Transcript Chapter 4 - Bakersfield College

Law Enforcement Today
A History of the American Police
Colonial Times:
 Mirrors the English System
 Led by citizens – constables and nightwatchmen
 The Governor hired a sheriff for each county to oversee
the formal aspects of law enforcement.
The Nineteenth Century:
 In 1838, Boston becomes the first city with a police
department
 In 1844, New York sets the foundation for the modern
police department.
A History of the American Police
The Political Era of policing :
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1840-1930
Called the patronage system or the “spoils”
system
Bribery and political corruption are the hallmark
of the era
A History of the American Police
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In 1929, the Wickersham Committee focused on two
areas of American policing that were in need of
reform:
 Police brutality
 The corrupting influence of politics
A History of the American Police
The Reform Era of policing:
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1930-1980
Increased police professionalism.
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August Vollmer
O.W. Wilson and the professional model
Administrative reforms
Addressing turmoil in the 1960s
A History of the American Police
The Community Era of policing:
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1980 to today
Emphasis on good police-community
relationships
Proactive police efforts, as opposed to traditional
reactive approaches
Law Enforcement Agencies
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There are over 13,900
law enforcement
agencies in the United
States, employing over
950,000 people.
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Roughly 3,088 sheriff’s
departments
About 1,332 special police
agencies, limited to
policing parks, schools,
airports, and other locales
49 state police departments
(Hawaii being the
exception)
70 federal law enforcement
agencies
Law Enforcement Agencies
Municipal Law Enforcement:
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Most police officers work in small and medium-sized
police departments
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While New York City has the largest police department
(with more than 40,000 employees), roughly 560 small
towns have only one police officer
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Municipal police agencies have the broadest authority to
apprehend criminal suspects, maintain order, and provide
services to the community
Law Enforcement Agencies
Sheriffs and County Law Enforcement:
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Every county in the United States (except those in Alaska)
has a sheriff
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The largest is the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department with 8,600 employees; the smallest
departments have only 1.
Law Enforcement Agencies
The Sheriff’s Department is responsible for:
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Investigating violent crime
Investigating drug offenses
Maintaining the county jail
Serving evictions and court summonses
Keeping order in the courthouse
Collecting taxes
Enforcing orders of the court, such as sequestration of a
jury
Law Enforcement Agencies
State Police and Highway Patrols:
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The most visible state law enforcement agency is the state
police or highway patrol agency
Historically, state police agencies were created for four
reasons:
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To assist local police agencies
To investigate criminal activities that crossed jurisdictional
boundaries
To provide law enforcement in rural and other areas that did not
have local or county police agencies
To break strikes and control labor movements
Law Enforcement Agencies
State Police:
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23 agencies
Statewide
jurisdiction
Wide variety of law
enforcement tasks
Highway Patrols:
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26 agencies
Patrol state and federal
highways
Jurisdiction limited to
traffic laws and
investigation of traffic
accidents
Law Enforcement Agencies
Federal law enforcement agencies:
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Small percentage of Nation’s law enforcement force in
numbers, but have substantial influence
Authorized to enforce specific laws or attend to specific
situations
The most far-reaching reorganization of the federal
government since World War II took place in 2002 and
2003, with the creation of the Department of Homeland
Security
Law Enforcement Agencies
The Department of Homeland Security:
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (BCP)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
The U.S. Secret Service
The Department of Treasury:
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The Internal Revenue Service
Law Enforcement Agencies
The Department of Justice:
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Drug Enforcement Agency
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives
The U.S. Marshals Service
Private Security
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Over $100 billion spent
each year
Over 10,000 U.S. private
security firms
2 million people employed
in security each year
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The function of private
security is to deter crime
rather than stop it
Security officers only
report crimes, and in some
cases, make citizens’
arrests.
Private Security
Issues in Private Security:
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Limited state regulations, and no federal
regulations, regarding standards and training
Quality of many private security employees
Minimal training
Poor pay and lack of benefits
Private Security
Factors driving the growth in private security:
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Increased fear on the part of the public
Crime in the workplace
Budget cuts in states and municipalities
Rising awareness of private security products
Fear of terrorism
The Responsibilities of the Police
The four basic responsibilities of the police
include:
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Enforcing laws
Providing services
Preventing crime
Preserving the peace
The Role of Discretion in Policing
When police officers use their own judgment in
deciding which offenses to punish and which to
ignore, they are using discretion.
Patrol Officers have the greatest amount of
discretionary power within the police agency.
The courts have determined that patrol officers are in
a unique position to be allowed discretion:
The Role of Discretion in Policing
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Police officers are
considered trustworthy
and are therefore
assumed to make
honest decisions
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Police officers may find
themselves in danger of
physical harm and must
be allowed to take
reasonable and
necessary steps to
protect themselves
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Officers must
determine whether
certain activity poses a
threat to society, and to
take reasonable action
to investigate or
prevent such activity
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Due to the nature of
their jobs, police
officers are extremely
knowledgeable in
human and criminal
behavior