“The police are the public
and the public are the police”
THE HISTORY AND STRUCTURE OF LAW
ENFORCEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
Where did the idea
of an organized
police force first
come from?

HINT: It was the
same place where
America got most
of its initial culture
ENGLAND!!
Roots of American
Law Enforcement
Roots of American Law Enforcement
 Earliest police force
 By the 1700s, London—one of the largest cities in the world—
didn’t have an organized law enforcement system
 Only time gov’t got involved with crime was to stop riots
Military was sent in to deal with rioters
 Weren’t good when it came to not killing people—either too rough
or too reserved
 The townspeople’s taxes paid soldiers’ salaries
 This tended to make people angry & not trust armed
organizations that could restrict their freedom
 Citizens resisted police—afraid if there was one, authorities
would abuse it for their own ends

Swords & Scalpels
 “The army is a broadsword, not a scalpel—you do not
want the army in an American city”


What does this quote mean?
Why might people use this argument to claim that there is a
need for a police force?
Roots of American Law Enforcement
 Sir Robert “Bobbie” Peel
 First man to come up with effective “scalpel”-type policing
organization to fight crime in cities
 Purpose was to:
Reduce tension & conflict between officers and the public
 Use nonviolent means to keep peace (“bobbies”, or British police,
were not armed); violence was last resort
 Relieve military of controlling urban violence
 Be judged on absence of crime, not high-profile police action


His model was adopted in London in 1829, and was so
successful that eventually the rest of England and the U.S.
decided to follow it
Early American Policing

Early American Policing Timeline
In early U.S. (1801), Boston was the first city to have a formal night
watch—but that was all it did
 32 years later, Philadelphia was the first city to have both day and
night watchmen
 5 years later, Boston, because of the same pressures London had
been facing, formed the first organized police department based on
Robert Peel’s model
 After 6 more years passed, New York City created a model for
modern police forces when it combined night and day watches under
the authority of a single police chief
 At the start of the Civil War (17 years later), most major U.S. cities—
Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and New
Orleans—had similar police departments based on London’s & NYC’s

Problems with Early American Policing

The Spoils System
While most police worked hard and wanted to serve the
public good, policing in 1800s was horrible
 Why?
 This was called the “Political Era” of policing
because police were hired and promoted only if they
did what wealthy, corrupt politicians wanted
 Most cops didn’t make much money, so they were
usually willing to take bribes

• This was called the “spoils system”—based on the
phrase “to the victor go the spoils”
• Unfortunately, this system made police work more for
their political bosses than for the public
 Politicians even told police not to arrest potential voters
The Reform Era in American Policing
 The Wickersham Commission
 Even though people knew about abuses, they continued until
this commission was created in 1929 by Herbert Hoover


This was a response to Prohibition’s huge jump in the crime rate
Recommended reforms to fix:
Police brutality
 “The corrupting influence of politics”


Led to Reform Era in U.S. policing
(1930-1980)
The Reform Era in American Policing

Reforms caused by commission:
Raised standards for hiring
 More educated cops; degrees became required in some areas
 Better training
 Centralized police administration (less influence from politicians)
 Chiefs could now hire assistant chiefs to keep a closer eye on
local cops and try out new strategies to fight crime
 Set up special units (vice, traffic) that worked across precincts
 More use of technology
 Automobiles
 Forensic scientists
 Radio communications
 Fingerprinting

The Reform Era in American Policing
 Problems with the Reform Era
 While the Reform Era did bring positive changes up through
the 1950s, there were problems in the 1960s
Police often overreacted to antiwar & civil rights demonstrations
 Police didn’t cause the problems (usually), but their responses
didn’t help
 People started trusting and respecting police less

The Community Era in American Policing
 Community Policing
 Started in 1968, with government act that
gave police depts. funds to create programs
to bring cops & communities closer
Summer recreation activities for inner-city
kids run by police
 “Officer-friendly” referral programs that
encouraged people to come to police with their
personal concerns about crime

The Community Era in American Policing
 Community policing takes off in 1980s
 Why?
 Crime wave in 1970s
Police response is initially REACTIVE: strategies focus on
reducing how long it takes cops to react to crimes
 When this doesn’t work, decide to use PROACTIVE strategies:
prevent crime before it happens by going after root causes
 Community policing was seen to help with this because if police
and public have better relations, public will help police more to
prevent and fight crime
 Do you agree with this view?

 Which do you think was the most important era in
shaping American policing? Why?
Policing, From the Bottom Up
T H E 3 L E V E L S O F L AW E N F O R C E M E N T I N T H E U . S .
An estimated 500 people
descended on Morristown
this afternoon for dueling
protests on illegal
immigration and
immigrants' rights.
Protesters grew more vocal
as the afternoon wore on,
with both sides waiting for
Morristown Mayor Donald
Cresitello to take the stage.
Police outfitted in riot gear
with helmets, batons and
pepper spray surrounded
the stage, while a line of
reinforcements arrived to
barricade South Street.
Police officers removed a
female protester from the
grounds of town hall . The
protester opposes deputizing
local police officers as
immigration agents, and
tried to damage amplifiers
on the opposing side’s stage.
Local Law Enforcement
Local Law Enforcement
 2 types
 Municipal Law Enforcement
 Sheriffs & County Law Enforcement
Both have wide range of responsibilities
 Responsibilities overlap in certain areas
 But there are important distinctions (see next slide)

Local Law Enforcement
Municipal
(Town, City)
 In charge: Chiefs

Appointed to job (problems?)
 Can do the most of all law
enforcement agencies


Duties range from taking care of
noise complaints to
investigating homicide
Responsible for traffic laws
 Many feel local (municipal &
county) police are too
underpaid because of all these
responsibilities
County
 In charge: Sheriffs

Elected to job (problems?)
 Main tasks





Maintaining county jail
Collecting taxes
Keep order in court
Search & Rescue
Enforcing Law in nonmunicipal areas
 Coroners are also county
level
An Aberdeen man was
hospitalized in critical
condition this afternoon
after he was struck by a
car as he tried to walk
across the Garden State
Parkway in Sayreville,
authorities said.
State Law Enforcement
State Law Enforcement
 Initially created for 4 reasons:
 Assist local agencies that had a lack of resources/training
 Investigate criminal activities that cross over different parts of
the state
 Provide law enforcement for areas without local or county
police
 Break strikes and control labor movements
 Which of these tasks are still performed today?
 First state police?
 TEXAS RANGERS! (1835)
State Law Enforcement
 Only 23 states officially have state police
 Others have different divisions that perform similar duties
Highway patrol
 State Bureau of Investigation
 State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs

 Many states now believe that some areas of law
enforcement need more attention

These states have created Limited-Purpose Law
Enforcement Agencies
State Law Enforcement

Limited-Purpose Law Enforcement Agencies
Most states have an Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC)
 Monitors sale, distribution, & taxation of alcohol
 Responsible for revoking liquor licenses
 Fish and game warden organizations
 Regulate hunting & fishing
 Motor Vehicle Compliance (MVC) agencies
 Monitor trucks, weigh stations
 Others regulate white-collar & computer crimes, nursing homes,
train local police

The FBI today arrested a
Pentagon official and two
Chinese-born residents on
espionage charges for
passing defense secrets to
China, the Justice
Department announced.
Gregg William Bergersen, 51,
of Alexandria, was arrested
at his home on espionage
charges. Tai Shen Kuo, a
Taiwan-born U.S. citizen, 58,
and Yu Xin Kang, a Chinese
national, 33, both of New
Orleans, were arrested in
New Orleans on charges of
conspiracy to provide defense
secrets to China.
Mr. Bergersen worked as a
weapons system analyst for
the Defense Security
Cooperation Agency, in
Arlington, which is in charge
of U.S. arms sales to foreign
nations. He held a top-secret
clearance.
Federal Law Enforcement
Federal Law Enforcement
 There are 3 main branches:
 Department of Justice
 Department of Homeland Security
 Department of Treasury
Federal Law Enforcement

Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
 Created in 1908 to stop political and business
corruption
 Priorities were recently reworked after terrorist attacks
•
•
•
•
•
•
Terrorism
Organized Crime
Foreign Intelligence Operations in the U.S.
Cybercrime
Federal Drug Offenses
White-Collar Crime
28,000 employees
 $5 billion budget
 Has network of agencies in
U.S. and outside U.S.

Federal Law Enforcement

Department of Justice (cont.)
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
 Mission: enforce domestic drug laws and help other
federal and foreign agencies stop manufacture and trade
of illegal drugs on international level
 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives (ATF)
 Mission: fight illegal sale, possession, and use of firearms &
explosives and untaxed alcohol & tobacco; also enforces federal
gambling laws
 U.S. Marshals Service
 Oldest federal L.E. agency—started by George Washington in 1789
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Provide security at federal courts
Control property seized by federal government
Protect government witnesses (relocation)
Track down federal fugitives
Federal Law Enforcement
 After 9/11, there was criticism of Justice Department
 Wasn’t good enough for new threats of terrorism

Government’s solution to this problem?
Federal Law Enforcement

Department of Homeland Security

Directorate of Customs & Border Security (2 parts):

Customs & Border Protection (CBP)
• Monitors people and goods moving between U.S.,
Canadian, & Mexican borders; includes Border Patrol
 In 2004, seized $2.6 billion in illegal drugs & caught 50,000 illegal
immigrants smuggled across borders

Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Enforces laws for customs and immigration inside U.S.

Customs Service

Main purpose is to prevent smuggling of contraband (anything that’s
unlawful to produce or possess) while also keeping country secure
Federal Law Enforcement

Secret Service


Created in 1865 to primarily stop counterfeiting
Later came to be responsible for protecting President & family, VP,
President-elect, people running for President, & former Presidents
Federal Law Enforcement

Department of Treasury
Formed in 1789
 Responsible for government’s finances
 Largest Bureau: Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
 IRS has 3 divisions; only one does criminal
investigations
 Investigates cases of tax fraud & tax evasion
 Can make arrests
 Plays an important role in policing selling
drugs and gambling—Why?

• People who do this can’t report their income!
• This is how Al Capone got caught