Historical Development of Police Agencies
Running head: Law Enforcement
Law Enforcement
December 12, 2011
Introduction The criminal justice system has many components that make up its system. This paper will explore the historical development of police agencies and their jurisdiction, while analyzing their roles in contemporary society. It will describe the main types of law enforcement agencies, including local, state, and federal agencies and their components. Historical Development of Police Agencies Historically, policing in America mimicked that of the English. American ideas expanded on the English way of policing, to start an era of ever evolving police agencies. In the beginning policing was considered the civic duty of members of a community (Schmalleger, 2009). These “drafted” officers were not paid or trained. Appointed Sheriff’s were motivated by money, and lost focus on enforcing the law. Policing was considered reactive in nature (Schmalleger, 2009). This began to change as did society, industrialism and urbanization, brought with it a rise in crime, causing police to shift towards a more proactive approach to law enforcement (Schmalleger, 2009). In the 1800’s new technologies began another change with better response times and communications. The 20th century brought even more technologies which continue to aid law enforcement today. This era also brought to the attention of agencies that there was a lack of cooperation between police and communities and community policing with more of a service attitude began to emerge. In the 21st century we are faced with the challenges of terrorist and we call on the local state and federal agencies to work together to counter these threats. Today’s police agencies have evolved since the early 1600’s to become a highly organized group that strives for crime prevention, preservation of citizen’s rights and professionalism (Justice
Law Enforcement
December 12, 2011
Introduction The criminal justice system has many components that make up its system. This paper will explore the historical development of police agencies and their jurisdiction, while analyzing their roles in contemporary society. It will describe the main types of law enforcement agencies, including local, state, and federal agencies and their components. Historical Development of Police Agencies Historically, policing in America mimicked that of the English. American ideas expanded on the English way of policing, to start an era of ever evolving police agencies. In the beginning policing was considered the civic duty of members of a community (Schmalleger, 2009). These “drafted” officers were not paid or trained. Appointed Sheriff’s were motivated by money, and lost focus on enforcing the law. Policing was considered reactive in nature (Schmalleger, 2009). This began to change as did society, industrialism and urbanization, brought with it a rise in crime, causing police to shift towards a more proactive approach to law enforcement (Schmalleger, 2009). In the 1800’s new technologies began another change with better response times and communications. The 20th century brought even more technologies which continue to aid law enforcement today. This era also brought to the attention of agencies that there was a lack of cooperation between police and communities and community policing with more of a service attitude began to emerge. In the 21st century we are faced with the challenges of terrorist and we call on the local state and federal agencies to work together to counter these threats. Today’s police agencies have evolved since the early 1600’s to become a highly organized group that strives for crime prevention, preservation of citizen’s rights and professionalism (Justice
References: Schmalleger, F. (2009). Criminal justice today: An introductory text for the 21st century (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.