Mainstream and Crosscurrents, Second Edition
Chapter 5
History and Organization
of Law Enforcement
A brief history of the police
Police in early England
The form of policing that most directly led
to that of modern US policing was
England's frankpledge system.
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A brief history of the police
Police in early England
The invention of gin advanced the
development of law enforcement by
making hard liquor affordable for many
people.
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A brief history of the police
Police in early England
Henry Fielding organized the Bow Street
Runners, which was more centralized
than the watch-and-ward system.
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A brief history of the police
Police in early England
In 1798, the West India Trading Company
created London's first professional,
salaried police force, the Thames River
Police.
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A brief history of the police
Police in early England
In 1829, Sir Robert Peel sponsored the
Metropolitan Police Act, the first
successful bill to create a permanent,
public police force.
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A brief history of the police
Police in early England
English policing contributed three features to US
policing…



Limited police authority
Local control
A fragmented system
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7
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The 19th century
Policing in the United States

Informal policing began in New York
City in 1625.

The city's first professional police force
was organized in 1845.
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The 19th century
Policing in the United States

The authority of officers in London rested
on discretion granted by the government.

New York City officers had more
discretion, with a personal basis for
authority.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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The 19th century
Policing in the United States

Chicago's official police force was
created around 1855, and reorganized
several times until 1913.

Chicago police had four particular
orientations toward the law…
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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10
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The 19th century
Policing in the United States

Chicago police and courts were highly
decentralized.

Chicago police were at the command of
local organizations.

Chicago criminal justice institutions
developed informal systems of operation.

Chicago criminal justice institutions operated
as rackets.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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The 19th century
Policing in the United States
The vigilante tradition was part of
American life, especially in the South and
West.
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Introduction of police professionalism
Reformers & Reform Efforts




The Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883
The Wickersham Commission & August
Vollmer
Orlando Wilson
J. Edgar Hoover
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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Introduction of police professionalism
Reformers & Reform Efforts
The 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Act
basically formed a civil service system
that dispensed with patronage and
administered employment and promotions
based on merit rather than political
connections.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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14
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Introduction of police professionalism
Reformers & Reform Efforts
In 1931, August Vollmer wrote the
Wickersham Commission report that
affected police reform for the rest of the
20th century. Features of the progressive
movement included an emphasis on
technology.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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Introduction of police professionalism
Reformers & Reform Efforts
Orlando W. Wilson increased police
efficiency by assigning officers based on
the amount of reported crime and calls for
service.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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Introduction of police professionalism
Reformers & Reform Efforts
J. Edgar Hoover championed police
professionalism and built the FBI into one
of the premier law enforcement agencies
in the world.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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CrossCurrents A brief history of the police
Frontier justice
As pioneers flooded into the West seeking
land, economic opportunities, or distance
from government, the frontier outgrew the
ability of the country to formally police it.
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Modern police organization
 Police department organization
varies little.
 Most have uniforms, ranks,
hierarchical chains of command, and
centralized decision-making.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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19
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Modern Police Organization
Crucial differences between the police and
the military…

Discretion

Visibility

Authority
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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20
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Modern Police Organization
Problem of Jurisdiction



What has been sacrificed in coordination
and efficiency has been gained in
responsiveness and accountability
Policing is fragmented
More than 18,000 agencies nationwide
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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21
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Levels of law enforcement

Federal level

State level

Local level
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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22
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Levels of law enforcement
Federal level

Agencies have nationwide jurisdiction, but
concentrate on specific crimes.

About 60 federal law enforcement
agencies are organized under the…



Department of Justice
Department of the Treasury
Department of Homeland Security
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23
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Levels of law enforcement
Federal level

Federal Bureau of Investigation


Nationwide jurisdiction to combat federal
crimes.
Secret Service

Placed under Homeland Security, its
mission has been expanded to include
terrorism.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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24
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Levels of law enforcement
State level

There are many variations in agency
organization from state to state.

State industry or culture can determine the
type of state police agencies.

Many states have bureaus of investigation.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
John Randolph Fuller
25
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
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Levels of law enforcement
State level

Many states have organized their state
law enforcement functions under their
highway patrols.

All states have a highway patrol, except
for Hawaii.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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26
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
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Levels of law enforcement
Local level

Local law enforcement agencies handle most
crime.

Most local police forces are operated by
municipalities.

About 13,000 local police departments in the
United States.

The largest is the New York City Police
Department.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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27
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
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Levels of law enforcement
Local level
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
John Randolph Fuller
28
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.
Levels of law enforcement
Local level

Sheriff's offices are the most common form of
county law enforcement in the US, with about
3,100 offices.

Most sheriffs are elected.

Most offices run at least one jail.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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29
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Innovations in Policing
Innovations in policing come from three
sources:
 Social and technological changes
 Research
 New ideas.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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30
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
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Innovations in Policing
Social and Technological Changes



Homeland security
Less-than-lethal weapons
Information technology
DNA databases
 Crime mapping

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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31
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Innovations in Policing: Social and Technological Changes
Homeland Security




Role expansion
Racial and ethnic profiling
Immigration enforcement
Personnel shortages
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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32
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
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Innovations in Policing: Social and Technological Changes
Less-than-lethal Weapons



Weapons that are not intended
to kill
Protect police
Potential for misuse
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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33
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
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Innovations in Policing: Social and Technological Changes
Information Technology

DNA databases
NDIS
 CODIS


Crime mapping

Geographic maps of where criminal
offenses occur and where suspects and
offenders live
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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34
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Innovations in policing
Innovations from Research

Kansas City Preventive Patrol
Experiment

Rand Study of Detectives

The DARE program

Project Ceasefire
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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35
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Innovations in Policing: Research
Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment
 Examined the effectiveness of police
patrol
 Decreasing or increasing routine patrols
had no effect on crime citizen fear of
crime, or community attitudes toward the
police.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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36
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Innovations in Policing: Research
Rand Study of Detectives
 Examined how effective detectives are in
solving crimes.
 Suggested that a rethinking about the
duties of detectives warrants new ways of
doing investigative work.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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37
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Innovations in Policing: Research
DARE
 The Drug Abuse Resistance Education
program was started 1983 by the LAPD
and Los Angeles schools.
 Recent evaluations suggest the program
does little to prevent children from using
drugs.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
John Randolph Fuller
38
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Innovations in Policing: Research
Project Ceasefire
 Part of the Boston Gun Project
 An effort to stem youth violence
 Youths were informed that further
violence would not be tolerated.
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
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39
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Questions

Why is Miranda v. Arizona important?

How are the police different from the
military?

Which level of law enforcement agency
handles most of the nation’s crime?

How has the focus on terrorism changed
US law enforcement?
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e
John Randolph Fuller
40
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.