CHAPTER FOUR
HISTORY, MISSION, AND “WORKING
PERSONALITY” OF POLICE
POLICE FUNCTION
 Central part of gov’t since people began
creating gov’t
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 POLICE
=
MILITARY
HISTORY
 1500 B.C.E. Mesopotamia had police forces
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Their mission: torture suspects to obtain
confessions and mistreat prisoners
1750 B.C.E.
King Hammurabi
CODE OF HAMMURABI
Set of laws engraved on black stone tablets
 Lex Talionis—”eye for an eye”
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Covered: theft, ownership, sexual relationships
and interpersonal violence
300 Clauses of law
Lended predictability to punishments
“If a man has kidnapped the son of a free
man, he shall be put to death”
MODERN POLICING
 Created in London in 1829

LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE FORCE
ENGLISH HISTORY
 Initially a local responsibility

FRANKPLEDGE SYSTEM: every male over
the age of 12 was required to form a group
with nine neighbors into a “tithing”. Ten
tithings were grouped into a “hundred”.
Hundrends were supervised by a
“hundredman”
1066----WILLIAM THE DUKE OF
NORMANDY
 Divided the country in counties or shires and
appointed reeves to collect taxes, seize
property and stop political dissent
 SHIRES plus REEVES SOUNDS
LIKE????
MAGNA CARTA 1215
 King John ultimately was forced to sign
 Protected certain rights of the King’s subjects
allowing appeals against unlawful
imprisonment
 His will could be bound by law
TAXATION FOR LAW
ENFORCEMENT

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Constables worked for courts
 Served warrants and
summonses
 Arrested suspects
 Helped prosecute criminals
Night watchmen (all men)
 Patrol from dusk to dawn
 Public duty
 Made fun of
ENGLISH REFORM
 Henry Fielding (writer, Tom Jones) 18th
Century became magistrate of Bow Street
Region of London because he was having $$
problems
 At this time there were 223 crimes for which a
person could be hanged
BOW STREET RUNNERS
 First group to emphasize crime prevention
 Joined by the Bow Street Horse Patrol
 “Redbreasts”
SIR ROBERT PEEL 1829
 First modern police force
 He was England’s home secretary
 Got through Parliament on “Act for Improving
the Police in and Near the Metropolis”
 1000 uniformed, handpicked men
 Structured along military lines
 Metropolitan Police—Bobbies,
walked beats
 Also called “PEELERS”
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The police must be stable, efficient, and organized along military lines.
The police must be under government control
The absence of crime will best prove the efficiency of police.
The distribution of crime news is essential.
The deployment of police strength both by time and area is essential.
No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of
temper; a quiet, determined manner has more effect than violent action.
Good appearance commands respect.
The securing and training of proper persons is at the root of efficiency.
Public security demands that very police officer be given a number.
Police headquarters should be centrally located and easily accessible to the
people.
Policemen should be hired on a probationary basis.
Police records are necessary for the best distribution of police strength.
AMERICA
 English dominated early settlers

NIGHTWATCHES
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SLAVE PATROLS

CONSTABLES
 Large areas of uncharted territory
 Wealth
 Dispersed population
 Wild west
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Charles Lynch—Virginia farmer
Vigilante justice—lynching
Judge Roy Bean
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Wild Bill Hickok
Bat Masterson
Wyatt Earp
 1830-1860 cities grew, urban unrest, riots
 Use of force was a
BIG ISSUE
FIRST POLICE DEPARTMENTS
 First city to have a paid police force was:
NEW YORK
TEXAS RANGERS
 1874
 First Agency Similar to
State Police
Responsible for boarder patrol
Apprehend Mexican Cattle Rustlers
FEATURES OF EARLY PD
 Organized, military hierarchy
 Part of Executive Branch
 Uniforms—didn’t go over well
 Proactive—out on patrol
 Downsides
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Patrol on foot---no backup
Corruption
Politics
 1902 International Association of Chiefs of
Police—voice for police reform
 1915 Fraternal Order of Police
 1910 Alice Stebbins Wells—LAPD first
Policewoman
 1919 Boston police strike—State Militia took
over
PROHIBITION
 Volstead Act----18th Amendment
 Contributed to the rise of organized crime
 Police corruption
“CROOKING CATCHING”
 Police were expected to take a proactive
approach to laws that many citizens opposed
 CRIME FIGHTERS vs PUBLIC
 OPINION
 President Herbert Hoover 1929-1933
 1931 Wickersham Commission
 Report found
 Police supervisors term was too short
 Lack of effective, efficient and honest patrolmen
 No effort to train, educate and discipline
 Equipment necessary
PROFESSIONAL ERA OF
POLICING---1950’s
 Police departments adopted the military
model for policing recommended by Sir
Robert Peel
 Abolished foot patrols—motorized patrol
 Central Headquarters
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 Police record systems
 Fingerprints
 Serology
 Toxicology
 Evidence collection
 Radio communication
CONSEQUENCES
 Officers were discouraged from getting
involved with citizens for fear of breeding
corruption
 Efficiency of the operation was more
important than solving problems
 Human relation skills not important
1960’s TURMOIL AND CRISIS
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Supreme court decisions
Civil rights movement
Vietnam War demonstrations
Crime rate grew
Drug abuse
Police unionization
 President John F. Kennedy was killed—1963
 Martin Luther King Jr.----1968
 Robert F. Kennedy---1968
 Medgar Evers---1963
1968
 NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMISSION ON
CIVIL DISORDERS

FINDINGS:
 Abrasive relationship between police and minorities
 Police had lost touch with citizens
 Police had no intelligence information prior to
incidents
 Police did not comprehend that disorders were
imminent
RESULTS
 OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE
STREETS ACT
1970’S

End of war
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Training in cultural sensitivity
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Federal government support
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More training and $$ for equipment
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Recruitment of women and minorities
Community Oriented Policing
 1980’s and 1990’s
 Awareness
COP
of community issues
POST 9/11
 PLACES GREATER EMPHASIS ON
AGGRESSIVE POLICING
 DEPARTMENTS MUST PLAN ON HOW TO
RESPOND TO A TERRORIST ATTACK
 HOMELAND SECURITY HAS BECOME
HIGHEST PRIORITY
HOMELAND SECURITY
 ESTABLISHED AFTER THE WORLD
TRADE CENTER ATTACK OF 2001
 PATRIOT ACT
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PASSED ON OCTOBER 26, 2001
GOAL; DETER TERRORISTS FROM
ENTERING AND OPERATING WITHIN THE
UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY
 AGENCY RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR
BOARDER AND DOMESTIC PROTECTION
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 COMMON COMPENT IN TERRORISM??
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AGENCIES UNDER DHS
 FEMA
 US COAST GUARD
 SECRET SERVICE
FORMAL STRUCTURE
 On the outside
 Military model of policing
 Command structure
 Uniforms
 Ranks
 Insubordination/punishment
INFORMAL PROCESS
 Officers use discretion most of the time
 Chiefs handle administrative duties
 Patrol officers do the policing
RESPONSIBILITIES
 Police have the responsibility to: protect
property, protect life and defend rights
 NOT: stereotype people, decide guilt or
innocence
 Should be: objective and maintain
professional demeanor
PRIVATE POLICE/SECURITY
 Allan Pinkerton—mid 1800’s
 First for the RR
 For profit industry
 Sworn officers work off-duty jobs
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Regulated by departments
ASSETS PROTECTION
 LOSS PREVENTION
 PROACTIVE APPROACH TO INVENTORY
CONTROL
POLICE MANAGEMENT
STYLES
 Differ according to
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Community they serve
Goals set by Chief
What citizens expect from police
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Styles
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Watchman
 Maintain order and provide public service
 Avoid formal arrests, settle disputes informally
 Refer to Social Services
 Legalistic
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Emphasize criminal law enforcement
Impartial arrests
Discretion at a minimum
 Service
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Rely on formal rules
Take requests for service seriously whether
law related or not
POLICE MISSIONS
•
Criminal law enforcement
•
•
•
•
•
Prevent crime
Investigate crime
Find suspect
Help in prosecution
FULL ENFORCEMENT VS SELECTIVE
ENFORCEMENT
 Maintain order
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“Do something” wide range of decision
making
Settle problems
Do it right now
 Police can use “force”
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Monopoly of force—separated police from
other public service agencies
DEFINATION OF ORDER
 ORDER
 Behaving
according to
ordinary standards of
decency when in public
PROBLEMS FACING OFFICERS
 LACK OF PUBLIC
CONFIDENCE
 ISSUES OF
BRUTATILITY
“WORKING PERSONALITY”
 How does a Police Officer look at the world?
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Suspicious
Dangerous
Officer safety issues
Adventure
 Competence
 Pulling your own weight
 Morality
 Personal values
 Solidarity
 Code of silence
DEPARTMENT GUIDELINES &
LAWS & CONSTITUTION
 Creates and defines police power
 Sets the boundaries of discretionary decision
making
 Law defines order
 Law is the way officers define a problem
 Tells how to resolve a problem
5 STEPS FOR PUBLIC
RELATIONS
 1---RESEARCH
 2—PLANNING
 3—ACTION
 4—COMMUNICATION
 AND?????
WHICH ONE?????
 SERVICE???
 TRAINING??
 PAYMENT??
 EVALUATION???
HOW TO EVALUATE???
ALMOST THE END