era of policing

Description

In no less than 300 words, identify and discuss in your own words, the four eras of policing as described in your text. Which era, in your opinion is the most effective?

Eras of Policing
Researchers Kelling and Moore (1991) evaluated the first three eras of policing.
These eras are often referred to as the Political Era, the Reform Era, and the Community Era.
Through the microscope of seven topical areas, listed below, an understanding of how policing evolved begins.
1. Authorization
2. Function
3. Organization
4. Demand
5. Environment
6. Tactics
7. Outcomes

Political Era
●The political era is often referred to as the first era of policing in the United States and it began around the 1840s with the creation of the first bona fide police agencies in America.
●This era of policing is marked by the industrial revolution, the abolishment of slavery, and the formation of large cities.
●One way to confirm the start of this era is to look at the creation of police departments in larger cities (p.197.)

Reform Era
●Because the Political Era of policing ended up being laced with corruption and brutality, the panacea for the negativity became the Reform Era.
●One police chief was largely at the forefront of this new era, Chief August Vollmer.
●He is considered the pioneer for police professionalism.
●August Vollmer was the Chief of Police in Berkeley, California (1905-1932).
●He had many new beliefs about policing that would forever change the world of policing.

August Vollmer
●1. Candidates who were testing to be in policing had to undergo psychological and intelligence tests
●2. Detectives would utilize scientific methods in their investigations, through forensic laboratories
●3. Recruits, for the first time, would attend a training academy (police did not receive any formal training prior to August Vollmer’s arrival)
●4. Assisted with the development of the School of Criminology at the University of California at Berkeley

●Chief August Vollmer saw policing and officers as social workers that needed to delve into the causes behind the acts in order to solve the issue, instead of just arrest it.
●He knew in order to rehabilitate offenders, police officers needed to look behind the handcuffs and start looking into the person and reason behind the behavior.

Community Era
1980s to 2000
●In the 1960s and 1970s the crime rate doubled and it was a time of unrest and eye-opening policing issues.
●Civil rights movements spread across America and the police were on the front lines.
●Media coverage showed controversial contacts between white male officers and African American citizens, which further irritated race relations in policing.
●The U.S. Supreme Court handed down the landmark Miranda v. Arizona and Mapp v. Ohio decisions.
●The writing was on the wall that the policing environment had to change.
●The days of answering everything with bullying or police professionalism were no more.

Community Era
●This new era of community policing held that police couldn’t act alone; the community must pitch in as well.
●Whether the problems were a dispute between neighbors or high crime area drugs and shootings, cooperation was necessary.
●The Community Era was also a time for research.
●Prior to this era, research on crime, police, or criminal justice topics were few and far between.

Homeland Security Era
●The realities of the tragedy of 9/11 were that it did start a new era of policing.
●In fact, a case could be made for the large dark line that became metaphorically visible on 9/11/01, when the Community Era shifted to the Homeland Security Era as airplanes destroyed America’s feelings of safety.
●Policing will probably always involve some sort of Community Era policing in order to make a difference.