History of Law
Enforcement
Aug 29 – sep 2
3rd period
Weekly Warm Up
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Inquirers
They develop their natural curiosity.
They acquire the skills necessary to conduct
inquiry and research and show independence in
learning.
They actively enjoy learning and this love of
learning will be sustained throughout their lives.
Answer in 4 or more sentences for the week:
– Are you an inquirer? How so?
Rationale
Modern law enforcement has been influenced by
thousands of years and many civilizations.
It is important for an officer to understand the
history of his or her profession so they have
an understanding of why things are the way
they are.
Objectives
The student will be able to:
1. Identify the role of police in society.
2. Define terms associated with the lesson.
3. Discuss the origins and development of modern
law enforcement.
4. Research the duties of law enforcement officers
in various eras.
5. Create a presentation to teach others about the
history of law enforcement.
The role of police in a
democratic society
A. The police are entrusted to serve and protect.
B. Law enforcement officers are the citizens’ most
common and direct contact with the government.
C. Law enforcement dates back to the earliest
human civilizations.
D. The Romans contributed the idea of districts or
enforcement precincts.
Law enforcement & Early
Civilizations
A. Extends back to the earliest civilizations
B. Met a social need for promoting a group’s well-being
C. Banishment was the most effective means of punishment. Camp
guards of early civilization represent the first traces of law
enforcement practices.
D. First recorded police organization – 1340 B.C., in Egypt, under
the reign of Pharoah Hur Moheb
1. River security force established to ensure security on the Nile
2. Responsible for preventing piracy, guarding commerce, and
searching suspect ships
E. Police is a derivative
of the Greek work
“Politeria”
The portion of government that deals
with protection of life and property.
F. Roman contribution – during
the reign of Emperor Augustus
Caesar
1. Police were a special feature of the
Roman government.
2. Various grades of officers
3. Seven divisions with 14 districts;
districts represent the first city
precincts
English Roots
A. American law enforcement concepts originated in England in 900 A.D.
B. Justice was primarily a private matter based on revenge and retribution.
C. Victims and/or family members would seek justice.
D. King William – 1066
1. Frankpledge system
2. Tithing
3. Shires
4. Shire Reeve
5. Constables
E. Winchester Statute –
1285
1. Night watch system
2. Selection of constables
3. Draft of volunteer citizens as
watchmen
F. Justice of Peace – 1326
1. Replaced Shire Reeve
2. Supervised law enforcement activities including
crime investigation, securing criminals, and
organizing the night watch system
3. The system lasted into the 1700’s.
4. Citizens were the police.
5. Law enforcement organization was local.
G. Henry Fielding –
1700’s
1. The military was used for crime control.
2. Established the Bow Street Runners who
apprehended criminals and recovered stolen
property
a) More effective than any other law enforcement of its
day
b) Paved the way for a more professional and efficient
response to crime, and the apprehension of criminals
H. Sir Robert Peel – 1829
1. Worked with the English Parliament to
mandate a publicly funded police force
under the London Metropolitan Police
Act
2. Created uniformed police force known
as “bobbies” or “peelers"
3. Peel’s 12 Principles of
Policing
1. The police must be stable, efficient,
and organized along military lines.
2. The police must be under government
control.
3. The absence of crime will best prove
the efficiency of police.
3. Peel’s 12 Principles of
Policing
4. The distribution of crime news is essential.
5. The deployment of police strength, by both time
and area, is essential.
6. No quality is more indispensable to a policeman
than a perfect command of temper; a quiet,
determined manner has more effect than a
violent action.
3. Peel’s 12 Principles of
Policing
7. Good appearance commands respect.
8. The securing and training of proper
persons is the root of efficiency.
9. Public security demands that every
police officer be given a number.
3. Peel’s 12 Principles of
Policing
10. Police headquarters should be centrally
located and easily accessible to the
people.
11. Policemen should be hired on a
probationary basis.
12. Police records are necessary to the
correct distribution of police strength.
Historical Eras of Law
Enforcement
C. Political Era (1840 to 1920)
1. The period when police agencies were established to provide
a unified police force in the major American cities
2. The “Spoils” system; the metropolitan police in the 19th
century were powerful, corrupt, poorly trained,
unsupervised, and frequently abusive to the public they
were to serve and protect.
3. The primary focus was on crime prevention and the
maintenance of order through the foot patrol.
D. Reform Era
1. Began in early part of the 20th century, as a
result of the middle and upper class citizens’
concern with corruption
2. They wanted to get rid of political patronage
and improve the efficiency of government,
especially in law enforcement.
3. They called for professional police forces, to
remove law enforcement from politics and to
introduce modern technology to make law
enforcement more efficient.
D. Reform Era
4. One result of the Reform Era was the
establishment of police administrative boards who
were responsible for appointing police
administrators and controlling police affairs.
5. These civilian review boards were established to
reduce local political control over the police.
6. These review boards failed because the appointed
leaders often lacked law enforcement knowledge.
E. Professional Era
(1920’s to the 1970’)
1. August Vollmer
a) Chief of police in Berkley, California, was the most
famous police reformer in the early part of the
20th century
b) Instituted university training for police officers
c) Helped to develop the School of Criminology at
the University of California at Berkley. The school
became the model for university-level criminal
justice programs around the U.S.
d) Believed that the police should be a professional
force
E. Professional Era
(1920’s to the 1970’)
e) The model of professional policing was
developed from Vollmer’s six essential
elements:
(1) The police force should stay out of politics.
(2) Members should be well trained, disciplined,
and tightly organized.
(3) Laws should be equally enforced.
(4) The police should use technological
developments.
(5) Merit should be on the basis of personnel
2. O.W. Wilson
a) The redirection of police from maintenance of order to one
of crime control altered the nature of policing in America
more than any of the other elements of the professional
era.
b) A student of Vollmer’s, advocated that law enforcement use
motorized patrols, radio communication, and rapid response
to aid effective crime fighting.
c) Suggested the use of one-man patrols as the best way to
deploy police personnel, and the importance of rotating beat
assignments in order to fight police corruption
F. Community Era
(1970 to present)
1. Research findings indicate that the
professional model was not working:
a) Increasing the number of patrol officers in a
neighborhood was found to have little effect
on crime.
b) Rapid response to calls for service does not
greatly increase the arrest of criminals.
c) It is difficult, if not impossible, to improve
rates of solving crimes.
G. Service to the
community
1. In the 1970’s there was a movement
away from the crime-fighting focus of
law enforcement towards a greater
emphasis on maintaining order and
providing service to the community.
2. It was suggested that police officers
get out of their patrol cars and spend
more time on the street assisting
citizens, while maintaining their crimefighting role.
Activity #1
Timeline Project: Have students work in pairs to
Research the “Top 10 Duties of Law Enforcement”
for each of the following time periods:
1. Egyptian Civilization
2. Greek Civilization
3. Roman Civilization,
4. 900 to 1066 A.D.,
5. 1066 to 1326 A.D.,
6. 1326 to 1700 A.D.,
7. 1700 to 1829 A.D.,
8. 1829 to the present.
Activity # 1 Continued
Research Images
• Then students locate royalty free or
public domain images to illustrate the
key points of research.
• Students will use their research and
images to create a pictorial timeline
for display in the classroom.
Activity # 2
1. The student will create their own
12 principles of policing, then
compare and contrast them to Sir
Robert Peel’s 12 principles.