History into Our Law Enforcement

History Into Our Law Enforcement

Sarrita Will

CJA/214

July 22, 2013

Joseph Mariconda

History Into Our Law Enforcement

Sir Robert Peel could be described as a political philosopher that advocated in the preservation of the best established order in society and opposed radical changes as well. He wanted to improve the England’s law enforcement and fought for at least thirty years if not more to do so (Walker, 2011). In the 1900s the community and police watched as poverty, disorder, ethnic conflict, and crime steadily progressed. Urbanization and industrialization had such a big impact on the old system of law enforcement that it soon fell apart. Due to this a lot of riots began to arise in towns and communities which then questioned the safety of the public and reopened a fifty year debate (Walker,2011).

The year of 1829 Peel finally persuaded the Parliament into creating the London Metropolitan Police. This was the first recognized police force in law enforcement history. To give honor to Sir Robert Peel the officers were known as “Bobbies” and to this day they still go by that name (Walker, 2011). Peel’s policing consisted of three core values: mission, strategy, and organizational structure. The mission of the London police force was to establish crime prevention which reflected the idea of it is better to prevent crime than to respond after the crime has been committed. The strategy of Peel’s police force was not only to prevent crime but to create a preventive patrol as well. Reasoning for the preventive patrol was to allow the presence of justice to be seen and known (Walker, 2011). Officers were placed in different areas of the community to patrol and keep a watch on. The organizational structure was similar to that of the military operations. This consisted of hierarchical organization, uniforms, rank designations, and an authoritarian system of command and discipline. When it comes to the U.S. government and the policing organizations they share a strong relationship (Walker, 2011).

There are two levels of police in the United States: Federal and State. The Federal Level includes organizations like the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Administration etc. These organizations get their authority from Article 1 section 8 of the U.S. Constitution which ensures Congress' power to regulate taxes and interstate commerce. The FBI for example pursues criminals who have or are likely to cross state and country boundaries. The DEA enforces laws on substances that have a tax ban on them (2011,01).

The State level has three Sub-levels of police: State Trooper, County Sheriff and Local/City Police. State Troopers, also known as State Police and Highway Patrol, have Jurisdiction (policing authority) across the entire state but mainly patrol areas and projects that are maintained and operated by other State Level agencies, such as the Highways and State Government Buildings. County Sheriffs maintain and operate the county Jails and Patrol the unincorporated areas (areas not within city limits) within a county and provide policing services to Cities who contract the Sheriff's department as local police. Certain Departments, such as San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department in California provide search and rescue services. City/Local police serve cities and patrol within City limits. Every State Policing organization follows the state's Penal Code (2011, 01). County Sheriffs also enforce county mandates.

 Local Police follow both county mandates and city ordinances. Every state is self-governing over their own land so each is different in regards to their Penal Codes. In the past, working with the media for most police departments meant working primarily with newspapers and television. Newspapers provided the bulk of police news coverage. As many as 30 years ago, most police departments held press conferences when major stories broke or when the department needed public assistance. The department routinely issued releases about specific incidents, and “cop shop” reporters picked up these releases at police stations (Braunstein, 2010). Radio and television have both been followed by local newspaper’s leads, which often grew out of press releases and out of relationships that individual reporters developed with individual officers.

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