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Law Enforcement in Colonial America
During the colonial period of America, early policing was established for order maintenance and community protection. These included night guards and constables. The functions of night guards were to patrol the streets at night. On the other hand, constables performed various functions, such as serving warrants, supervising the jails, and overseeing the guards. These defined roles hence laid the ground for developing more formalized police forces that would later be developed. -
The English Heritage
The London Metropolitan Police was founded in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel, heralding the new, modern policing system. He felt a police force should be a body composed of professional police officers who would help in preventing crimes and not merely reacting to them. He felt the police were the public, and the public were the police. This was a fundamental foundation upon which to base policing systems worldwide. -
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The Political Era in American Policing
This era was when police departments became inextricably connected to the local political leaders of America. Political figures appointed many police officers and automatically felt beholden to them rather than to their communities. Hence, massive corruption and places complete of patronage resulted in policing. -
The First Modern American Police (
The first police department in Boston likened to that in London, was formed in 1838. This force was organized with two core objectives: first, it would establish professionalism and order in law enforcement;, second, policing efforts must be directed at the maintenance of public order, prevention of crime, and the provision of all other forms of public services. -
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The Professional Era
This was known as the Professional Era of policing, and reforms throughout this period sought to professionalize police forces. Chiefly responsible for higher training standards, education, and police conduct were two reformers: August Vollmer and O.W. Wilson. Merit promotion, reduction of corruption, and introduction of scientific crime detection methods all pointed to a new operational mode for policing. -
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The Police Crises of the 1960s
The 1960s, in general, were very turbulent for policing in the US because of rapid social upheaval and large civil rights movements that always took place. Policing forces were at loggerheads with communities, particularly African American communities, over a few issues collectively concerning police brutality and discrimination. Several protests, riots, and confrontations made wide calls for responsibility, reform, and better police-community relationships. -
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New Developments in Policing
The novelty in policing witnessed radical changes during the 1970s. Community policing is one of the main ideas police had about establishing public trust and cooperation. Technological developments are altering the time in nature of police work through computerization, body-worn camera technology, and real-time crime centers. These are sought to make police work more effective, transparent, and responsive to public needs. -
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The National Police Crisis
The National Police Crisis around 2014 marks the many high-profile incidents in which police used or applied force, quite often against African Americans. These incidents led to a national protest, a need for reform, of which the most potent movements are Black Lives Matter and accountability with an end to systemic racism within American law enforcement—the times crucially witnessed public scrutiny of how police operate, with debates on the future of policing in America. -
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The Digital Era of Policing
It essentially means that the Era of Digital Policing represents a revolution that puts all modern achievements and technological advances in the conduct of activities in place at a modern police department—advanced technologies, data analytics, and artificial intelligence—into operation. Other key features include being proactively strategic in the sustainability of crime reduction and community engagement across digital platforms without jeopardizing police accountability and transparency.