge fees for their work.6
As was true of sheriffs and constables, at first the office of the coroner in America was
only slightly different than what it had been in England. The office was slow in gaining
recognition in America, as many of the coroners’ duties were already being performed by
the sheriffs and justices of the peace. By 1933, the coroner was recognized as a separate
office in two-thirds of the states. Tenure was generally limited to two years. By then, how-
ever, the office had been stripped of many of its original functions, especially its fiscal
roles. In many states, the coroner legally served as sheriff when the elected sheriff was
disabled or disqualified. However, since the early part of the twentieth century, the coroner
CHAPTER 1 History 6
▼
in the 2,000 coroners’ offices in the United States has basically performed a single func-
tion: determining the causes of all deaths by violence or under suspicious circumstances.
The coroner or his or her assistant is expected to determine the causes and effects of
wounds, lesions, contusions, fractures, poisons, and more. The coroner’s inquest resem-
bles a grand jury at which the coroner serves as a kind of presiding magistrate. If the
inquest determines that the deceased came to his or her death through criminal means, the
coroner may issue a warrant for the arrest of the accused party.7
The primary debate regarding the office of coroner has centered on the qualifications
needed to hold the office. Many states have traditionally allowed laypeople, as opposed to
physicians, to be coroners. Thus, people of all backgrounds—ranging from butchers to
musicians—have occupied this powerful office.8
Justice of the Peace
The justice of the peace (JP) can be traced back as far as 1195 in England. By 1264 the
custos pacis, or conservator of the peace, nominated by the king for each county, presided
over criminal trials. Early JPs were wealthy landholders. They allowed constables to make
arrests by issuing them warrants. Over time, this practice removed power from constables
and sheriffs. By the sixteenth century, the office came under criticism because of the cali-
ber of the people holding it. Officeholders were often referred to as “boobies” and “scum
of the earth.”9 The only qualification necessary was being a wealthy landowner who was
able to buy his way into office.
By the early twentieth century, England had abolished the property-holding require-
ment, and many of the medieval functions of the JP’s office were removed. Thereafter, the
office possessed extensive but strictly criminal jurisdiction, with no jurisdiction what-
soever in civil cases. This contrasts with the American system, which gives JPs limited
jurisdiction in both criminal and civil cases.
The JP’s office in the colonies was a distinct change from the position as it existed in
England. JPs were elected to office and given jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases.
By 1930, the office had constitutional status in all of the states. JPs have long been allowed
to collect fees for their services. As in England, it is typically not necessary to hold a law
degree or to have pursued legal studies in order to be a JP in the United States.10
▲ Justice of the Peace Roy Bean, Langtry, Texas, about 1900. (Courtesy Library of Congress.)
CHAPTER 1 History 7
▼
Perhaps the most colorful JP was Roy Bean, popularized in film as the sole peace offi-
cer in a 35,000-square-mile area west of the Pecos River, near Langtry, Texas. Bean was
known to hold court in his shack, where signs hung on the front porch proclaimed, “Justice
Roy Bean, Notary Public,” “Law West of the Pecos,” and “Beer Saloon.” Cold beer and
the law undoubtedly shared many quarters on the Western frontier.
JPs are today what they perhaps were intended to be—lay and inexpert upholders of
the law. On the whole, the office has declined from high prestige to relative obscurity. As
one observer noted, this loss of prestige can never be recovered.11
▶ The Old English and Colonial Systems of Policing
Old English Traditions
Like much of the American criminal justice system, modern American policing can be
traced directly to its English heritage. Ideas concerning community policing, crime pre-
vention, the posse, constables, and sheriffs were developed from English policing.
Beginning about a.d. 900, the role of law enforcement was placed in the hands of common
citizens. Each citizen was responsible for aiding neighbors who might be victimized by
outlaws.12 No formal mechanism existed with which to police the villages, and the infor-
mal voluntary model that developed was referred to as “kin police.”13 Slowly this model
developed into a more formalized community-based system.
After the Norman conquest of 1066, a community-based system called “frankpledge”
was established. This system required that every male above the age of twelve form a
group with nine of his neighbors. This group, called a tithing, was sworn to help protect
fellow citizens and to apprehend and deliver to justice any of its members who committed
a crime. Tithingmen were not paid salaries for their work, and they were required to per-
form certain duties under penalty of law.14 Ten tithings were grouped into a hundred,
directed by a constable who was appointed by a nobleman. The constable was the first
police official with law enforcement responsibility greater than simply protecting his
neighbors. As the tithings were grouped into hundreds, the hundreds were grouped into
shires, which are similar to today’s counties.
By the late sixteenth century, however, wealthier merchants and farmers became reluc-
tant to take their turn in the rotating job of constable. The office was still unpaid, and the
duties were numerous. Wealthier men paid the less fortunate to serve in their place until
there came a point at which no one but the otherwise unemployable would serve as con-
stable. Thus, from about 1689 on, the demise of the once-powerful office was swift. All
who could afford to pay their way out of service as constable to King George I did so.15
Meanwhile, the JP was rewarded in proportion to the number of people he convicted,
so extortion was rampant. Ingenious criminals were able to exploit this state of affairs to
great advantage. One such criminal was Jonathan Wild, who, in the early 1700s obtained
single-handed control over most of London’s criminals. Wild’s system was simple:
After ordering his men to commit a burglary, he would meet the victim and courteously
offer to return the stolen goods for a commission. That he could have operated such a
business for so long is a testimony to the corrupt nature of the magistrates of the “trading
justice” period.16
This early English system, in large measure voluntary and informal, continued with
some success well into the eighteenth century. By 1800, however, the collapse of its two
primary offices and the growth of large cities, crime, and civil disobedience required that
the system be changed. The British Parliament was soon forced to consider and adopt a
more dependable system.
CHAPTER 1 History 8
▼
Policing in Colonial America
The first colonists transplanted the English policing system, with all of its virtues and
faults, to seventeenth- and eighteenth-century America. Most of the time, the colonies
were free of crime as the settlers busied themselves carving out a farm and a living.
Occasionally, colonists ran afoul of the law by violating or neglecting some moral obliga-
tion. They then found themselves in court for working on the Sabbath, cursing in public,
failing to pen animals properly, or begetting children out of wedlock. Only two “crime
waves” of note occurred during the seventeenth century, both in Massachusetts. In one
case, between 1656 and 1665, Quakers who dared challenge the religion of the Puritan
colony were whipped, banished, and, in three instances, hanged. The second “crime wave”
involved witchcraft. Several alleged witches were hanged in 1692 in Salem; dozens more
languished in prison before the hysteria abated.17
Once colonists settled into villages, including Boston (1630), Charleston (1680), and
Philadelphia (1682), local ordinances provided for the appointment of constables, whose
duties were much like those of their English predecessors. County governments, again
drawing on English precedent, appointed sheriffs as well. The county sheriff, appointed by
a governor, became the most important law enforcement official, particularly when the
colonies were small and rural. The sheriff apprehended criminals, served subpoenas,
appeared in court, and collected taxes. The sheriff was also paid a fixed amount for each
task performed; the more taxes he collected, for example, the higher his pay.18
Criminal acts were so infrequent as to be largely ignored. Service as a constable or
watchman was obligatory, and for a few years citizens did not seem to mind this duty. But as
towns grew and the task of enforcing the laws became more difficult and time consuming,
the colonists, like their English counterparts, began to evade the duty when possible. The
“watch-and-ward” responsibility of citizens became more of a comical “snooze-and-snore”
system. New Amsterdam’s Dutch officials introduced a paid watch in 1658, and Boston tried
the concept in 1663, but the expense quickly forced both cities to discontinue the practice.19
Unfortunately for these eighteenth-century colonists, their refusal to provide a depend-
able voluntary policing system came at a time when economic, population, and crime
growth required a reliable police force. The citizen-participation model of policing was
breaking down, and something had to be done, especially in the larger colonies. Philadelphia
devised a plan, enacted into law, restructuring the way the watch was performed. The law
empowered officials, called wardens, to hire as many watchmen as needed; the powers of
the watch were increased; and the legislature levied a tax to pay for it. Instead of requiring
all males to participate, only male citizens interested in making money needed to join the
watch. Philadelphia’s plan was moderately successful, and other cities were soon inspired
to follow its example and offer tax-supported wages for watches.20
From the middle to the late eighteenth century, massive social and political unrest
caused police problems to increase even more. From 1754 to 1763, the French and Indian
War disrupted colonial society. In 1783, after the American Revolution had ended, prop-
erty and street crime continued to flourish, and the constabulary and the watches were
unable to cope with it. Soon it became evident that, like the English, the American people
needed a more dependable, formal system of policing.
Legacies of the Colonial Period
As uncomplicated and sedate as colonial law enforcement seems, especially when com-
pared to contemporary police problems, the colonial period is very important to the
history of policing because many of the basic ideas that influence modern policing were
developed during that era. Specifically, the colonial period transmitted three legacies to
contemporary policing.21
CHAPTER 1 History 9
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First, as just discussed, the colonists committed themselves to local (as opposed to
centralized) policing. Second, the colonists reinforced that commitment by creating a the-
ory of government called republicanism. Republicanism asserted that power can be divided,
and it relied on local interests to promote the general welfare. Police chiefs and sheriffs
might believe that they alone know how to address crime and disorder, but under republi-
canism, neighborhood groups and local interest blocs have input with respect to crime-
control policy. Republicanism thus established the controversial political framework
within which the police would develop during the next two hundred years.22
Finally, the colonial period witnessed the onset of the theory of crime prevention. This
legacy would alter the shape of policing after 1800 and would eventually lead to the emer-
gence of modern police agencies.
The population of England had doubled between 1700 and 1800. Parliament, however,
had done nothing to solve the problems that arose from social change. Each municipality
or county, therefore, was left to solve its problems in piecemeal fashion. After 1750, prac-
tically every English city increased the number of watchmen and constables, hoping to
address the problem of crime and disorder but not giving any thought to whether this
ancient system of policing still worked. However, the cities did adopt paid, rather than
voluntary, watches.23
London probably suffered the most from this general inattention to social problems;
awash in crime, whole districts had become criminal haunts that no watchmen visited
and no honest citizens frequented. Thieves became very bold, robbing their victims in
broad daylight on busy streets. In the face of this situation, English officials still contin-
ued to prefer the existing policing arrangements over any new ideas. However, three
men—Henry Fielding, his half brother John Fielding, and Patrick Colquhoun—began to
experiment with possible solutions and laid the foundation on which later reformers
would build new ideas.
Henry Fielding’s acute interest in, and knowledge of, policing led to his 1748 appoint-
ment as chief magistrate of Bow Street in London. He soon became one of England’s most
acclaimed theorists in the area of crime and punishment. Fielding’s primary argument was
▲ Henry Fielding. (Courtesy Library of Congress.)
CHAPTER 1 History 10
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that the severity of the English penal code, which provided for the death penalty for a large
number of offenses, including the theft of a handkerchief, did not work in controlling crim-
inals. He believed the country should reform the criminal code to deal more with the ori-
gins of crime. In 1750, Fielding made the pursuit of criminals more systematic by creating
a small group of “thief takers.” Victims of crime paid handsome rewards for the capture of
their assailants, so these volunteers stood to profit nicely by pursuing criminals.24
When Henry Fielding died in 1754, John Fielding succeeded him as Bow Street mag-
istrate. By 1785, his thief takers had evolved into the Bow Street Runners—some of the
most famous policemen in English history. While the Fieldings were considering how to
create a police force that could deal with changing English society, horrible punishments
and incompetent policing continued throughout England.
Patrick Colquhoun was a wealthy man who was sincerely interested in improving
social conditions in England. In 1792, Colquhoun was appointed London magistrate, and
for the next quarter of a century he focused on police reform. Like the Fieldings, he wrote
lengthy treatises on the police, and he soon established himself as an authority on police
reform. Colquhoun believed that government could, and should, regulate people’s behav-
ior. This notion contradicted tradition and even constitutional ideals, undermining the old
principle that the residents of local communities, through voluntary watchmen and con-
stables, should police the conduct of their neighbors. Colquhoun also endorsed three
ideas originally set forth by the Fieldings: (1) the police should have an intelligence ser-
vice for gathering information about offenders; (2) a register of known criminals and
unlawful groups should be maintained; and (3) a police gazette should be published to
assist in the apprehension of criminals and to promote the moral education of the public
by publicizing punishments such as whipping, the pillory, and public execution. To
justify these reforms, Colquhoun estimated that London in 1800 had 10,000 thieves, pros-
titutes, and other criminals who stole goods valued at more than a half million pounds
from the riverside docks alone.25
Colquhoun also believed that policing should maintain the public order, prevent and
detect crime, and correct bad manners and morals. He did not agree with the centuries-old
notion that watchmen—who, after all, were amateurs—could adequately police the com-
munities. Thus, Colquhoun favored a system of paid professional police officers who
would be recruited and maintained by a centralized governmental authority. Colquhoun
believed that potential criminals could be identified before they did their unlawful deeds.26
Thus began the notion of proactive policing—that is, preventing the crime before it occurs.
Colquhoun died before his proposals were adopted, and as the eighteenth century ended,
the structure of policing in England and America was largely unchanged. However, both
nations had experienced the inadequacies of the older form of policing. Although new
ideas had emerged, loyalties to the old system of policing would remain for some time.
▶ Police Reform in England
Two powerful trends in England (and later in the United States) brought about changes in
policing in the early and mid-nineteenth century. The first was urbanization, and the sec-
ond was industrialization. These developments generally increased the standard of living
for western Europeans. Suddenly, factories needed sober, dependable people who could be
trusted with machines. To create a reliable workforce, factory owners began advocating
temperance. Clearly, a new age, a new way of thinking, had begun. Crime also increased
during this period. Thus, social change, crime, and unrest made the old system of policing
obsolete. A new policing system was needed, one that could deal effectively with crimi-
nals, maintain order, and prevent crime.27
England began witnessing food riots (due to food scarcity and high prices) and
increases in crime. The British army, traditionally used to disperse rioters, was becoming
CHAPTER 1 History 11
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less effective as people began resisting its commands. In 1822, England’s ruling party, the
Tories, moved to consider new alternatives. The prime minister appointed Sir Robert Peel
to establish a police force to combat the problems. Peel, a wealthy member of Parliament
who was familiar with the reforms suggested by the Fieldings and Colquhoun, found that
many English people objected to the idea of a professional police force, thinking it a pos-
sible restraint on their liberty. They also feared a stronger police organization because the
criminal law was already quite harsh, as it had been for many years. By the early nine-
teenth century, there were 223 crimes in England for which a person could be hanged.
Because of these two obstacles, Peel’s efforts to gain support for full-time, paid police
officers failed for seven years.28
Peel finally succeeded in 1829. He had established a base of support in Parliament and
had focused on reforming only the metropolitan police of London rather than trying to cre-
ate policing for the entire country. Peel submitted a bill to Parliament. This bill, which was
very vague about details, was called “An Act for Improving the Police in and Near the
Metropolis.” Parliament passed the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829. The General
Instructions of the new force stressed its preventive nature, specifying that “the principal
object to be attained is ‘the prevention of crime.’ The security of person and property
will thus be better effected, than by the detection and punishment of the offender after he
has succeeded in committing the crime.”29 The act called on the home secretary to appoint
two police commissioners to command the new organization. These two men were to recruit
“a sufficient number of fit and able men” as constables.30 Peel chose a former military colo-
nel, Charles Rowan, as one commissioner, and a barrister (attorney), Richard Mayne, as
the other. They divided London into seventeen divisions, using crime data as the primary
▲ Sir Robert Peel. (Courtesy Library of Congress.)
CHAPTER 1 History 12
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basis for creating the boundaries. Each division had a commander called a superintendent;
each superintendent had a force of 4 inspectors, 16 sergeants, and 165 constables. Thus,
London’s Metropolitan Police immediately consisted of nearly 3,000 officers. The commis-
sioners decided to put their constables in a uniform (a blue coat, blue pants, and a black top
hat) and to arm them with a short baton (known as a “truncheon”) and a rattle for raising an
alarm. Each constable was to wear his own identifying number on his collar, where it could
be easily seen.31
Interestingly, the London police (nicknamed “bobbies” after Sir Robert Peel) quickly
met with tremendous public hostility. Wealthy people resented their very existence and
became particularly incensed at their attempts to control the movements of their horse-
drawn coaches. Several aristocrats ordered their coachmen to whip the officers or simply
drive over them. Juries and judges refused to punish those who assaulted the police.
Defendants acquitted by a hostile judge would often sue the officer for false arrest.
Policing London’s streets in the early 1830s proved to be a very dangerous and lonely
business. The two commissioners, Rowan and Mayne, fearing that public hostility might
kill off the police force, moved to counter it. The bobbies were continually told to be
▲ A “Peeler,” c. 1829. “Peeler,” “Robert,” and “Bobby”
were all early names for a police officer, the latter remaining
as a nickname today. (Courtesy IACP National Law Enforcement Policy
Center.)
CHAPTER 1 History 13
▼
respectful yet firm when dealing with the public. Citizens were invited to lodge com-
plaints if their officers were truly unprofessional. This policy of creating public support
gradually worked; as the police became more moderate in their conduct, public hostility
also declined.32
Peel, too, proved to be very farsighted and keenly aware of the needs of both a profes-
sional police force and the public that would be asked to maintain it. Indeed, Peel saw that
the poor quality of policing contributed to social disorder. Accordingly, he drafted several
guidelines for the force, many of which focused on community relations. He wrote that the
power of the police to fulfill their duties depended on public approval of their actions; that
as public cooperation increased, the need for physical force by the police would decrease;
that officers needed to display absolutely impartial service to law; and that force should be
employed by the police only when attempts at persuasion and warning had failed, and then
they should use only the minimal degree of force possible. Peel’s remark that “the police
are the public, and the public are the police” emphasized his belief that the police are first
and foremost members of the larger society.33
During this initial five-year period, Peel endured the largest police turnover rate in his-
tory. Estimates vary widely, but the following is thought to be fairly accurate: 1,341 con-
stables resigned from London’s Metropolitan Police from 1829 to 1834; that’s roughly
half of the constables on the force. The pay of three shillings a day was meager, and prob-
ably few of the officers ever considered the position as a career.34
Peel proved very prescient, giving his early police practitioners a number of princi-
ples of policing that even today prove relevant to the policing community. As examples,
Peel argued early on that the police should be organized along military lines and under
governmental control—certainly two facets of modern policing that are prevalent. He
also believed that the distribution of crime news is absolutely essential, and that police
should not be deployed in willy-nilly fashion, but rather based on activities and calls for
service as dictated by time and area. Peel recognized as well that police officers must be
able to control their temper, present a good appearance, be properly hired and trained
(and sent out on the streets only after satisfactorily completing a probationary period),
and be identifiable with a badge number. He believed that the public should have easy
access to police headquarters—which must be centrally located and contain excellent
records. His principles also expressed the belief that crime prevention was as important
as crime suppression, and that public approval of police actions is paramount. Indeed, he
argued that the very authority given to the police is dependent on the public’s approval
of their existence, actions, and behavior. Furthermore, Peel included a principle that,
again in a very foresighted manner, stands at the heart of today’s community policing
and problem-solving era: The police must always recognize that they require the willing
cooperation of the public if there is to be public observance of laws. This principle
stands today as one of the hallmarks of Peel’s viewpoints, underscoring his aforemen-
tioned, classical statement that “the police are the public, and the public are the police.”
And, in keeping with that directive, Peel noted that the need for the police to exercise
force will decrease, as public cooperation increases. Indeed, Peel appeared to be quite
apprehensive concerning the use of force by police, arguing that such force should be
employed only as a last resort—when the officer’s powers of persuasion, warning, and
so on failed to secure public compliance. Moreover, Peel maintained that the police
should be impartial in their enforcement of the laws, without regard to one’s wealth or
public standing.35
Note that Peel’s emphasis is on the prevention of crime. Peel felt that all efforts of
the police were to be directed toward that end, and all other work of the police flowed
from attempting to prevent crimes from occurring: the security of person and prop-
erty, the preservation of the public tranquility, and ultimately the arrest, conviction,
and punishment of those who in fact commit crimes. By the same token, Peel is
CHAPTER 1 History 14
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implying that when many offenses are committed in a given area, police leaders and
planners must recognize that their efforts are lacking in that locus and must govern
their actions accordingly.
Also note that Peel’s principles of 1829 relate very closely to the tenets of commu-
nity policing—the current era of policing. Peel observed that the police are situated
to proactively curb criminal activity and to provide order in the community, are no dif-
ferent from the people they are to serve, and should be visible in the community and
interact with its citizens.
If Peel could speak today, however, he would likely indicate great displeasure with
both the political and the reform (professional) eras of policing that came to pass in the
United States (discussed later) because their motives and practices served to move the
police away from his views of policing and into directions that were in opposition to his
nine principles.
▶ Policing Comes to the United States
The English experiment with policing was not going unnoticed in the United States, where
Peel’s experiments with the bobbies were being closely watched. However, industrializa-
tion and social upheaval had not reached the proportions here that they had in England, so
there was not the same urgency for full-time policing. Yet by the 1840s, when industrial-
ization began in earnest in America, U.S. officials began to watch the police reform move-
ment in England more closely. Eventually, of course, policing would become entrenched
in America and evolve through three full eras: political, reform, and community (see
Table 1-1 ■).
It will be seen later that the onset of full-time policing (defined as a paid, full-time
police force with citywide jurisdiction that was charged solely with police duties)36 in the
United States is commonly said to have occurred in New York City in 1844. However, a
number of prominent police historians and experts believe that the first organized, publicly
funded, “modern” form of policing occurred in the South in the form of slave patrols.37 It
has been further argued that the Southern slave patrols not only were a precursor to today’s
system but actually marked the first real advances in American policing.38 Therefore,
because the true origins of policing in America are somewhat debated, next we briefly
discuss the Southern slave patrols.
TAbLE 1-1 The Three Eras of Policing
Political Era (1840s to 1930s) Reform Era (1930s to 1980s) Community Era (1980s to Present)
Authorization Politics and law Law and professionalism Community support (political),
law, and professionalism
Function Broad social services Crime control Broad provision of services
Organizational design Decentralized Centralized and classical Decentralized using task forces
and matrices
Relationship to community Intimate Professional and remote Intimate
Tactics and technology Foot patrol Preventive patrol and rapid
response to calls
Foot patrol, problem solving, and
public relations
Outcome Citizen and political
satisfaction
Crime control Quality of life and citizen
satisfaction
Source: Adapted from The Evolving Strategies of Policing, Perspectives on Policing by George L. Kelling and Mark H. Moore, U.S. Department of Justice.
CHAPTER 1 History 15
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Southern Slave Patrols
From the time Dutch slave ships began to bring slaves to the U.S. colonies as early as
1670, colonists began attempting to control slaves through informal means. For
example, in many colonies and states, anyone could legally apprehend, chastise, and
even kill any slave found off of his or her plantation, and runaway slaves could even
be killed in some states.39 The “slave codes” of the day defined slaves as mere prop-
erty of their masters who were indentured for life; slaves were valuable property, and
thus slave masters were given the right to control their “property” through discipline
and punishment.
The slave patrols eventually became the legal mechanism for enforcing these codes;
as a formal means of social control, particularly in rural areas of the Southern colonies,
these patrols were to maintain the institution of slavery as well as capture runaway
slaves and protect the white majority from slave uprisings and crimes. Members of
such patrols in South Carolina and other states could enter the home of anyone—black
or white—that was suspected of harboring slaves who were runaways or had violated
the law.40
According to Phillip Reichel, the first such patrol was probably organized as a spe-
cial enforcement arm in South Carolina in 1704.41 Unlike the watchmen, constables, and
sheriffs (discussed previously) who had some nonpolice functions, these slave patrols,
which continued operating through the antebellum period, functioned “solely for the
enforcement of colonial and state laws.”42 Slave patrols often worked in combination
with local militias and police and, although generally small in size, were well-armed and
often visited plantations where they were allowed to flog slaves who were violating the
codes.43 Indeed, the right of patrols to administer such punishment existed in a number
of states: patrols in Georgia, Arkansas, and South Carolina could administer twenty
lashes, while North Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi permitted fifteen lashes.44 Any
▲ Turn-of-the-century police equipment. (Courtesy International Association of Chiefs of Police.)
CHAPTER 1 History 16
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hopes held by slaves for a better life were no doubt dashed—and the existence of slave
patrols no doubt enhanced—by the infamous 1857 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Scott
v. Sanford, in which a slave named Dred Scott was in effect told that he could not sue
for his freedom: he was mere “property” and had no rights which white men needed
to respect.
In sum, at the very least, when trying to understand the development of modern-day
policing in America, Southern slave patrols can be said to represent a form of policing that
was neither informal nor modern; in fact, they were probably more developmental or tran-
sitional in nature and created by the dominant class to preserve its control over the minor-
ity population of their day.
▶ The Political Era: 1840s to 1930s
Imitating Peel
When the movement to improve policing did begin in America in the 1840s, it occurred in
New York City. (Philadelphia, with a private bequest of $33,000, actually began a paid
daytime police force in 1833; however, it was disbanded three years later.) The police
reform movement had actually begun in New York in 1836, when the mayor advocated
a new police organization that could deal with civil disorder. The city council denied
the mayor’s request, saying that, instead, citizens should simply aid one another in
combating crime.
Efforts at police reform thus stayed dormant until 1841, when a highly publicized mur-
der case resurrected the issue, showing again the incompetence of the officers under the old
system of policing. Mary Cecilia Rogers left her New York home one day and disap-
peared; three days later, her body was discovered in the Hudson River. The public and
newspapers clamored for the police to solve the crime. The police appeared unwilling to
investigate until an adequate reward was offered.45 Edgar Allan Poe’s 1850 short story
“The Mystery of Marie Roget” was based on this case. The Rogers case and the police
response did more to encourage police reorganization than all of the previous cries for
change. Thus began the political era of policing.
In 1844, the New York State legislature passed a law establishing a full-time pre-
ventive police force for New York City. However, this new body came into being in a
very different form than in Europe. The American version, as begun in New York City,
was deliberately placed under the control of the city government and city politicians.
The American plan required that each ward in the city be a separate patrol district,
unlike the European model, which divided the districts along the lines of criminal activ-
ity. The process for selecting officers was also different. The mayor chose the recruits
from a list of names submitted by the aldermen and tax assessors of each ward; the
mayor then submitted his choices to the city council for approval. This system adhered
to the principles of republicanism and resulted in most of the power over the police
going to the ward aldermen, who were seldom concerned about selecting the best peo-
ple for the job. Instead, the system allowed and even encouraged political patronage
and rewards for friends.46
The law also provided for the hiring of 800 officers—not nearly enough to cover the
city—and for the hiring of a chief of police, who had no power to hire officers, assign them
to duties, or fire them. Furthermore, the law did not require the officers to wear uniforms;
instead, they were to carry a badge or other emblem for identification. Citizens would be
hard-pressed to recognize an officer when they needed one. As a result of the law,
New York’s officers would be patrolling a beat around the clock, and pay scales were high
enough to attract good applicants. At the same time, the position of constable was
CHAPTER 1 History 17
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dissolved. Overall, these were important reforms over the old system and provided the
basis for continued improvements that the public supported.47
It did not take long for other cities to adopt the general model of the New York City
police force. New Orleans and Cincinnati adopted plans for a new police force in 1852,
Boston and Philadelphia followed in 1854, Chicago in 1855, and Baltimore and Newark
in 1857.48 By 1880, virtually every major American city had a police force based on
Peel’s model.
Early Issues and Traditions
Three important issues confronted these early American police officers as they took to the
streets between 1845 and 1869: whether the police should be in uniform, whether they
should be armed, and whether they should use force.
The issue of a police uniform was important for several reasons. First, the lack of a
uniform negated one of the basic principles of crime prevention—that police officers be
visible. Crime victims wanted to find a police officer in a hurry. Further, uniforms
would make it difficult for officers to avoid their duties since it would strip them of their
anonymity. Interestingly, police officers themselves tended to prefer not to wear a uni-
form. They contended that the uniform would hinder their work because criminals
would recognize them and flee and that the uniform was demeaning and would destroy
their sense of manliness and democracy. One officer went so far as to argue that the sun
reflecting off his badge would warn criminals of his approach; another officer hired an
attorney and threatened to sue if he were compelled to don a uniform. To remedy the
problem, New York City officials took advantage of the fact that their officers served
four-year terms of office; when those terms expired in 1853, the city’s police commis-
sioners announced they would not rehire any officer who refused to wear a uniform.
Thus, New York became the first American city with a uniformed police force. It was
followed in 1860 by Philadelphia, where there was also strong police objection to the
policy. In Boston (1858) and Chicago (1861), police accepted the adoption of uniforms
more easily.49
A more serious issue confronting politicians and the new police officers was the car-
rying of arms. At stake was the personal safety of the officers and the citizens they
served. Nearly everyone viewed an armed police force with considerable suspicion.
However, after some surprisingly calm objections by members of the public, who noted
that the London police had no need to bear arms, it was agreed that an armed police force
was unavoidable. Of course, America had a long tradition that citizens had the right—
sometimes even the duty—to own firearms. And armed only with nightsticks, the new
police could hardly withstand attacks by armed assailants. The public allowed officers to
carry arms simply because there was no alternative, which was a significant change in
American policing and a major point of departure from the English model. Practically
from the first day, then, the American police have been much more open to the idea of
carrying weapons.50
Eventually the use of force, the third issue, would become necessary and commonplace
for American officers. Indeed, the uncertainty about whether an offender was armed per-
petuated the need for an officer to rely on physical prowess for survival on the streets. The
issue of use of force will be discussed further in Chapter 8.
Attempts at Reform in Difficult Times
By 1850, American police officers still faced a difficult task. In addition to maintaining
order and coping with vice and crime, they would, soon after putting on the uniform, be
separated from their old associates and viewed with suspicion by most citizens.
CHAPTER 1 History 18
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With few exceptions, the work was steady, and layoffs were uncommon. The nature of
the work and the possibility of a retirement pension tied officers closely to their jobs and
their colleagues. By 1850, there was a surplus of unskilled labor, particularly in the major
eastern cities. The desire for economic security was reason enough for many able-bodied
men to try to enter police service. New York City, for example, paid its police officers
about twice as much as unskilled laborers could earn. Police departments had about twice
as many applicants as positions. The system of political patronage prevailed in most cities,
even after civil service laws attempted to introduce merit systems for hiring police.51
In New York, the police reform board was headed by Theodore Roosevelt, who sought
applications for the department from residents in upstate areas. When these officers, later
called bushwhackers, were appointed, they were criticized by disgruntled Tammanyites
(corrupt New York City politicians) who favored the political patronage system. The
Tammanyites complained that the bushwhackers “could not find their way to a single sta-
tion house.”52 Roosevelt’s approach violated the American tradition of hiring local boys
for local jobs.53 Citizens saw these new uniformed anomalies as people who wanted to
spoil their fun or close their saloons on Sunday.
Tradition became the most important determinant of police behavior: A major teaching
tool was the endless string of war stories the recruit heard, and the emphasis in most
departments was on doing things as they had always been done. Innovation was frowned
upon, and the veterans impressed on the rookies the reasons why things had to remain the
same.54 The police officers of the late nineteenth century were kept busy with riots, strikes,
parades, and fires. These events often made for hostile interaction between citizens and the
police. Labor disputes often meant long hours of extra duty for the officers, for which no
extra pay was received. This, coupled with the fact that the police did not engage in collec-
tive bargaining, resulted in the police having little empathy or identification with strikers
or strikebreakers. Therefore, the use of the baton to put down riots, known as the “baton
charge,” was not uncommon.55
During the late nineteenth century, large cities gradually became more orderly
places. The number of riots dropped. In the post–Civil War period, however, ethnic
group conflict sometimes resulted in individual and group acts of violence and disorder.
Hatred of Catholics and Irish Protestants led to the killing and wounding of over one
hundred people in large eastern cities. Still, American cities were more orderly in 1900
than they had been in 1850. The possibility of violence involving labor disputes
remained, and race riots increased in number and intensity after 1900, but daily urban
life became more predictable and controlled. And then American cities absorbed millions
of newcomers after 1900.56
Increased Politics and Corruption
A more developed urban life also promoted order. Work groups and social clusters pro-
vided a sense of integration and belonging. Immigrants established benefit societies,
churches, synagogues, and social clubs. Irish Americans constituted a heavy proportion of
the police departments by the 1890s; they made up more than one-fourth of the New York
City police force as early as the 1850s. Huge proportions of Irish officers were also found
in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, and San Francisco.57
Ethnic and religious disputes were found in many police departments. In Cleveland,
for example, Catholics and Masons distrusted one another, while in New York, the Irish
officers controlled many hirings and promotions. And there were still strong political influ-
ences at work. Politics were played to such an extent that even nonranking patrol officers
used political backers to obtain promotions, desired assignments, and transfers.
Police corruption also surfaced at this time. Corrupt officers wanted beats close to the
gamblers, saloonkeepers, madams, and pimps—people who could not operate if the
CHAPTER 1 History 19
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officers were “untouchable” or “100 percent coppers.”58 Political pull for corrupt officers
could work for or against them; the officer who incurred the wrath of his superiors could
be transferred to the outposts, where he would have no chance for financial
advancement.
In New York, officers routinely committed perjury to protect one another against civil-
ian complaints. An early form of “internal affairs” thus developed in the 1890s: the
“shoofly,” a plainclothes officer who checked on the performance of the patrol officers.
When Theodore Roosevelt served as police commissioner in New York, he frequently
made clandestine trips to the beats to check on his officers; any malingerers found in the
saloons were summoned to headquarters in the morning.59
Meanwhile, on the American Frontier . . .
While large cities in the East were struggling to overcome social problems and establish
preventive police forces, the western half of America was anything but passive. Many
historians believe that the true character of Americans developed on the frontier. Rugged
individualism, independence, and simplicity of manners and behavior lent dignity to
American life.
▲ Some police historians argue that the first organized, publicly
funded, “modern” form of policing occurred in the South in the
form of slave patrols. (Courtesy North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy Stock Photo.)
CHAPTER 1 History 20
▼
Most Americans are fascinated by this period of police history, a time when heroic
marshals engaged in gunfights in Dodge City and other wild cowboy towns. But this period
is also riddled with exaggerated legends and half-truths. During the second half of the
nineteenth century, the absence of government created a confusing variety of forms of
policing in the West. Large parts of the West were under federal control, some had been
organized into states, and still others were under American Indian control, at least on
paper. Law enforcement was performed largely by federal marshals, and their deputies.
Once a state was created within a territory, its state legislature had the power to attempt to
deal with crime by appointing county sheriffs. Otherwise, there was no uniform method for
attempting to control the problems of the West.
When the people left the wagon trains and their relatively law-abiding ways, they
attempted to live together in communities. Many different ethnic groups— Anglo-
Americans, Mexicans, Chinese, American Indian, freed African Americans, Australians,
Scandinavians, and others—competed for often scarce resources and fought one another
violently, often with mob attacks. Economic conflicts were frequent between cattlemen
and sheepherders, and they often led to major range wars. There was constant labor strife
in the mines. The bitterness of slavery remained, and many men with firearms skills learned
during the Civil War turned to outlawry after leaving the service. (Jesse James was one
such person.) In spite of these difficulties, westerners did manage to establish peace by
relying on a combination of four groups who assumed responsibility for law enforcement:
private citizens, U.S. marshals, businessmen, and town officials.60
Private companies, such as the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, played an impor-
tant role in frontier regions as they were often contracted to provide security or fugitive
apprehension services. Private citizens also helped to enforce the law by joining a posse,
offering services for a fee (such as bounty hunting), or otherwise making individual efforts.
An example of citizen policing was the formation of vigilante committees. Between 1849 and
1902, there were 210 vigilante movements in the United States, most of them in California.61
While throughout history many vigilante groups have practiced “informal justice” by
Career Profile Name: Francis O’Neill, Chicago
Position: Chief of Police, Chicago, Illinois, 1903
The watchman of a century ago with his lantern and
staff who called out the passing hours in stentorian
tones during the night is now but a tradition. He has
been succeeded by a uniformed constabulary and
police who carry arms and operate under semi-
military discipline. The introduction of electricity as a
means of communication between stations was the
first notable advance in the improvement of police
methods. I remember the time when the manipulation
of the dial telegraph by the station keeper while send-
ing messages excited the greatest wonder and admi-
ration. The adoption of the Morse system of telegraphy
was a long step forward and proved of great advan-
tage. In 1876, all desk sergeants were required to take
up the immediate study of the Morse “Code” . . .
Scarcely one-fourth of them became proficient before
modern science, advancing in leaps and bounds,
brought forth that still more modern miracle—the tele-
phone. Less than one-quarter century ago, the police-
man on post had no aid from science in
communicating with his station or in securing assis-
tance in case of need. When required by duty to care
for the sick and injured or to remove a dead body, an
appeal to the owner of some suitable vehicle was his
only resource. These were desperate times for police-
men in a hostile country with unpaved streets. The
patrol wagon and signal service have affected a revo-
lution in police methods. The forward stride from the
lanterned night watch, with staff, to the uniformed and
disciplined police officer of the present, equipped with
telegraph, telephone, signal service, and the Bertillon
system of identification (discussed in Chapter 5), is
indeed an interesting one to contemplate.
Source: From Proceedings of the International Chiefs of Police,
Tenth Annual Convention, May 12-14, p. 67, published by
International Association of Chiefs of Police
CHAPTER 1 History 21
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illegally taking the law into their own hands, breaking the law with violence and force, they
also performed valuable work by ridding their communities of dangerous criminals. The
Career Profile that is presented is an essay written at the dawn of the twentieth century and
reflects the changes in technologies and methods of that era.
Federal marshals were created by congressional legislation in 1789. As marshals began
to appear on the frontier, the vigilantes tended to disappear. The marshals enforced federal
laws, so they had no jurisdiction over matters not involving a federal offense. They could
act only in cases involving theft of mail, crimes against railroad property, murder on fed-
eral lands (much of the West was federal property for many decades), and a few other
crimes. Their primary responsibility was in civil matters arising from federal court deci-
sions. Federal marshals obtained their office through political appointment; therefore, they
did not need any prior experience and were politically indebted. Initially, they received no
salary but were instead compensated with fees and rewards. Because chasing outlaws did
not pay as much as serving civil process papers, the marshals tended to prefer the more
lucrative, less dangerous task of serving court paperwork. Congress saw the folly in this
system and, in 1896, enacted legislation providing regular salaries for marshals.62
When a territory became a state, the primary law enforcement functions usually fell to
local sheriffs and marshals. Train robbers such as Jesse James and the Dalton Gang were
among the most famous outlaws to violate federal laws. Many train robbers became legendary
for having the courage to steal from the despised railroad owners. What is often overlooked in
the tales of these legendary outlaws is their often total disregard for the safety and lives of their
victims. To combat these criminals, federal marshals found their hideouts, and railroad com-
panies and other businesses often offered rewards for information leading to their capture.
Occasionally, as in the case of Jesse James and the Daltons, the marshals’ work was done for
them—outlaws were often killed by friends (usually for a reward) or by private citizens.63
Gunfights in the West actually occurred very rarely; few individuals on either side of
the law actually welcomed stand-up gunfights. It was infinitely more sensible to find cover
from which to have a shootout. Further, handguns were not the preferred weapon—a
double-barreled shotgun could do far more damage than a handgun at close range.
Local law enforcement came about as people settled into communities. Town meetings
were held during which a government was established and local officials were elected.
Sheriffs quickly became important officials, but they spent more time collecting taxes,
inspecting cattle brands, maintaining jails, and serving civil papers than they did actually
dealing with outlaws. In addition, with the growing use of U.S. marshals to uphold the law
(some of the more storied ones being Wyatt Earp, “Wild Bill” Hickok, and William “Bat”
Masterson), most people were inclined to be law abiding.64
Only forty-five violent deaths from all causes can be found in western cow towns from
1870 to 1885, when they were thriving. This low figure reflects the real nature of the cow
towns. Businessmen had a vested interest in preventing crime from occurring and in not hir-
ing a trigger-happy sheriff or marshal. They tended to avoid hiring individuals like John
Slaughter, sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona, who never brought a prisoner back alive for
eight years. Too much violence ruined a town’s reputation and harmed the local economy.65
The Entrenchment of Political Influence
Partly because of their closeness to politicians, police during the early twentieth century
began providing a wide array of services to citizens. In some cities, they operated soup
lines, helped find lost children, and found jobs and temporary lodging in station houses for
newly arrived immigrants.66 Police organizations were typically quite decentralized, with
cities divided into precincts and run like small-scale departments, hiring, firing, managing,
and assigning personnel as necessary. Officers were often recruited from the same ethnic
stock as the dominant groups in the neighborhoods and lived in the beats they patrolled,
CHAPTER 1 History 22
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and they were allowed considerable discretion in handling their individual beats. Detectives
operated from a caseload of “persons” rather than offenses, relying on their charges to
inform on other criminals.67
Officers were integrated into neighborhoods. This strategy proved useful; it helped
contain riots, and the police helped immigrants establish themselves in communities and
find jobs. There were weaknesses as well: The intimacy with the community, closeness to
politicians, poor recruitment and training standards, and decentralized organizational
structure (and its inability to provide supervision of officers) also led to police corruption.
The close identification of police with neighborhoods also resulted in discrimination
against strangers, especially ethnic and racial minorities. Police officers often ruled their
beats with the “end of their nightsticks” and practiced “curbside justice.”68 The lack of
organizational control over officers also caused some inefficiencies and disorganization;
thus, the image of the bungling Keystone Kops was widespread.
▶ The Reform Era: 1930s to 1980s
Attempts to Thwart Political Patronage
During the early nineteenth century, reformers sought to reject political involvement by
the police, and civil service systems were created to eliminate patronage and ward influ-
ences in hiring and firing police officers. In some cities, officers were not permitted to live
in the same beat they patrolled in order to isolate them as completely as possible from
political influences. Police departments became one of the most autonomous agencies in
urban government.69 However, policing also became a matter viewed as best left to the
discretion of police executives. Police organizations became law enforcement agencies
with the sole goal of controlling crime. Any noncrime activities they were required to do
were considered “social work.” The reform era of policing (also termed the professional era
of policing) would soon be in full bloom.
The scientific theory of administration was adopted, as advocated by Frederick Taylor
during the early twentieth century. Taylor first studied the work process, breaking down
jobs into their basic steps and emphasizing time and motion studies, all with the goal of
maximizing production. From this emphasis on production and unity of control flowed the
notion that police officers were best managed by a hierarchical pyramid of control. Police
leaders routinized and standardized police work; officers were to enforce laws and make
arrests whenever they could. Discretion was limited as much as possible. When special
problems arose, special units (e.g., vice, juvenile, drugs, tactical) were created rather than
problems being assigned to patrol officers.
The Era of August Vollmer
The policing career of August Vollmer has been established as one of the most important
periods in the development of police professionalism (see Exhibit 1-1 ■). In April 1905 at
age twenty-nine, Vollmer became the town marshal in Berkeley, California. At that time,
policing had become a major issue all across America. Big-city police departments had
become notorious for their corruption, and politics rather than professional principles
dominated most police departments.70
Vollmer commanded a force of only three deputies; his first act as town marshal was to
request an increase in his force from three to twelve deputies in order to form day and
night patrols. Obtaining that, he soon won national publicity for being the first chief to
order his men to patrol on bicycles. Time checks he had run demonstrated that officers on
bicycles would be able to respond three times more quickly to calls than men on foot
possibly could. His confidence growing, Vollmer next persuaded the Berkeley City
CHAPTER 1 History 23
▼
Council to purchase a system of red lights. The lights, hung at each street intersection,
served as an emergency notification system for police officers—the first such signal system
in the country.71
In 1906, Vollmer, curious about the methods criminals used to commit their crimes,
began to question the suspects he arrested. He found that nearly all criminals used their
own peculiar method of operation, or modus operandi. In 1907, following an apparent
suicide case that Vollmer suspected of being murder, Vollmer sought the advice of a
exhibit 1-1
A chronology of August Vollmer and the Berkeley Police Department:
1905 Vollmer is elected Berkeley town marshal. Town trustees appoint six police
officers at a salary of $70 per month.
1906 Trustees create detective rank. Vollmer initiates a red light signal system to
reach beat officers from headquarters; telephones are installed in boxes. A
police records system is created.
1908 Two motorcycles are added to the department. Vollmer begins a police school.
1909 Vollmer is appointed Berkeley chief of police under a new charter form of
government. Trustees approve the appointment of a Bertillon expert and the
purchase of fingerprinting equipment. A modus operandi file is created,
modeled on the British system.
1911 All patrol officers are using bicycles.
1914 Three privately owned autos are authorized for patrol use.
1915 A central office is established for police reports.
1916 Vollmer urges Congress to establish a national fingerprint bureau (later
created by the FBI in Washington, D.C.), begins annual lectures on police
procedures, and persuades biochemist Albert Schneider to install and direct a
crime laboratory at headquarters.
1917 Vollmer has the first completely motorized force; officers furnish their own
automobiles. Vollmer recruits college students for part-time police jobs.
He begins consulting with police and reorganizing departments around the
country.
1918 Entrance examinations are initiated to measure the mental, physical, and
emotional fitness of recruits; a part-time police psychiatrist is employed.
1919 Vollmer begins testing delinquents and using psychology to anticipate
criminal behavior. He implements a juvenile program to reduce child
delinquency.
1921 Vollmer guides the development of the first lie detector and begins developing
radio communications between patrol cars, handwriting analysis, and use of
business machine equipment (a Hollerith tabulator).
Following his retirement from active law enforcement in 1932, Vollmer traveled
around the world to study police methods. He continued serving as professor of police
administration at the University of California, Berkeley, until 1938, and authored or coau-
thored four books on police and crime from 1935 to 1949. He died in Berkeley in 1955.
THE CRIB OF MODERN LAW ENFORCEMENT
CHAPTER 1 History 24
▼
professor of biology at the University of California. He then became convinced of the
value of scientific knowledge in criminal investigation.72
Vollmer’s most daring innovation came in 1908: the idea of a police school. The first
formal training program for police officers in the country drew on the expertise of univer-
sity professors as well as police officers. The school included courses on police methods
and procedures, fingerprinting, first aid, criminal law, anthropometry, photography, public
health, and sanitation. In 1917, the curriculum was expanded from one to three years.73 In
1916, Vollmer persuaded a professor of pharmacology and bacteriology to become a full-
time criminalist in charge of the department’s criminal investigation laboratory. By 1917,
Vollmer had his entire patrol force operating out of automobiles; it was the first completely
mobile patrol force in the country. And in 1918, to improve the quality of police recruits in
his department, he began to hire college students as part-time officers and to administer
a set of intelligence, psychiatric, and neurological tests to all applicants. Out of this group
of “college cops” came several outstanding and influential police leaders, including
O. W. Wilson, who served as police chief in Wichita and Chicago and as the first dean of
the school of criminology at the University of California. Then, in 1921, in addition to
experimenting with the lie detector, two of Vollmer’s officers installed a crystal set and
earphones in a Model T touring car, thus creating the first radio car.
These and other innovations at Berkeley had begun to attract attention from municipal
police departments across the nation, including Los Angeles, which persuaded Vollmer to
serve a short term there as chief of police beginning in August 1923. Gambling, the illicit
sale of liquor (prohibition was then in effect), and police corruption were major problems
in Los Angeles. Vollmer hired ex-criminals to gather intelligence information on the
criminal network. He also promoted honest officers, required 3,000 patrol officers to take
an intelligence test, and, using those tests, reassigned personnel.74 He was already unpopu-
lar with crooks and corrupt politicians, and these personnel actions made Vollmer very
unpopular within the department as well. When he returned to Berkeley in 1924, he
had made many enemies, and his attempts at reform had met with too much opposition to
▲ August Vollmer as Town Marshal, police chief and criminalist. (Courtesy Samuel G. Chapman.)
CHAPTER 1 History 25
▼
have any lasting effect. It would not be until the 1950s, under Chief William Parker,
that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) would become a leader in this reform
era of policing.75
Vollmer, although a leading proponent of police professionalism, also advocated the
idea that the police should function as social workers. He believed the police should do
more than merely arrest offenders-that they should also seek to prevent crime by “saving”
offenders.76 He suggested that police work closely with existing social welfare agencies,
inform voters about overcrowded schools, and support the expansion of recreational
facilities, community social centers, and antidelinquency agencies. Basically, he was
suggesting that the police play an active part in the life of the community. These views
were very prescient; today, his ideas are being implemented in the contemporary
movement toward community policing and problem-oriented policing. Yet the major
thrust of police professionalization had been to insulate the police from politics. This
contradiction illustrated one of the fundamental ambiguities of the whole notion of
professionalism.77
In the late 1920s, Vollmer was appointed the first professor of police administration in
the country at the University of Chicago. Upon returning to Berkeley in 1931, he received
a similar appointment at the University of California, a position he held concurrently with
the office of chief of police until his retirement from the force in 1932. He continued to
serve as a university professor until 1938.78
The Crime Fighter Image
The 1930s marked an important turning point in the history of police reform. O. W. Wilson
emerged as the leading authority on police administration, the police role was redefined,
and the crime fighter image gained popularity.
Wilson, who learned from J. Edgar Hoover’s transformation of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) into a highly prestigious agency, became the principal architect of the
police reform strategy.79 Hoover, appointed FBI director in 1924, had raised the eligibility
and training standards of recruits and had developed an incorruptible crime-fighting orga-
nization. Municipal police found Hoover’s path a compelling one.
Professionalism came to mean a combination of managerial efficiency and techno-
logical sophistication and an emphasis on crime fighting. The social work aspects of the
policing movement fell into almost total eclipse. In sum, under the professional model of
policing, officers were to remain in their “rolling fortresses,” going from one call to the
next with all due haste. As Mark Moore and George Kelling observed, “In professional-
izing crime fighting . . . citizens on whom so much used to depend [were] removed from
the fight.”80
The Wickersham Commission
Another important development in policing, one that was strongly influenced by August
Vollmer, was the creation of the Wickersham Commission. President Calvin Coolidge had
appointed the first National Crime Commission in 1925, in an admission that crime control
had become a national problem. This commission was criticized for working neither
through the states nor with professionals in criminal justice, psychiatry, social work, or the
like. Nevertheless, coming on the heels of World War I, the crime commission took advan-
tage of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s popular “war on crime” slogan to enlist public
support. Political leaders and police officials also loudly proclaimed the “war on crime”
concept; it continued the push for police professionalism.
Coolidge’s successor, President Herbert Hoover, became concerned about the lax
enforcement of Prohibition, which had taken effect in 1920. It was common knowledge that
CHAPTER 1 History 26
▼
an alarming number of American police chiefs and sheriffs were accepting bribes in exchange
for overlooking moonshiners; other types of police corruption were occurring as well.
Hoover replaced the National Crime Commission with the National Commission on
Law Observance and Enforcement—popularly known as the Wickersham Commission
after its chairman, former U.S. Attorney General George W. Wickersham. This presi-
dential commission completed the first national study of crime and criminal justice,
issued in fourteen reports. Two of those reports, the “Report on Police” and the “Report
on Lawlessness in Law Enforcement,” represented a call by the federal government for
increased police professionalism.
The “Report on Police” was written in part by August Vollmer, and his imprint on this
and other reports is evident. The “Report on Lawlessness in Law Enforcement” concerned
itself with police misconduct and has received the greatest public attention, both then and
now. The report indicated that the use by the police of third-degree suspect interrogation
methods (including the infliction of physical or mental pain to extract confessions) was
widespread in America. This report, through its recommendations, mapped out a path of
professionalism in policing for the next two generations. The Wickersham Commission
recommended, for example, that the corrupting influence of politics should be removed
from policing. Police chief executives should be selected on merit, and patrol officers
should be tested and should meet minimal physical standards. Police salaries, working
conditions, and benefits should be decent, the commission stated, and there should be ade-
quate training for both preservice and in-service officers. The commission also called for
the use of policewomen (in cases involving juveniles and females), crime-prevention units,
and bureaus of criminal investigation.
Many of these recommendations represented what progressive police reformers had
been wanting for the previous forty years; unfortunately, President Hoover and his admin-
istration could do little more than report the Wickersham Commission’s recommendations
before leaving office.
Police as the “Thin blue Line”: William H. Parker
The movement to transform the police into professional crime fighters found perhaps its
staunchest champion in William H. Parker, who began as a patrol officer with the LAPD in
1927. Parker used his law degree to advance his career, and by 1934 he was the LAPD’s
trial prosecutor and an assistant to the chief.81
Parker became police chief in 1950. Following an uproar over charges of police brutal-
ity in 1951, he conducted an extensive investigation that resulted in the dismissal or pun-
ishment of over forty officers. Following this incident, he launched a campaign to transform
the LAPD. His greatest success, typical of the new professionalism, came in administra-
tive reorganization. The command structure was simplified as Parker aggressively sought
ways to free every possible officer for duty on the streets, including forcing the county
sheriff’s office to guard prisoners and adopting one-person patrol cars. Parker also made
the rigorous selection and training of personnel a major characteristic of the LAPD. Higher
standards of physical fitness, intelligence, and scholastic achievement weeded out many
applicants, while others failed the psychiatric examinations.
Once accepted, recruits attended a thirteen-week academy that included a rigorous
physical program, rigid discipline, and intensive study. Parker thus molded an image of a
tough, competent, polite, and effective crime fighter by controlling recruitment. During the
1950s, this image made the LAPD the model for reform across the nation; thus, the 1950s
marked a turning point in the history of professionalism.82
Parker conceived of the police as a “thin blue line”—a force that stood between civili-
zation and chaos and protecting society from barbarism and Communist subversion. He
viewed urban society as a jungle, needing the restraining hand of the police; only the law
CHAPTER 1 History 27
▼
and law enforcement saved society from the horrors of anarchy. The police had to enforce
the law without fear or favor. Parker opposed any restrictions on police methods. The law,
he believed, should give the police wide latitude to use wiretaps and to conduct search and
seizure. For him, the Bill of Rights was not absolute but relative. Any conflict between
effective police operation and individual rights should be resolved in favor of the police,
he believed, and the rights of society took precedence over the rights of the individual.
He thought that evidence obtained illegally should still be admitted in court and that the
police could not do their jobs if the courts and other civilians were continually second-
guessing them.
Basically, Parker believed that some “wicked men with evil hearts” preyed on society
and that the police must protect society from attack by them. But Parker’s brand of profes-
sional police performance lacked total public support. Voters often supported political
machines that controlled and manipulated the police in anything but a professional man-
ner; the public demanded a police department that was subject to political influence and
manipulation and then condemned the force for its crookedness. The professional police
officer was in the uncomfortable position of offering a service that society required for its
very survival but that many people did not want at all.83
1960s and 1970s: The Struggle for Civil Rights
Certainly any review of the history of policing would be lacking if it did not discuss the
civil rights movement that predominated the late 1960s and 1970s and pitted the nation’s
police against many of its college-age youths and minority groups (with many members of
both groups viewing the police as “pigs” and representing the “establishment”). National
groups (e.g., Students for a Democratic Society, Black Panthers, Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee) represented both sides, some violent, others nonviolent. As
Benjamin Disraeli once said, “No man will treat with indifference the principle of race. It
is the key to history.”84
The 1960s were a time of great tumult, civil disobedience, social turbulence, and tre-
mendous progress in civil rights. Inner-city residents rioted in several major cities, protes-
tors denounced military involvement in Vietnam, and assassins’ bullets ended the life of
President John F. Kennedy (1963) as well as those of his brother U.S. Senator Robert F.
Kennedy (1968) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968). The country was witnessing tre-
mendous upheaval, and incidents such as the Democratic National Convention (1968) in
Chicago raised many questions about the police and their function and role; each night
Americans witnessed scenes on national television of Chicago police officers gassing and
clubbing protesters, news photographers and reporters, and other citizens in what was sub-
sequently termed in the investigative Walker Report and in many other accounts as the
Chicago “police riot.”85
The reform (or professional) era of policing was in bloom, however, so the police were
firmly ensconced in their patrol vehicles, being reactive to crime and quite removed from
personal contact with the public while on random patrol and focusing on quantitative mea-
sures of their effectiveness: numbers of arrests, response time, calls for service, numbers of
officers in patrol cars, numbers of miles officers drove per shift, and so on. Police training
and university police science programs were booming, the latter making campuses rich
with these “cash cow” programs taught largely by practitioners, with federal grants and GI
benefits paying for officers’ tuition, books, and often their living expenses. But the failure
of the professional era became most apparent during the aforementioned urban riots, sit-
ins, sniper attacks against police, gang violence, and other forms of unrest and upheaval of
the time.
Specifically, Harlem, Watts, Newark, and Detroit all were scenes of major race riots
during the 1960s. There were seventy-five civil disorders involving African Americans
CHAPTER 1 History 28
▼
and the police in 1967 alone, with at least eighty-three people killed, mostly African
Americans. In addition, many police officers and firefighters were killed or injured.
Property damage in these riots totaled hundreds of millions of dollars. The 1970s busing
programs that were introduced to integrate schools resulted in white “backlash” and more
interracial conflict.
In the late 1980s, police–community relations appeared to worsen, with a major riot in
Miami, Florida, in 1989. Also in the 1980s, affirmative action programs led to charges of
reverse discrimination and more dominant-group backlash. More recent decades have wit-
nessed burning and looting in Miami, Florida; Los Angeles, California; Atlanta, Georgia;
Las Vegas, Nevada; Washington, D.C.; St. Petersburg, Florida; Ferguson, Missouri; and
other cities. These incidents have demonstrated that the same tensions that found tempo-
rary release on the streets of African-American communities in the past still remain
with us.
The police, viewed by many during the professional era as the “thin blue line” per
William Parker, were involved in all of the social changes described previously. Although at
times police were used to prevent minority group members from demonstrating on behalf
of civil rights, at other times the police were required to protect those same protesting
minorities from the wrath of the dominant group and others who opposed peaceful demon-
strations. Over time, alienation developed from these contacts. Thus, members of both
groups had an uneasy coexistence with a good deal of emotional “baggage” based on what
they had seen, heard, or been told of their interactions throughout history.
History has shown that problems in police–community relations are actually part of a
larger problem of racism in American society. The highly respected National Academy of
Sciences concluded nearly two decades ago that “black crime and the position of blacks
within the nation’s system of criminal justice administration are related to past and present
social opportunities and disadvantages and can be best understood through consideration
of blacks’ overall social status.”86 More recent mass gatherings throughout the United
States, engendered by such groups as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the
Rainbow Coalition, and the Black Lives Matter movement, have involved protests against
racial profiling (discussed later), police brutality, and other perceived prejudices toward
people of color; such assemblies would indicate that the Academy’s statement is still valid
today. Minority group members remain frustrated because the pace of gains in our society
has not kept pace with their expectations.
▶ A Retreat from the Professional Model
Coming Full Circle to Peel: President’s Crime Commission and beyond
Until the period described previously, the 1960s and 1970s, there had been few inquiries con-
cerning police functions and methods for two reasons.87 First was a tendency on the part of
the police to resist outside scrutiny. Functioning in a bureaucratic environment, the police,
like other bureaucrats, were sensitive to outside research. Many police administrators per-
ceived a threat to their career and to the image of the organization, and they were also
concerned about the legitimacy of the research itself. There was a natural reluctance to
invite trouble. Second, few people in policing perceived a need to challenge traditional
methods of operation. The “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude prevailed, particularly
among old-school administrators. Some ideas were etched in stone, such as the belief that
more police personnel and vehicles equaled more patrolling and, therefore, less crime, a
quicker response rate, and a happier citizenry. A corollary belief is that the more officers
riding in the patrol car, the better. The methods and effectiveness of detectives and their
investigative techniques were not even open to debate.
CHAPTER 1 History 29
▼
As Herman Goldstein stated, however, “Crises stimulate progress. The police came
under enormous pressure in the late 1960s and early 1970s, confronted with concern about
crime, civil rights demonstrations, racial conflicts, riots, and political protests.”88
Concurrent with, and because of, the aforementioned turmoil, five national commis-
sions attempted to examine police methods and practices during the 1960s and 1970s, each
viewing them from different perspectives. Of particular note is a commission whose find-
ings are still widely cited today and that provided the impetus to return the police to the
community: the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of
Justice. Termed the President’s Crime Commission, this body was charged by President
Lyndon Johnson to find solutions to America’s internal crime problems, including the root
causes of crime, the workings of the justice system, and the hostile, antagonistic relations
between the police and civilians. Among the commission’s recommendations for the
police were hiring more minority members as officers to improve police–community rela-
tions, upgrading the quality of police officers through better-educated officers, promoting
to supervisory positions college-educated individuals, screening applicants more rigor-
ously, and providing intensive preservice training for new recruits. It was proposed that a
higher caliber of recruits would raise police service delivery, promote tranquility within
the community, and relegate police corruption to a thing of the past.89
The President’s Crime Commission brought policing full circle, restating several of
the same principles that were laid out by Sir Robert Peel in 1829: that the police should be
close to the public, that poor quality of policing contributed to social disorder, and that the
police should focus on community relations. Thus, by 1970 there had been what was
termed a systematic demolition of the assumptions underlying the professional era of
policing.90 Few authorities on policing today could endorse the basic approaches to police
management that were propounded by O. W. Wilson or William Parker. We now know
much that was still unknown by the staff of the President’s Crime Commission in 1967.
For example, as will be seen in Chapter 3, we have learned that adding more police or
intensifying patrol coverage does not reduce crime and that neither faster response time
nor additional detectives will improve clearance rates.
Peel’s principles still resonate throughout American policing today. For example,
William Bratton, the former Commissioner of the New York City Police Department and
one of the most influential police leaders of the early twenty-first century, often quoted Peel’s
principles in his speeches.91 For Bratton and other police executives, Peel’s ideas on col-
laboration with citizens and the prevention of crime and disorder are very much consistent
with the principles of community policing.
▶ The Community Era: 1980s to Present
In the early 1970s, it was suggested that the performance of patrol officers would improve
by redesigning their job based on motivators.92 This suggestion later evolved into a con-
cept known as team policing, which sought to restructure police departments, improve
police–community relations, enhance police officer morale, and facilitate change within
the police organization. Its primary element was a decentralized neighborhood focus for
the delivery of police services. Officers were to be generalists, trained to investigate crimes
and basically attend to all of the problems in their area; a team of officers would be assigned
to a particular neighborhood and would be responsible for all police services in that area.
In the end, however, team policing failed for several reasons. Most of the experiments
were poorly planned and hastily implemented, resulting in street officers who did not
understand what they were supposed to do. Many mid-management personnel felt threat-
ened by team policing and did not support the experiment.
There were other developments for the police during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Foot patrol became more popular, and many jurisdictions (such as Newark, New Jersey;
CHAPTER 1 History 30
▼
Boston, Massachusetts; and Flint, Michigan) even demanded it. In Newark, an evaluation
led to the conclusions that officers on foot patrol were easily seen by residents, produced a
significant increase in the level of satisfaction with police service, led to a significant
reduction of perceived crime problems, and resulted in a significant increase in the per-
ceived level of neighborhood safety.93
These findings shattered several long-held myths about measures of police effective-
ness. In addition, research conducted during the 1970s suggested that information could
help police improve their ability to deal with crime. These studies, along with studies
of foot patrol and fear reduction, created new opportunities for police to work with
citizens to do something about crime problems. Police discovered that when they asked
citizens about their priorities, citizens appreciated their asking and often provided
useful information.
Simultaneously, the problem-oriented approach to policing was being tested in
Madison, Wisconsin; Baltimore County, Maryland; and Newport News, Virginia. Studies
there found that police officers have the capacity to do problem solving successfully and
can work well with citizens and other agencies. Also, citizens seemed to appreciate work-
ing with police. Moreover, this approach gave officers more autonomy to analyze the
underlying causes of problems and to find creative solutions. Crime control remained an
important function, but equal emphasis was given to prevention.
In sum, following are some of the factors that set the stage for the demise of the profes-
sional era and the emergence of the community era of policing (discussed in Chapter 4):
• Narrowing of the police mission to crime fighting
• Increased cultural diversity in our society
• Detachment of patrol officers in patrol vehicles
• Increased violence in our society
• Scientific view of management, stressing efficiency more than effectiveness, quantita- tive policing more than qualitative policing
• Increased dependence on high-technology equipment rather than contact with the public
• Isolation of police administration from community and officer input
• Concern about police violation of the civil rights of minorities
• Burgeoning attempts by the police to adequately reach the community through crime prevention, team policing, and police–community relations
Today, problem-oriented policing is recognized as being on the cutting edge of what is
new in policing.94 In Chapter 4, for example, we introduce new concepts such as CompStat
and intelligence-led policing, which represent a shift to a more proactive style of policing
and help to make agencies accountable to the communities they serve. In addition, advances
in crime mapping and geographic profiling (discussed in Chapter 14) allow agencies to
maximize resources by focusing on locations with higher risk of criminal activity. Also in
Chapter 14, we discuss some technical innovations, such as aerial drones, body-worn cam-
eras, and less-lethal force devices that together help to improve police tactics in the areas of
search and rescue, surveillance, investigation, and use of force.
Overall, advancements associated with community policing (and the community era in
general) have demonstrated a great deal of promise in terms of improving police practice
and managing problems in neighborhoods. Many concerns still remain in the community
era, however:
• The growing reliance on private sector policing (discussed in Chapter 6) has given rise to concerns about recruitment and training standards for private police, as
CHAPTER 1 History 31
▼
well as questions about the relationship between citizens, public police, and private
police agencies.
• While some of the policing tactics linked to the community era have been credited with reducing crime, they have also been criticized for being overly aggressive toward
c itizens—especially citizens living in minority communities.
• Although agencies have greatly increased the amount of training and equipment dedi- cated to the prevention of terrorism in recent years (discussed in Chapter 12), some
worry that this has contributed to the further “militarization” of police—a process that
can alienate police from the communities they serve.
• Recent cases of controversial deaths involving police–citizen interactions, including Keith Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina, Terence Crutcher (Oklahoma), Michael Brown in
Ferguson (Missouri), Tamir Rice in Cleveland (Ohio), Walter Scott in North Charleston
(South Carolina), Freddie Gray in Baltimore (Maryland), Eric Garner in New York, and
others, have generated calls for greater transparency in police work and stricter limits on
police use of force.
As we will see in the following chapters, community era strategies and tactics hold
significant advantages over those from past policing paradigms. Nevertheless, as the pre-
ceding examples illustrate, there are still many challenges and areas for improvement. The
early twenty-first century is thus an important time in the history of American policing.
Summary This chapter has presented the evolution of policing through its three eras, and some of the
individuals, events, and national commissions that were instrumental in taking policing
through those eras. It has also shown how the history of policing may be said to have come
full circle to its roots, wherein it was intended to operate with the consent and assistance of
the public. Policing is now attempting to throw off the shackles of tradition and become
more community oriented.
This historical overview also reveals that many of today’s policing issues and problems
(most of which are discussed in subsequent chapters) actually began surfacing many cen-
turies ago: graft and corruption, negative community relations, police use of force, public
unrest and rioting, general police accountability, the struggle to establish the proper roles
and functions of the police, the police subculture, and the tendency to withdraw from the
public, cling to tradition, and be inbred. All in all, however, it would seem that the police
learned well their lessons from history, as these problems do not pervade the nation’s
17,000 agencies or their 800,000 officers. As we will see, the community era is spreading
and thriving in today’s police world.
Key Terms
August Vollmer
civil rights movement
community era of policing
constable
coroner
Democratic National Convention
(1968)
justice of the peace (JP)
modus operandi
political era of policing
President’s Crime Commission
principles of policing
professional era of policing
reform era of policing
republicanism
sheriff
slave patrols
team policing
Wickersham
Commission
William H. Parker
CHAPTER 1 History 32
▼
Review Questions
1. What were the major police-related offices and their
functions during the early English and colonial periods?
2. What legacies of colonial policing remained intact
after the American Revolution?
3. List the three early issues of American policing, and
describe their present status.
4. What unique characteristics of law enforcement
existed in the Wild West? What myths concerning
early western law enforcement continue today?
5. Explain the function of slave patrols, and how it might
be argued that they were the first form of policing in
the United States.
6. What were some of the major characteristics of the
political and reform eras of policing? How did they
square with the earlier principles of policing as set
forth by Sir Robert Peel?
7. What led to the development of the contemporary
community-oriented policing and problem-solving
era, and what are some of its main features?
8. How can it be said that policing has come full circle,
returning to its origins?
Learn by Doing
As indicated in the Preface, this section (here and at the
end of all the other chapters of this book) comports
with the early 1900s teaching of famed educator John
Dewey, who advocated the “learning by doing”
approach to education, or problem-based learning. It
also comports with the popular learning method
espoused by Benjamin Bloom in 1956, known as
Bloom’s Taxonomy, in which he called for “higher-
order thinking skills”—critical and creative thinking
that involves analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.95 The
following scenarios and activities will shift your atten-
tion from textbook-centered instruction and move the
emphasis to student-centered projects. By being placed
in these hypothetical situations, you can thus learn—
and apply—some of the concepts covered in this chap-
ter, develop skil ls in communication and
self-management, solve problems, and understand and
address current community issues.
1. You have been tasked by the police chief to develop—
and present—a one-hour History of Policing class as
part of the curriculum at the Regional Police Academy.
Prepare an outline, timeline of police history, and pre-
sentation that will satisfy this request. Be sure to
include the major developments for each policing era.
2. Your criminal justice professor assigns you to exam-
ine your local police organizations and then, if they
exist, to compare the duties of the four early English
policing offices (e.g., sheriff, constable, justice of the
peace, coroner) with their present status and function
(or, if more appropriate, at the time of their demise) in
your particular area.
3. Assume that, as part of an assigned research paper on
the history of policing, you seek to interview a retired
police officer(s) concerning the changes in police
methods and philosophy over the past several decades
(as well as areas in which policing has remained
unchanged); hopefully, you would be particularly
determined to locate and interview a woman who
entered the field as a sworn officer in the 1970s or
1980s, and learn the unique challenges that were faced.
Notes
1. Samuel Walker, The Police in America: An Introduction
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983), p. 2.
2. Bruce Smith, Rural Crime Control (New York:
Columbia University, 1933), p. 40.
3. Ibid., pp. 42–44.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid., pp. 182–184.
CHAPTER 1 History 33
▼
7 Ibid., pp. 188–189.
8. Ibid., p. 192.
9. Ibid., pp. 218–222.
10. Ibid., pp. 245–246.
11. Ibid.
12. Craig Uchida, “The Development of American
Police: An Historical Overview,” in Critical Issues in
Policing: Contemporary Readings, eds. Roger G.
Dunham and Geoffrey P. Alpert (Prospect Heights,
IL: Waveland Press, 1989), p. 14.
13. Charles Reith, A New Study of Police History
( London: Oliver and Boyd, 1956).
14. Carl Klockars, The Idea of Police (Beverly Hills,
CA: Sage, 1985).
15. Ibid., pp. 45–46.
16. Ibid., p. 46.
17. David R. Johnson, American Law Enforcement
History (St. Louis, MO: Forum Press, 1981), p. 4.
18. Ibid., p. 5.
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid., p. 6.
21. Ibid., p. 1.
22. Ibid., pp. 8–10.
23. Ibid., p. 11.
24. Ibid., p. 13.
25. David A. Jones, History of Criminology: A Philo-
sophical Perspective (Westport, CT: Greenwood
Press, 1986), p. 64.
26. Johnson, American Law Enforcement History,
pp. 14–15.
27. Ibid., pp. 17–18.
28. Ibid., pp. 18–19.
29. Leon Radzinowicz, A History of English Criminal
Law and Its Administration from 1750, vol. IV,
Grappling for Control (London: Stevens and Son,
1968), p. 163.
30. Johnson, American Law Enforcement History, p. 19.
31. Ibid., pp. 19–20.
32. Ibid., pp. 20–21.
33. A. C. Germann, Frank D. Day, and Robert R. J.
G allati, Introduction to Law Enforcement and
Criminal Justice (Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas,
1962), p. 63.
34. Clive Emsley, Policing and Its Context, 1750–1870
(New York: Schocken, 1983), p. 37.
35. For more information concerning Peel’s princi-
ples, see Pamela D. Mayhall, Police–Community
Relations and the Administration of Justice, 3rd ed.
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1985), p. 425;
also see Charles Reith, A Short History of the
British Police (London: Oxford University Press,
1948).
36. Selden D. Bacon, The Early Development of
American Municipal Police: A Study of the Evolution
of Formal Controls in a Changing Society, unpub-
lished dissertation, Yale University, University
Microfilms No. 6646844, 1939.
37. See, for example, Samuel Walker, A Critical History
of Police Reform: The Emergence of Professionalism
(Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1977); Samuel
Walker, Popular Justice (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1980); also see Phillip Reichel, “Southern Slave
Patrols as a Transitional Police Type,” A merican Jour-
nal of Policing 7(2) (1988): 51–77.
38. M. P. Roth, Crime and Punishment: A History of the
Criminal Justice System (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth,
2005).
39. Phillip Reichel, “Southern Slave Patrols as a Transi-
tional Police Type,” American Journal of Police 7(2)
(1988): 57.
40. Sally Hadden, Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in
Virginia and the Carolinas (Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press, 2001), pp. 185–187.
41. Phillip Reichel, “Southern Slave Patrols as a Transi-
tional Police Type,” American Journal of Police 7(2)
(1988): 59.
42. Ibid., p. 68.
43. Sally Hadden, Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in
Virginia and the Carolinas, pp. 185–187.
44. Phillip Reichel, “Southern Slave Patrols as a Transi-
tional Police Type,” American Journal of Police 7(2)
(1988): 72.
45. Johnson, American Law Enforcement History, p. 26.
46. Ibid., pp. 26–27.
47. Ibid., p. 27.
48. Ibid.
49. Ibid., pp. 28–29.
50. Ibid., pp. 30–31.
51. James F. Richardson, Urban Policing in the United
States (London: Kennikat Press, 1974), pp. 47–48.
52. James F. Richardson, The New York Police: Colonial
Times to 1901 (New York: Oxford Press, 1970),
p. 259.
53. Richardson, Urban Policing in the United States, p. 48.
54. Richardson, The New York Police, pp. 195–201.
55. Richardson, Urban Policing in the United States, p. 51.
56. Ibid.
57. Ibid., pp. 53–54.
58. Ibid., pp. 55–56.
59. Ibid., pp. 59–60.
60. Johnson, American Law Enforcement History, p. 92.
61. Ibid.
62. Ibid., pp. 96–97.
63. Ibid., p. 98.
CHAPTER 1 History 34
▼
64. U.S. Department of Justice, United States Marshals
Service, “The Marshals Service Turns 215,” www.
usmarshals.gov/monitor/215-0402.pdf.
65. Johnson, American Law Enforcement History,
pp. 100–101.
66. Eric H. Monkkonen, Police in Urban America,
1860–1920 (New York: Cambridge University Press,
1981), p. 158.
67. John E. Eck, The Investigation of Burglary and
Robbery (Washington, D.C.: Police Executive
Research Forum, 1984).
68. George L. Kelling, “Juveniles and Police: The End of
the Nightstick,” in From Children to Citizens, vol. II,
The Role of the Juvenile Court, ed. Francis X.
H artmann (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1987).
69. Herman Goldstein, Policing a Free Society
(C ambridge, MA: Ballinger, 1977).
70. August Vollmer, “Police Progress in the Past Twenty-
Five Years,” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
24 (1933): 161–175.
71. Alfred E. Parker, Crime Fighter: August Vollmer
(New York: Macmillan, 1961).
72. Nathan Douthit, “August Vollmer,” in Thinking
About Police: Contemporary Readings, ed. Carl B.
Klockars (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983), p. 102.
73. Ibid.
74. Paul Jacobs, Prelude to Riot: A View of Urban
America from the Bottom (New York: Random
House, 1966), pp. 13–60.
75. Ibid.
76. Samuel Walker, A Critical History of Police Reform:
The Emergence of Professionalism (Lexington, MA:
Lexington Books, 1977), p. 81.
77. Ibid., pp. 80–83.
78. For a chronology of Vollmer’s career and a listing of
his publications, see Gene E. Carte and Elaine H.
Carte, Police Reform in the United States: The Era of
August Vollmer, 1905–1932 (Berkeley, CA: University
of California Press, 1975).
79. Orlando Wilson, Police Administration (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1950).
80. Mark H. Moore and George L. Kelling, “‘To Serve
and Protect’: Learning from Police History,” The
Public Interest 70 (Winter 1983): 49–65.
81. Johnson, American Law Enforcement History,
pp. 119–120.
82. Ibid., pp. 120–121.
83. Richardson, Urban Policing in the United States,
pp. 139–143.
84. Benjamin Disraeli, Endymion (New York:
D. Appleton & Co., 1880), pp. 249–250.
85. Daniel Walker, Rights in Conflict: The Violent Con-
frontation of Demonstrators and Police in the Parks
and Streets of Chicago During the Week of the Dem-
ocratic National Convention of 1968—A Report Sub-
mitted to the National Commission on the Causes
and Prevention of Violence (Steubenville, OH:
Braceland Brothers, 1968), p. 233; also see “Chicago
Examined: Anatomy of a Police Riot,” Time,
December 6, 1968, www.time.com/time/magazine/
article/0,9171,844633-5,00.html.
86. G. D. Jaynes, R. M. Williams, Jr., Common Destiny:
Blacks and American Society by Gerald David
Jaynes, published by National Academies © 1989.
87. Peter K. Manning, “The Researcher: An Alien in the
Police World,” in The Ambivalent Force: Perspectives
on the Police, 2nd ed. (Hinsdale, IL: Dryden Press,
1976), pp. 103–121.
88. Herman Goldstein, Problem-Oriented Policing
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990), p. 9.
89. William G. Doerner, Introduction to Law Enforce-
ment: An Insider’s View (Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 1992), pp. 21–23.
90. Samuel Walker, “‘Broken Windows’ and Fractured
History: The Use and Misuse of History in Recent
Police Patrol Analysis,” in Classics in Policing, eds.
Steven G. Brandl and David E. Barlow (Cincinnati,
OH: Anderson, 1996), pp. 97–110.
91. Joseph Goldstein and J. David Goodman, “A London
Guide for 1 Police Plaza,” New York Times, April 15,
2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/
nyregion/a-london-guide-for-1-police-plaza.html.
92. Thomas J. Baker, “Designing the Job to Motivate,”
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 45 (1976): 3–7.
93. Police Foundation, The Newark Foot Patrol Experi-
ment (Washington, D.C.: Author, 1981).
94. Ibid., p. 71.
95. Benjamin S. Bloom, Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain
(New York: David McKay, 1956).
http://www.usmarshals.gov/monitor/215-0402.pdf
http://www.usmarshals.gov/monitor/215-0402.pdf
www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844633-5,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/nyregion/a-london-guide-for-1-police-plaza.html
www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844633-5,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/nyregion/a-london-guide-for-1-police-plaza.html
35
▼
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
As a result of reading this chapter, the student will be able to:
❶ Describe some of the problems confronting today’s police recruiters and some unique measures being tried to obtain a viable applicant pool
❷ Explain the general hiring process and types of tests and examinations employed to hire and train police officers
❸ List the kinds of skills and knowledge that are imparted to police trainees during their academy training, including the typical subjects or topics that are found in the curriculum
❹ Describe the methods and purposes of both the FTO and PTO programs
2 Preparing for the Street Recruitment, Training, and Socialization
(Courtesy Washoe County Sheriff’s Office.)
35
▼
CHAPTER 2 Preparing for the Street 36
▼
❺ Describe what is meant by the term working personality and how it is developed and functions
❻ Describe the primary functions and styles of policing
❼ Explain the status and advantages of women and minorities serving in police ranks
Introduction
This chapter generally describes how an officer’s career begins and, to a large extent, how his or her
occupational personality is formed. Studying the subculture of the police helps us define the “cop’s
world” and the officer’s role in it; this subculture shapes the officer’s attitudes, values, and beliefs.
The idea of a police subculture was first proposed by William Westley in his 1950 study of the Gary,
Indiana, Police Department, where he found, among many other things, a high degree of group cohe-
sion, secrecy, and violence.1 It is now widely accepted that the police develop traditions, skills, and atti-
tudes that are unique to their occupation because of their duties and responsibilities.2
We begin at the threshold, looking at some of the methods, challenges, and problems connected with
the recruitment of qualified individuals. Then we track the typical police applicant’s progression
through what has been termed the “hurdle process,” or various types of tests that may be employed—
written, psychological, physical, oral, character, and medical screening—and also discuss the assess-
ment center.
Next we examine formal police training at the academy, where the initiation of the officer-to-be into the
police subculture commences in earnest; included are their typical curriculum and some of the informal
learning that takes place there. We then look at postacademy training—the field training officer concept—
and in-service training later in one’s career. Following that, we take a look at how officers adopt their
working personality: formal and informal rules, customs, and beliefs of the occupation. This portion of the
chapter includes an assessment of the traits that make a good officer. Then we examine the roles, func-
tions, and styles of policing, following which we consider women and minorities in policing. A summary,
review questions, and several scenarios and activities that provide opportunities to learn by doing con-
clude the chapter.
▶ First Things First: Recruiting Qualified Applicants
Wanted: Those Who Walk on Water
Recruiting that results in an adequate pool of applicants is an extremely important facet of
the police hiring process. August Vollmer stated:
[Law enforcement candidates should] have the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of David,
the patience of Job and leadership of Moses, the kindness of the Good Samaritan, the diplo-
macy of Lincoln, the tolerance of the Carpenter of Nazareth, and, finally, an intimate
knowledge of every branch of the natural, biological and social sciences.3
CHAPTER 2 Preparing for the Street 37
▼
Many people believe that the police officer has the most difficult job in America. Police
officers are solitary workers, spending most of their time on the job unsupervised. Also,
people who are hired today will become the supervisors of the future. For all these reasons,
police agencies must attempt to attract the best individuals possible.
Police applicants typically come from lower-middle-class or working-class back-
grounds4; they generally have a high school education and a history of employment. They
also tend, at the application stage, to be enthusiastic, idealistic, uninformed about the real-
ity of police work, and very different from the stereotype of the police officer as authoritar-
ian, suspicious, and insensitive.5
Some studies indicate that police applicants are primarily motivated by the need for job
security.6 Other researchers have found that both males and females listed the same six
factors—desire to help people, job security, crime fighting, job excitement, prestige, and a
lifetime interest—as strong positive influences in their career choices.7 Joel Lefkowitz
concluded that police candidates were lower than average in their desire to do autonomous
work,8 and other studies have indicated that applicants tend to favor a more directive lead-
ership style. Such findings are not unusual, given that most police agencies are highly
structured and paramilitary in nature. Studies do not establish that police candidates fit the
stereotypes of harsh, controlling people who wish to dominate others. Leadership, or the
ability to take charge of situations, is a desirable attribute, however. Some researchers
have found that the typical police applicant is very similar to the average college student.9
Bruce Carpenter and Susan Raza, using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory (MMPI), found that police applicants differed from the general population in
several important ways.10 Police applicants, they learned, are somewhat more psychologi-
cally healthy, are generally less depressed and anxious, and are more assertive and inter-
ested in making and maintaining social contacts. Furthermore, few police aspirants have
emotional difficulties, and they have a greater tendency to present a good impression of
themselves than the general population does. They are a more homogeneous group.
Female police applicants tend to be more assertive and nonconforming and to have a
higher energy level than male applicants; they are also less likely to identify with tradi-
tional sex roles than male applicants. Older police applicants tend to be less satisfied, have
more physical complaints, and are more likely to develop physical symptoms under stress
than younger applicants. Applicants to large city police forces are generally less likely to
have physical complaints and have a higher energy level than applicants to small- or
medium-sized agencies. (This is probably explained by the fact that applicants in large cit-
ies are significantly younger.11) Some departments are under a mandate to recruit special
groups of people, such as women, African Americans, and Hispanics; several cities have
also actively recruited from the LGBT community.
▲ Classroom, firearms, and physical agility training are staples of the police recruit academy training process. (Courtesy Washoe
County Sheriff’s Office; Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; and Western Nevada State Peace Officer Academy.)
CHAPTER 2 Preparing for the Street 38
▼
What psychological qualities should agencies seek? According to psychologist
Lawrence Wrightsman,12 it is important that police applicants be incorruptible and have
high moral character. They should be well adjusted, able to carry out the hazardous and
stressful tasks of policing without “cracking up,” and be thick-skinned enough to operate
without defensiveness. They should have a genuine interest in people and a compassionate
sense of the innate dignity of others. Applicants should also be free of emotional reactions,
they should not be impulsive or overly aggressive, and they should be able to exercise
restraint. This is especially important given their active role in crime detection.
Finally, they need logical skills to assist in their investigative work. An interesting
example of some of the logical skills needed for police work is provided by Al Seedman,
former chief of detectives in the New York City Police Department (NYPD):
In the woods just outside of town they found the skeleton of a man who’d been dead for
three months or so. I asked whether this skeleton showed signs of any dental work. But
the local cops said no, although the skeleton had crummy teeth. No dental work at all.
Now, if he’d been wealthy, he could have afforded to have his teeth fixed. If he’d been
poor, welfare would have paid. If he was a union member, their medical plan would
have covered it. So this fellow was probably working at a low-paying nonunionized job,
but making enough to keep off public assistance. Also, since he didn’t match up to any
family’s missing-person report, he was probably single, living alone in an apartment or
hotel. His landlord never reported him missing, either, so most likely he was also behind
on his rent and the landlord probably figured he had just skipped. But even if he had
escaped his landlord, he would never have escaped the tax man. The rest was simple.
I told these cops to wait until the year is up. Then they can go to the IRS and get a printout
of all single males making less than $10,000 a year but more than the welfare ceiling
who paid withholding tax in the first three quarters but not in the fourth. Chances are the
name of their skeleton will be on that printout.13
Other desirable traits of entry-level officers are discussed later in this chapter.
Recruiting Problems and Successes
Certainly the recruitment of quality police officers is a key to the values and culture of any
police organization. The current “cop crunch” is exacerbated in many cities by exploding
growth, a competitive job market, fiscal challenges, and struggles to retain diversity.14
Furthermore, this crunch comes at a time when today’s police need a stronger focus on
problem-solving skills, ability to collaborate with the community, and a greater capacity to
use technology.15 Adding to the problems are today’s higher incidence of obesity, major
debt, drug use, and criminal records that are found among potential recruits.16 Also com-
plicating recruitment efforts, policing in America has become greatly scrutinized in light
of current events around the nation, giving many people the perception that the occupation
has become much more difficult in recent times.17
Leaving no stone unturned, however, agencies are using all types of techniques to
locate and attract applicants. Agencies in many cities are disseminating their latest recruit-
ing news, updates, and hiring information on social networking sites, and urge citizens to
go to their recruiting unit’s Facebook page. Furthermore, some agencies are asking job
candidates to waive their privacy rights and even provide their passwords, text messages,
and identities in order that background investigators may access their social media sites.
Perhaps another factor relating to recruitment concerns entry-level salaries. According to a
federal survey, the entry-level average salary of police officers ranges from an average of
about $30,900 in smaller jurisdictions to about $50,700 in jurisdictions that serve popu-
lations of 100,000 to 249,000.18
CHAPTER 2 Preparing for the Street 39
▼
Recruiting and retaining women and minorities in police service remain particularly
problematic. Gender bias (reflected in the absence of women being hired and promoted to
policy-making positions) and sexual harassment concerns prevent many women from
applying and cause many female officers to leave—and quickly: About 60 percent of
female officers who leave their agency do so during their second to fifth years on the job.19
Police agencies now use various practices for attracting women and minorities to the appli-
cant pool and/or to increase the likelihood of their being hired. Studies show that one of the
most effective means to do so—even more important than raising starting salaries—is for
agencies to enhance their recruiting budget so that targeted recruitment activities can be
accomplished. Police agencies typically do not give specific advantages—such as lower
fitness standards or preference in the waiting list—to women or minorities; however,
targeted recruitment strategies have been shown to be beneficial for generating larger
recruitment pools and hiring underrepresented groups.20 Examples of such strategies
include: conducting career fairs, travelling to other cities and states to recruit, advertising
heavily on the Internet, and so on; the U.S. Border Patrol has advertised during televised
professional football games and even sponsored a NASCAR race car.21 Women and
minorities in policing are discussed in detail later.
▶ Testing
Hurdle Process
Even though a person meets the minimum qualifications for being a police officer (age,
education, no disqualifying criminal record), much work still remains to be done before he
or she is ready to be put to work as a police officer. The new recruit must successfully
complete what is known as the hurdle process. In this section, we consider some kinds of
tests that are used to weed out undesirable candidates.
Tables 2-1 ■ and 2-2 ■ show the kinds of tests and background checks that are used in
selecting new officer recruits. Both tables are organized by agency size, from under 2,500 to
more than 1 million. A study by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (see Tables 2-1 and
2-2) found that nearly all local police agencies use criminal record checks, and nearly all
employ background investigations (99 percent), and driving record checks (99 percent) to
screen applicants. Personal interviews (99 percent), psychological evaluations (72 percent),
written aptitude tests (48 percent), personality inventory (46 percent), and polygraph exams
(26 percent) are also used.22 Certainly not all types of tests shown in Figure 2-1 ■ are
employed by all of the 17,000 police agencies in America, nor are these tests necessarily
given in the sequence shown. Under affirmative action laws and court decisions, a burden
rests with police administrators to demonstrate that the tests used are job related. This
so-called hurdle process23 shown in Figure 2-1 can require more than three months to com-
plete, depending on the number and types of tests used and the ease of scheduling and
performing them.
Application Is Filed
Polygraph Exam
Medical/Drug Screening
Written Exam
Psychological Exam
Recruit Academy
Agility Test
Oral Exam
Character Investigation
Probationary Status
Career Status
FIGURE 2-1 Major Elements of the Police Hiring Process
CHAPTER 2 Preparing for the Street 40
▼
TablE 2-1 Interviews, Tests, and Examinations Used in Selection of New Officer Recruits in local Police Departments, by Size of Population Served
Interviews, Tests, and Examinations Used to Select New Officer Recruits
Population Served
Personal
Interview
Psychological
Evaluation
Written
aptitude Test
Personality
Inventory
Polygraph
Exam
Voice Stress
analyzer
All sizes 99% 72% 48% 46% 26% 5%
1,000,000 or more 100 100 100 85 77 0
500,000–999,999 97 100 90 68 74 13
250,000–499,999 96 100 96 67 83 7
100,000–249,999 98 99 88 64 77 13
50,000–99,999 99 100 87 66 63 13
25,000–49,999 100 98 83 64 51 9
10,000–24,999 100 94 76 57 42 11
2,500–9,999 100 82 56 44 26 5
Under 2,500 98 48 20 38 10 2
Note: List of selection methods is not intended to be exhaustive.
Source: Interviews, Tests, and Examinations Used in Selection of New Officer Recruits in Local Police Departments, by Size of Population Served” from Local
Police Departments, 2007 (Washington, DC). Published by Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010.
TablE 2-2 background Checks Used in Selection of New Officer Recruits in local Police Departments, by Size of Population Served
background Checks Used to Select New Officer Recruits
Population Served
Criminal Record
Check
background
Investigation
Driving Record
Check
Credit History
Check
All sizes 100% 99% 99% 61%
1,000,000 or more 100 100 100 85
500,000–999,999 100 100 100 97
250,000–499,999 100 100 98 96
100,000–249,999 100 100 100 94
50,000–99,999 100 100 100 93
25,000–49,999 100 100 100 90
10,000–24,999 100 100 100 78
2,500–9,999 100 99 99 65
Under 2,500 100 99 97 41
Note: List of selection methods is not intended to be exhaustive.
Source: Background Checks Used In Selection of New Officer Recruits In Local Police Departments, By Size of Population
Served, Local Police Departments, 2007 (Washington, DC: Author, December 2010), Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010.
Written Examinations: General Knowledge and Psychological Tests
Measures of general intelligence and reading skills are the best means a police agency can
use for predicting who will do well in the police academy.21 Of course, any such test must
be reliable and valid. To achieve reliability and validity, many (if not most) police agen-
cies purchase and use “canned” test instruments—those prepared by professional individu-
als or companies.
Larger police departments and state police agencies use four types of written tests:
cognitive tests (measuring aptitudes in verbal skills and mathematics, reasoning, and
CHAPTER 2 Preparing for the Street 41
▼
related perceptual abilities), personality tests (predominantly the MMPI), interest invento-
ries (the Strong-Campbell, the Kuder, and the Minnesota Interest tests), and biographical
data inventories.22
Over time, research findings have been mixed concerning the implications of writ-
ten examinations. For example, a 1962 study of deputy sheriffs found that candidates
with written test scores above the 97th percentile were most apt to be successful in
their careers.24 However, a study of the Tucson, Arizona, Police Department deter-
mined that the IQ scores of officers who dropped out of the force were significantly
higher than those of a norm group. The study concluded that one can be too bright to
be a cop, unless an alternate career development program can be developed to chal-
lenge and use highly intelligent people.25 Of course, there is much more to police work
than reading skills.
General intelligence tests are often administered and scored by the civil service or the
central personnel office. Most frequently, those who fail the entrance examination (i.e.,
they do not make the minimum score, which is usually set at 70 percent) will go on to other
careers, although most jurisdictions allow for a retest after a specified period of time. The
names of those who pass are forwarded to the police agency for any further in-house test-
ing and screening.26
Another form of written examination for police applicants is the psychological
screening test. There are two major concerns in using such tests to screen out appli-
cants: stability and suitability. Candidates must be carefully screened in order to
exclude those who are emotionally unstable, overly aggressive, or suffering from some
personality disorder. The two primary tests of suitability of police candidates are the
MMPI and the California Personality Inventory (CPI).27 Stability is a major legal con-
cern. If an officer commits a serious, harmful, and inappropriate act, the question of his
or her stability will be raised, and the police agency may be asked to provide documen-
tation about why the officer was deemed stable at the time of employment. It has been
found that 2 to 5 percent of the police applicant pool may be eliminated due to severe
emotional or mental problems.28
Physical agility
Entry-level physical examinations range from a minimally acceptable number of push-ups
to timed running and jumping tests to tests of strength and agility, such as dragging
weights, pushing cars, leaping over six-foot walls, walking on horizontal ladders, crawling
through tunnels, and negotiating monkey bars. The problem is that very few of these activ-
ities are actually performed by police officers on the job.
The challenge for police executives, and an area of lawsuit vulnerability, is selecting a
truly job-related physical agility test. Police agencies must determine the nature and extent
of physical work performed by police officers and use that information to develop an
instrument to measure applicants’ ability to perform that work. One such test is based on
the theory that police officers must perform three basic physical functions: getting to the
problem (possibly needing to run, climb, vault, and so forth), resolving the problem (per-
haps needing to fight or wrestle with an opponent), and removing the problem (often
requiring that the officer carry heavy weights). To establish the testing protocol for a given
jurisdiction, the officers fill out written forms concerning the kinds of physical work that
they performed each workday for one month. Information from the forms is then analyzed
by computer and used to develop a physical agility test that accurately measures the
recruit’s ability to do the kinds of work performed by police officers in that specific
locale.29 If challenged in court, agencies using such tests can show that they test for the
actual job requirements of their jurisdiction and do not discriminate on the basis of gender,
race, height, age, and physical condition.
CHAPTER 2 Preparing for the Street 42
▼
Personal Interview
As noted in Table 2-1, the personal interview is used by 99 percent of all police agen-
cies as part of the selection process.30 Candidates appear individually before one or
more boards that are composed of members of the police agency, and often the com-
munity. Candidates may also be asked to participate in a clinical interview with a psy-
chologist; studies have indicated that the clinical interview complements the written
psychological test.31
The purpose of the interview is to assess aspects of the candidate that cannot be
measured on other tests, such as appearance, ability to communicate and reason (often
using situational questions), and general poise and bearing. The interview is not normally
well suited for judging character, dependability, initiative, or other such factors.
A primary advantage of the interview is that evaluators can ask applicants to explain
how they would behave and use force in given situations because any number of possible
scenarios exist. Following are five examples of the kinds of situations that might be posed
to police applicants to see how well they think on their feet, develop appropriate responses,
and prioritize their actions:
1. You are dispatched to a neighborhood park to check out a young man who is
acting strangely. Upon arrival, you see the youth standing near a group of chil-
dren playing on a merry-go-round. He is holding a .22-caliber rifle. What is your
next action?
2. You are in the men’s locker room at the end of your shift. You hear another male
officer talking about a female officer’s body. What do you do?
3. You are at home watching a football game on a weekend. Your neighbor comes to
your door and frantically claims that his door has been kicked in and that he believes
someone is inside. What do you do? What if the neighbor tells you that his daughter
is upstairs in his house? How would you proceed?
4. You are in a downtown area making an arrest. A crowd gathers and you begin to
hear comments about “police harassment.” Soon the crowd becomes angry. How
do you react?
5. You and another officer are responding to a burglary call at an office building. While
searching the scene, you observe the other officer remove an expensive fountain pen
from the top of a desk and put it in his pocket. What do you do?
Character Investigation
As indicated earlier, nearly all (99 percent) local police departments use background
checks or character investigations—probably the most important element of the selection
process. If done properly, the character investigation will also be one of the most time
consuming and costly elements of the process.
Character is one of the most subjective yet most important factors an applicant brings
to the job, and it cannot be measured with data and interviews. A character investigation
involves talking to the candidate’s past and current friends, coworkers, teachers, neigh-
bors, and employers. The applicant should be informed that references will be checked
and that in the course of reviewing them, the investigation may spread to other refer-
ences and others who are known to the applicant. No expense should be spared in talking
with anyone who has personal knowledge of the candidate and can provide crucial infor-
mation; if the job is done properly, the investigator will not only have a complete knowl-
edge of the person’s character but will also know where any skeletons may be buried in
the applicant’s background.
CHAPTER 2 Preparing for the Street 43
▼
Polygraph Examination
As shown in Table 2-1, 26 percent of the nation’s police agencies—and much higher pro-
portions of larger agencies—conduct polygraph examinations as part of their selection
process.32 These agencies are willing to devote the extra resources necessary to help them
determine that their applicants are honest and to secure higher-quality employees.
A survey of the benefits of polygraph examinations for police applicants by Richard
Arther, director of the National Center of Lie Detection, supported the need for the poly-
graph for police recruitment:33
• An applicant for a police position in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, came to that agency highly recommended by a police lieutenant and his employer at a home for blind,
retarded children. During the polygraph examination, however, the applicant admitted
to at least fifty instances of sexually abusing the children under his care.
• An applicant with the Wichita, Kansas, Police Department admitted to the polygra- phist that he had been involved in many burglaries. The detective division was able to
clear eight unsolved crimes as a result of the applicant’s confession.
• A police officer in one California police department applied for employment in the Salinas, California, Police Department. He appeared to be a model police officer, was
in excellent physical condition, and was familiar with state codes. His previous experi-
ence made him a potentially ideal candidate. However, during the polygraph exam, he
admitted to having committed over a dozen burglaries while on duty and to having
used his patrol car to haul away the stolen property. He also admitted to planting stolen
narcotics on innocent suspects in order to make arrests and to having had sexual inter-
course with girls as young as sixteen, in his patrol car.
• An applicant for the San Diego Sheriff’s Department admitted to that agency’s polyg- raphist that on weekends he would go from bar to bar pretending to be drunk. He
would then seek out people to pick fights with, since he could only have an erection
and orgasm while inflicting pain on others. In addition to these sadistic tendencies,
he also admitted that he got rid of his frustrations by savagely beating “niggers,
Chicanos, and long-haired pukes who cause all the trouble.”
▲ The polygraph, which measures several physiological features, is used
during recruitment to detect lies and deception and uncover any inappropri-
ate and/or criminal activities by the applicant. (Courtesy pefostudio5/Shutterstock.)
CHAPTER 2 Preparing for the Street 44
▼
These are but a few examples of how the investment of time and money for polygraph
examinations can spare the public and police agencies a tremendous amount of trouble and
expense later. It is doubtful that few (if any) of these behaviors would have surfaced during
the course of a personal interview or a background investigation. Polygraph testing will be
discussed in greater detail in Chapter 5 in connection with criminal investigations.
Medical Examination and Drug Screening
Someone once said that some police medical examinations are often of the “Can you hear
thunder/see lightning?” variety—meaning that they are cursory at best. It is also widely
believed that policing is only for those young people who are in peak physical condition.
Whether these statements are facetious or not, it is certainly true that policing is no place
for the physically unfit. Such officers would be a hazard not only to themselves but also
to their coworkers. The job, with its stress, shift work, many hours of inactivity during
patrol time, and other factors, can be physically debilitating even for veteran officers,
especially those who fail to exercise and eat properly, so police administrators certainly
do not want applicants who are unfit. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), for
example, will not consider applicants whose weight exceeds the norm for their height and
body type. Unfit personnel are thought to have lower energy levels, to give less attention
to duty, and to take more sick days. Early retirement and disability often result, as do
increased operating expenses for replacing ill officers and hiring and training new perma-
nent replacements.
More and more often, police agencies, like private-sector businesses, the military, and
other sensitive government agencies, are compelling prospective employees to submit to a
drug test. Substance abuse remains a very real problem in the workplace, resulting in poor
productivity, lowered agency morale, and increased accidents and injuries.
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