Historical Perspective
EARLY HISTORY
1
Primary function of
Law Enforcement
• Social Control
• Specialized “functionary” position with the primary role
of enforcement of laws for
the protection of property usually a governmental
official
• Other ways societies
maintain order - teachers,
judges, legislators, members
of the clergy
2
Early Social Control
Units
• Families
• Clans
• Tribes
• Nation-States
3
Early Historical
Development
• Civilization in Mesopotamia
• Ancient Egypt
• Greek City-States
• Roman Empire
4
Development of Laws
• Code of Hammarabi (1704-1662
BC)
• Egypt - sophisticated laws and
court system (ca 1500 BC)
• Marine patrol (ca 1400 BC
• Solon (The Law Giver) (639-559
BC) Devised a legal system in
Athens which applied laws in a
democratic manner - Law
enforcement was the
responsibility of the military.
5
Development of Law - cont
• Greeks
– used “kin police” in which the
victim’s family would be empowered
to bring the wrong-doer before the
magistrate - resulted in wide spread
lawlessness and resulted in the
need for police and a large security
force of body guards acting a the
police.
– Body guards were widely used as
police throughout much of the early
history of Greece
Sparta - first secret police created
under the rule of Ephori
6
Rome
• Citizens and conquered peoples
were ruled by laws provided within
the Twelve Tablets which were
instituted in 451 BC and enforced
by the Roman army
• Strong kinship lines where rigid
distinctions were made between
domestic and civil responsibilities.
Roman families were patriarchal,
headed by pater familias - had
absolute authority over his family
and all property associated with the
family.
•
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Rome (cont)
• First allegiance owed to the
family - if a roman was
convicted of a crime it was the
family who would impose
punishment - not the
government.
8
Augustus
27 BC began a movement
that continued for some 500
years in which the state,
through the emperor came to
dominate all aspects of
Roman life –
Created the Praetorian Guard
(7000 soldiers) within the City
of Rome. The guard watched
the outer perimeters of the
city for criminals and invading
armies.
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Augustus (cont)
• Thus the concept of a
dedicated “police force” had
its origins. quaestores worked for magistrates and
had arrest powers.
• Vigiles - also served as
watchmen and were
responsible for both police
and firefighting duties
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Police in Ancient Times
Development of Policing has involved:
•
•
•
•
•
The development of a formal legal
system
The emergence of social
differentiation
The production of surplus of
material resources
The emergence of the state as a
form of political organization
The development of a Limited
Authority and Local Control
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Limited Authority and
Local Control
• Limited Authority - pertains to the
fact that each police agency may
exercise its police power only
within its physical and legal
jurisdictions. Both are
established and limited by statute
• Local Control - the administration
and management of a police
agency are carried out under the
guidance of its governing body,
be it city, county, etc.
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Early History of Law
Enforcement
• All societies maintain order
somehow - whether they do
so with police is a matter of
definition.
• Today police generally refers
to persons employed by the
government who are
authorized to use physical
force to maintain public
safety and order
• Usually distinguished by a
uniform, the right to carry
firearms, and make arrests
13
Ancient Hebrews
Influenced the development of law
enforcement - following the death of
“King Solomon” (965-925 BC) the
Hebrew people meticulously
prescribed community conduct and
administered savage punishment of
offenders
The laws were based on a
monotheism and the Ten
Commandments - (Torah and
Pentatuch and later less severe laws
were prescribed in the Talmud)
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Fall of Roman Empire
& Middle Ages
After over 4000 years of legal
development, the centralized style of
government required for successful
maintenance of law and order ended
with the fall of the Roman Empire the era that followed is known as the
Middle Ages
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Medieval Times
• The feudal system was
developed as a means to
restore social order. It was
built on the premise of
mutual responsibility.
• As a rule, however, feudal
lords administered justice to
those under their control as
they deemed necessary
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Medieval cont
• The church also placed a
role in determining what
constituted a criminal
violation as well as how the
infraction was to be
arbitrated.
• Neither the feudal lords nor
the churches answered to a
central authority.
17
Medieval - cont
• As the 12th and 13th centuries
unfolded, kings began to
assume responsibility for
administration of law and to
maintain officials for that
purpose.
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Marechausee
• In the 13th century in Paris,
Louis IX created a provost
who, assisted by
investigating commissioners
and sergeants, directed the
night watch and commanded
a mounted guard.
• This was the beginning of the
Marechausee, which
became the Gendarmerie
that today police the areas
outside of major towns.
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gjaldkere
• 12th century Scandinavia the
gjaldkere was given
administrative responsibility
of towns which included
responsibility for law and
order
• Their counterparts, the
lensman, enforced the law
and collected taxes.
20
Magna Carta
• Magna Carta (13th Century
England) placed limitations
on constables and bailiffs possibly to control police
abuse of power and to
ensure the maintenance of
order
21
Development of Police
in England
• 12th Century Norman Kings
appointed sheriffs
• Frankenpledge - all males
over 12 years of age were
called upon as needed to
protect their neighbors from
thieves and outlaws
• tithings - collectives of 10
families expected to police
their own trivial problems
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England cont 1
• hue and cry - when trouble
erupted townsman was to
summon help
• hundreds - 10 tithings (100
families) organized and were
supervised by a constable
who may be considered the
first true law enforcement
officers and had
responsibility for more
serious infractions
23
England (cont 2)
• shires - hundreds were
grouped together into shires
or counties and supervised
by a reeves or a shire-reeves
• sheriffs - the title given to
the shire-reeves, developed
the posse comitatus to
require aid from citizens
whenever necessary
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England (cont 3)
• 13th Century the night watch
emerged in urban areas to
patrol the late-night streets this was the system that
represented the earliest form
of metropolitan policing. This
structure was called the
watch and ward (Statute of
Winchester 1285) which
replaced the Frankenpledge
system
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England (cont 4)
• Watchmen - usually
constituents of local church
parishes, patrolled the
streets from dusk till dawn
watching for robbers, thieves,
and hooligans, their mission
was to rid the streets of
wandering strangers and to
ensure that “all’s well”
26
England (cont 5)
• JUSTICE OF THE PEACE Early 14th Century the (1326)
developed to assist the shirereeve in county law
enforcement
• In addition to their duties as
peace keepers, the justices
of the peace soon adopted
judicial duties. Over time the
constable began working at
the direction of the Justice of
the Peace
27
Major Police Reformers
English Reformers American Reformers
• Henry Fielding
• August Vollmer
• Patrick Colquhoun
• O.W. Wilson
• Sir Robert Peel
• Louis Radelet
• Charles Rowan
• Herman Goldstein
• Richard Mayne
• Robert Trojanowicz
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Peelian Reforms
• 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.
29
Peelian Reform (cont 2)
• 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 every
police officer be given a number
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Peelian Reform (cont 3)
• Police headquarters should be
centrally located and easily
accessible to the people.
• Policemen should be hired on a
probationary basis.
• Police records are necessary to
the best distribution of police
strength (Germann et al., 1973).
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Periods of Policing
• Political Era
• Reform Era
32
Political Era
• Authorization - primarily
political
• Function - crime control, order
maintenance, broad social
services
• Organizational design decentralized and geographical
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Political Era (cont)
• Relationship to environment close and personal
• Demand - managed through
links between politicians and
precinct commanders, and faceto-face contacts between
citizens and foot patrol officers
34
Reform Era
• Authorization - law and
professionalism
• Function - crime control
• Organizational design centralized, classical
• Relationship to environment professionally remote
35
Reform Era (cont)
• Demand - channeled through
central dispatching activities
• Tactics and technology preventive patrol and rapid
response to calls for service
• Outcome - crime control
36
Community Era
37
Source: G. Kelling & M. H. Moore (1998). “The Evolving Strategy of Policing.” Perspectives in Policing, 4: 1.
Community Era
• Authorization - community
support (political), law,
professionalism
• Function - crime control, crime
prevention, problem solving
• Organizational design decentralized, task forces,
matrices
• Relationship to environment consultative, police defend
values of law and
professionalism, but listen to
community concerns
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Community Era (cont)
• Demand - channeled
through analysis of
underlying problems
• Tactics and technology foot patrol, problem solving,
etc.
• Outcomes - quality of life
and citizen satisfaction
39
Descriptors of
Police Role Conflict:
The 1980s and 1990s
Law Enforcement
Community Policing
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Police Role Conflict in
the 1980’s – 90’s
• Law Enforcement Role
– Street Sweeps
– SWAT teams
– Drug Raids
– Roadblocks
– Hotspots
– Zero Tolerance
– Driving While Black
– Weeding
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Police Role Conflict in the
1980’s – 90’s (cont)
• Community Policing Role
– Problem-solving
– Partnerships
– Cooperation
– Communication
– DARE
– GREAT
– Service
– Seeding
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