Chapter 5
History and Structure of American Law Enforcement
2
Chapter Objectives
• After completing this chapter, you should
be able to:
– Briefly describe the jurisdictional limitations of
American law enforcement.
– Trace the English origins of American law
enforcement.
– Discuss the early development of American
law enforcement.
Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
3
Chapter Objectives
• Describe the major developments that have
occurred in American policing.
• Describe the structure of American law
enforcement.
• Explain the relationship between the FBI
and the Department of Homeland Security.
• Discuss the development and growth of
private security in the United States.
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4
The Limited Authority of
American Law Enforcement
• The United States has almost 18,000 public law
enforcement agencies.
• The jurisdiction of each agency is carefully
limited by law.
• Jurisdiction: The right or authority of a justice agency
to act in regard to a particular subject matter, territory,
or person.
• Law enforcement is also limited by the procedural
law derived from U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
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5
The Limited Authority of
American Law Enforcement
• In comparison with other democratic
nations of the world, the United States has
remarkably more police agencies that
operate under far more restrictions on their
authority.
• Like much of the criminal justice system,
this limited law enforcement model came
from England.
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6
English Roots
• Our familiar law enforcement system, in
which uniformed officers respond to calls
for help and plainclothes detectives
investigate, developed over hundreds of
years in England.
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7
The Tithing System
• By the twelfth century in England, the
practice of resolving disputes privately gave
way to a system of group protection, called
the tithing system.
– Tithing System: A private self-held protection
system in early medieval England, in which a
group of ten families, or a tithing, agreed to
follow the law, keep the peace in their areas,
and bring law violators to justice.
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8
The Tithing System
• In larger areas, ten tithings were grouped
together to form a hundred, and one or
several hundreds constituted a shire.
– The shire was under the direction of the shire
reeve.
– The shire reeve was assisted by posses.
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9
Shire Reeve and Posses
• Shire Reeve: In medieval England, the
chief law enforcement officer in a territorial
area called a shire.
– Later called the sheriff.
• Posses: Groups of able-bodied citizens of
a community, called into service by a sheriff
or constable to chase and apprehend
offenders.
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10
The Constable-Watch System
• The Statute of Winchester, in 1285,
formalized the constable-watch system of
protection.
– One man from each parish was selected to be
constable.
– Citizens were drafted as (unpaid) watchmen,
and were required to come to the aid of a
constable or watchman who called for help.
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11
The Constable-Watch System
• A system of protection in early England in
which citizens, under the direction of a
constable, or chief peacekeeper, were
required to guard the city and to pursue
criminals.
– Constable: The peacekeeper in charge of
protection in early English towns.
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12
The Constable-Watch System
• Two elements of this system made their
way to the American colonies:
1. The people were the police.
2. The organization of the protection system
was local.
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13
The Bow Street Runners
• In 1748, a London magistrate named Henry
Fielding (best known for his writings,
including the novel Tom Jones) founded the
first publicly funded detective force in a
district of London known as Bow Street.
• The Bow Street Runners paved the way for
a more professional response to crime.
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14
The London Metropolitan Police
• The Industrial Revolution brought a huge influx of
people into London, and along with them,
increasing poverty, public disorder, and crime.
• In 1829, Parliament created the London
Metropolitan Police, a 1,000-member
professional force.
• The police became known as bobbies or peelers
after Robert Peel, the British Home Secretary,
who had prodded Parliament for their creation.
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15
The London Metropolitan Police
• The police were organized around Peel’s
Principles of Policing.
• The London Police were organized according to
military rank and structure.
• The police were under the command of two
magistrates (later called commissioners).
• The main function of the police was to prevent
crime by preventive patrol of the community.
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16
Robert Peel’s Principles of Policing
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17
The Development of American
Law Enforcement
• The United States has more police
departments than any other nation in the
world.
• Virtually every community has its own
police force, creating a great disparity in the
quality of American police personnel and
service.
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18
Early American Law Enforcement
• Settlers of the new American colonies
brought with them the constable-watch
system, which became common (although
not necessarily effective) in cities.
• In many rural areas, a sheriff and posse
system was commonly used.
• America developed with two separate law
enforcement systems.
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19
Law Enforcement in the Cities
• The Industrial Revolution brought a flood of
people to American cities, often immigrants.
• Overcrowded and unhealthy living and working
conditions led to fights, brawls, and riots.
• Americans resisted the establishment of a public
police force.
• Plainclothes watchmen did not try to prevent or
discover crime.
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20
Municipal Police Forces
• In 1844, New York City created the first paid,
unified police force in the U.S.
• Other cities followed suit, creating their own
police departments, often merely an organization
of the existing day and night watch.
• It was not until after the Civil War that police
forces routinely began to wear uniforms, carry
nightsticks and even carry firearms.
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21
Tangle of Politics and Policing
• Until the 1920s in most American cities,
local political leaders maintained complete
control over the police force.
• The political and police systems in many
cities were corrupt.
• Jobs, politics, and law enforcement all
depended on paying money to the right
person.
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22
A Brief History of Blacks in Policing
• For most of American history blacks who
have wanted to be police officers have
faced blatant discrimination and have
generally been denied the opportunity.
• The first black police officers in the United
States were “free men of color.”
– They were hired around 1805 to serve as
members of the New Orleans city watch
system.
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23
A Brief History of Blacks in Policing
• By 1910, there were fewer than 600 black
police officers in the United States, and
most of them were employed in northern
cities.
• It was not until the 1940s and 1950s that
black police officers began to be hired
routinely in most northern and southern
U.S. cities.
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24
Law Enforcement in the States and
on the Frontier
• Without large population centers to patrol,
law enforcement was more likely to
respond to specific situations:
– Rounding up cattle rustlers
– Capturing escaped slaves
• The basic structure of police units with
• broader responsibilities grew out of this
system
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25
Southern Slave Patrols
• In the South, the earliest form of policing was the
plantation slave patrols.
– The earliest form of policing in the South.
– They were a product of the slave codes.
• Slave codes prohibited slaves from:
•
•
•
•
holding meetings.
leaving the plantation without permission.
traveling without a pass.
learning to read and write.
• Slave patrols often whipped and terrorized
slaves.
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26
Frontier Law Enforcement
• In the American frontier, justice often meant
vigilantism.
• Self-protection remains very popular in the
South and West.
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27
State Police Agencies
• Growing populations, as well as the inability of some
local sheriffs and constables to control crime, led
states to create their own law enforcement agencies.
• Texas officially created the Rangers in 1835.
• Pennsylvania established the first modern state law
enforcement agency in
1905.
• By the 1930s, every state
had some form of state law
enforcement agency.
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28
Professionalism and Reform
• Until the late nineteenth century, there were
no qualifications required for law
enforcement officers.
• Cincinnati was the first city to require
qualifications of police officers:
– High moral character
– Foot speed
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29
Professionalism and Reform
• It was not until the early 20th Century that
reformers began advocating training and
education for police officers.
• Reformers also aimed to remove the police
from political influences.
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30
Conflicting Roles
• Americans have never been sure what role
they want police officers to play.
• Police have acted as:
– peacekeepers
– social workers
– crime fighters
– public servants
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31
Conflicting Roles
• In the nineteenth century, police acted as
peacekeepers and social service agents,
feeding the hungry and housing the
homeless.
• In the 1920s, police began to focus on
crime-fighting.
• In the 1960s, the civil rights movement
often resulted in violent clashes between
police and citizens.
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32
Conflicting Roles
• Four blue-ribbon commissions studied the
police in the U.S. from 1967 to 1973.
• The reports recommended:
– Careful selection of law enforcement officers.
– Extensive and continuous training.
– Better management and supervision.
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33
Community Policing
• A contemporary approach to policing that actively
involves the community in a working partnership
to control and reduce crime.
• A desire to actually improve neighborhoods led to
the modern concept of community policing, which
involves:
– A problem-oriented approach aimed at handling a
broad range of troublesome situations.
– Greater emphasis on foot patrols.
– Building a relationship with citizens, so they would be
more willing to help the police.
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34
Compstat
• Compstat is an abbreviation for “compare stats” or
“computer statistics meetings”
• Based on 4 interrelated crime-reduction principles:
1. provide accurate and timely crime data to all levels
of the police organization
2. choose the most effective strategies for specific
problems
3. implement those strategies by the rapid
deployment of personnel and resources
4. diligently evaluate the results and make
adjustments to the strategy if necessary
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35
The Structure of American Law
Enforcement
• American law enforcement agencies are
extremely diverse in:
– Jurisdictions.
– Responsibilities.
– Employers (hospitals, colleges, transit
authorities may have their own police).
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36
Public Law Enforcement Agencies in
the United States
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37
Local Policing and Its Duties
• If people know a law enforcement agent at
all, it is probably a local police officer, but it
is doubtful that even they understand what
local police officers in America really do,
besides what they see on television and in
movies.
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38
Municipal Police Departments
• Most police departments in the United
States employ fewer than 50 sworn
officers.
• Most police officers:
– In 2003, 69.4% of full-time sworn officers were
white men.
– In 2003, a high school diploma or higher
education was required by 99% of the local
police departments.
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39
Characteristics of Local Full-Time
Police Officers
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40
Local Police Duties
• Four categories of local police duties are:
1. Law enforcement—investigating crime and arresting
suspects.
2. Order maintenance or peacekeeping—controlling
crowds, intervening in domestic disputes.
3. Service—escorting funeral processions, taking
people to the hospital.
4. Information gathering—determining neighborhood
reactions to a proposed liquor license, investigating a
missing child.
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41
Organizational Structure
• How a police agency is structured depends
on:
– The size of the agency.
– The degree of specialization.
– The philosophy the leadership has chosen.
– The political context of the department.
– The history and preferences of a particular
community.
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42
Organizational Structure
• Large departments have many specialized
departments.
• Small departments rarely have specialized
departments, or officers trained in complex
investigation.
• Police departments are usually organized in a
military structure.
• Some people think a military structure does not fit
police work because the work is so varied, and
the structure impedes the flow of communication.
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43
The Political Context of Policing
• Police departments are part of larger
governments. Municipalities generally operate
under one of four forms:
–
–
–
–
Strong Mayor-Council
Weak Mayor-Council
City Manager
Commission
• Each style of government varies in the amount of
control citizens have over their leaders, including
the chief of police.
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44
County Law Enforcement
• A substantial portion of law enforcement
work in the United States is carried out by
the Sheriffs’ departments.
• In 2003, the nation had 3,061 sheriffs’
departments, employing 330,274 full-time
personnel.
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45
Characteristics of Sheriffs’ Personnel
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46
County Law Enforcement Functions
• County sheriff and department personnel perform
many functions:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Investigating crimes
Supervising sentenced offenders
Enforcing criminal and traffic laws
Serving summons, warrants, and writs
Providing courtroom security
Transporting prisoners
Operating a county jail
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47
Politics and County Law
Enforcement
• Most sheriffs are directly elected and
depend on an elected board of county
commissioners or supervisors for funding.
• Sheriffs generally have a freer hand in
running their agencies than do police
chiefs.
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48
State Law Enforcement
• State law enforcement agencies provide
criminal and traffic law enforcement, and
other services particular to the needs of
that state government.
• In 2003, the 49 primary state law
enforcement agencies (Hawaii has no state
police agency) had 82,419 employees
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49
State Law Enforcement
• Each state has chosen one of two models
for providing law enforcement services:
– State Police Model:
• Example: Texas Rangers
– Highway Patrol Model:
• Example: California Highway Patrol
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50
State Police Model
Highway Patrol Model
• State Police Model:
– A model of state law enforcement services in which the
agency and its officers have the same law enforcement
powers as local police, but can exercise them
anywhere within the state.
• Highway Patrol Model:
– A model of state law enforcement services in which
officers focus on highway traffic safety, enforcement of
the state’s traffic laws, and the investigation of
accidents on the state’s roads, highways, and on state
property.
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51
State Law Enforcement
• Both state police and highway patrol agencies
perform the following services:
– Help regulate commercial traffic.
– Conduct bomb investigations.
– Protect the governor and the capitol grounds and
buildings.
– Administer computerized information networks for the
state, which link up with the National Crime Information
Center (NCIC) run by the FBI.
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52
Federal Law Enforcement
• Among the best-known federal law enforcement
agencies are:
–
–
–
–
FBI
U.S. Secret Service
Treasury Department
Drug Enforcement Agency
• As of September 2004, federal agencies
employed nationwide about 105,000 full-time
personnel authorized to make arrests and carry
firearms.
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53
Federal Law Enforcement
• Major differences between federal law
enforcement and local and state police are:
– Federal agencies operate across the nation.
– Federal agencies usually do not have
peacekeeping duties.
– Some federal agencies have very narrow
jurisdictions.
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54
Training Federal Law
Enforcement Officers
• The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
(FLETC) is the largest law enforcement-training
establishment in the United states.
• It provides some or all of the training for a
majority of federal law enforcement agencies, as
well as for many states, local and international
law enforcement agencies.
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55
The Department of Homeland
Security
• The United States Congress responded to
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,
by enacting the Homeland Security Act of
2002.
• The act established the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS).
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56
The Department of Homeland
Security
• According to the legislation, this new executive
department was created to:
1. Prevent terrorist attacks within the United States.
2. Reduce the vulnerability of the United States to
terrorism.
3. Minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery, from
terrorist attacks that do occur within the United States.
4. Carry out all functions of entities transferred to the
department, including by acting as a focal point
regarding natural and manmade crises and
emergency planning.
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57
The Department of Homeland
Security
5. Ensure that the functions of the agencies and
subdivisions within the department that are not related
directly to securing the homeland are not diminished or
neglected except by an explicit act of Congress.
6. Ensure the overall economic security of the United
States is not diminished by efforts, activities, and
programs aimed at securing the homeland.
7. Monitor connections between illegal drug trafficking and
terrorism, coordinate efforts to sever such connections,
and otherwise contribute to efforts to interdict illegal drug
trafficking.
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58
The Department of Homeland
Security
• The Department of Homeland Security has
five major divisions, or “directorates”:
1. Border and Transportation Security (BTS)
2. Emergency Preparedness and Response
(EPR)
3. Science and Technology (S&T)
4. Information Analysis and Infrastructure
Protection (IAIP)
5. Management
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Department of Homeland
Security Organization Chart
59
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60
The Department of Homeland
Security
• One of the first efforts of DHS was the
creation of a color-coded warning system
to alert citizens to the likelihood of a
terrorist attack.
• Through the efforts of the Department of
Homeland Security, law enforcement
agencies at all levels of government, and
vigilant American citizens, acts of terrorism
can be prevented in the future.
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61
Homeland Security Advisory System
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62
American Private Security
• Private security in the United States is a
huge enterprise.
• It has been estimated that twice as many
people work in private security as in public
law enforcement.
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63
American Private Security
• Private security employment is often
categorized two ways:
1. Contract Security:
•
Example: security guards hired for a college
football game
2. Proprietary Security:
•
Example: the security force for a corporation’s
manufacturing plants
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64
Contract Security
Proprietary Security
• Contract Security: Protective services that a
private security firm provides to people, agencies,
and companies that do not employ their own
security personnel or that need extra protection.
– Contract security employees are not peace officers.
• Proprietary Security: In-house protective
services that a security staff, which is not
classified as sworn peace officers, provide for the
entity that employs them.
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65
Private Security Officers
• In 2000, there were more than one million
private security officers.
• A private security officer’s duties vary and
depend on the employer’s particular needs.
• Private security officers may protect:
– Office buildings
– Parking garages
– Hospitals
– Schools
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66
Reasons for Growth
• A number of factors have stimulated the
phenomenal growth of private security since the
1970s:
– Declining revenues for public policing.
– The private nature of crimes in the workplace.
• Companies can control and hide crimes by employees.
– Better control and attention to the problem, particularly
within a business.
– Fewer constitutional limitations on the actions of
private security officers.
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67
Issues Involving Private Security
• A number of unresolved problems and
issues hamper the private security industry:
– Legal status and authority derive from the
rights of the employer.
• Private security has few constitutional limitations
and can be held civilly liable.
– Public policing in a private capacity.
• Sworn officers often work for private companies,
blurring the lines of responsibility and liability.
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68
Issues Involving Private Security
• Qualifications and training vary widely.
• Diminished public responsibility
– The government may not be living up to its
responsibility to provide for the general
welfare.
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69
Private Security's Role in the
Fight Against Terrorism
• Private security officers are often the first
line of defense against terrorism in the
United Sates.
• They guard government buildings, utilities,
schools, courts, corporate headquarters,
office complexes, laboratories, and
transportation facilities.
Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.