First week of Law Enforcement I

History of Law Enforcement

Materials Powerpoint and quiz
Day 1
Hook Ask the question where would our community/country be today if
there was no law enforcement of any kind? Where the first recorded police
organization was founded and what was its purpose? Is law enforcement
necessary in this day and age? What is a democratic society? What is law
enforcements role in a democratic society?
Discuss vocabulary Bobbies, Constables, Frankpledge System, Tithing, Sir
Robert Peel, Shires, Henry Fielding, Justice of the Peace, Night Watch System,
Shire Reeves, Peelers, Politeria, Pharaoh Hur Moheb, Law Enforcement,
Police, Political Era, Professional Era, Community Model Era, August Vollmer,
Spoils, O.W. Wilson
Day 2
Law enforcement in early civilizations
Extends to earliest civilizations
Promoted a groups well-being
Banishment was the most effective means of punishment
1340 B.C.E. in Egypt under Pharoah Hur Moheb was the first recorded
police organization
o river security force on the Nile
o responsible for preventing piracy, guarding commerce and
searching ships
Police is a derivative of Greek word Politeria the portion of
government that deals with protection of life and property
Roman Contribution during reign of Augustus Ceasar
o Police were a special feature of Roman governments
o Various grades of officers
o 7 divisions with 14 districts; districts represent the first city
precincts
Day 3
English Roots
American L.E. concepts originated in England in 900 C.E.
Justice was primarily a private matter based on revenge and retribution
Victims and/or family members would seek justice
King William
o Frankpledge system
o Tithing
o Shires

o Shire Reeves
o Constables

Winchester Statute 1285

o Night watch system
o Selection of constables
o Draft of volunteer citizens as watchmen
Justice of the Peace 1326
o Replaced Shire Reeve
o Supervised L.E. activities including crime investigation, securing
criminals, and organizing night watch system
o System lasted into the 1700s
o Citizens were the police
o L.E. organization was local

Day 4
English Roots continued
Henry Fielding 1700s
o Military was used for crime control
o Est. Bow Street Runners who apprehended criminals and
recovered stolen property
More effective than any other LE of its day
Paved the way for a more professional and efficient
response to crime and the apprehension of criminals
Sir Robert Peel 1829
o Worked with the English Parliament to mandate a publicly funded
police force under the London Metropolitan Police Act
o Created uniformed police force known as Bobbies or Peelers
o Peels 12 Principles of Policing
Police must be stable, efficient, and organized along
military lines
Police must be under government control
Absence of crime will best prove the efficiency of police
Distribution of crime news is essential
Deployment of police strength, by both time and area is
essential
No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a
perfect command of temper; a quiet, determined manner
has more effect than a violent action
Good appearance commands respect
Securing and training of proper persons is the root of
efficiency
Public security demands that every police officer be given
a number
Police headquarters centrally located and accessible to the
people
Policemen should be hired on a probationary basis

Police records are necessary to the correct distribution of

police strength

Historical Eras of Law Enforcement

Political Era (1840-1920)
o Period when police agencies were est to provide a unified police
force in the major American cities
o The Spoils system; the metropolitan police in the 19th century
were powerful, corrupt, poorly trained, unsupervised and
frequently abusive to the public they were to serve and protect
o Primary focus was on crime prevention and the maintenance of
order through the foot patrol
Reform Era
o Began in early part of the 20th century, as a result of the middle
and upper class citizens concern with corruption
o They wanted to get rid of political patronage and improve the
efficiency of government, especially in LE
o Called for professional police forces, to remove LE from politics
and to introduce modern technology to make LE more efficient
o One result of the Reform Era was the establishment of police
admin boards who were responsible for appointing police
administrators and controlling police affairs
o These civilian review boards were established to reduce local
political control over the police
o Failed because appointed leaders often lacked LE knowledge
Day 5
Historical Eras of LE (continued)
Professional Era (1920s to the 1970s)
August Vollmer
o Chief of police in Berkley, California, was the most famous police
reformer in the early part of the 20th century
o Instituted university training for police officers
o Helped to develop the School of Criminology at the University of
California at Berkley. The school became the model for
university-level criminal justice programs around the U.S.
o Believed that the police should be a professional force
o The model of professional policing was developed from Vollmers
6 essential elements
a) The police force should stay out of politics
b) Members should be well trained, disciplined and tightly
organized
c) Laws should be equally enforced
d) The police should use technological developments
e) Merit should be on the basis of personnel procedures
f) The crime-fighting role should be prominent

O.W. Wilson
o The redirection of police from maintenance of order to one of
crime control altered the nature of policing in America more than
any of the other elements of the professional era
o A student of Vollmers, advocated that LE use motorized patrols,
radio communication, and rapid response to aid effective crime
fighting
o Suggested the use of one-man patrols as the best way to deploy
police personnel, and the importance of rotating beat
assignments in order to fight police corruption

Community Era (1970 to present)

o Research findings indicate that the professional model was not
working:
a) Increasing the number of patrol officers in a neighborhood
was found to have little effect on crime
b) Rapid response to calls for service does not greatly
increase the arrest of criminals
c) It is difficult, if not impossible, to improve rates of solving
crimes

Service to the community

o In the 1970s there was a movement away from the crimefighting focus of LE towards a greater emphasis on maintaining
order and providing service to the community
o It was suggested that police officers get out of their patrol cars
and spend more time on the street assisting citizens, while
maintaining their crime-fighting role

Closing activities for each day

Match game for key vocabulary terms
Have students create a timeline project. Research the top 10 duties of
LE for each of the following periods: Egyptian, Greek, Roman, 900-1066
C.E., 1066 to 1326 C.E., 1326 to 1700 C.E., 1700 to 1829 C.E., 1829 to
present