Police in America. Steven G. Brandl
Evaluate the critical concepts associated with the community problem-solving era
Fact or Fiction
To assess your knowledge of police history prior to reading this chapter, identify each of the following statements as fact or fiction. (See page 35 at the end of this chapter for answers.)
1 One of the first things the colonists did when they arrived in America was set up a network of relatively sophisticated and well-run police departments.
2 To understand issues involving the police and race relations today, it is important to understand the policing of racial minorities in the past.
3 So-called black codes and Jim Crow laws were never legal, nor were they ever officially enforced by the police.
4 The first women were hired as police officers in the late 1800s and were assigned similar duties as policemen.
5 The first black officers were hired in the late 1800s and were often more educated and qualified than their white counterparts.
6 Photographs of criminals, Bertillonage, the third degree, and the dragnet roundup of suspects were common investigative strategies and tactics used during the political era of policing.
7 The reform era of policing was an attempt to remove politics from policing and make police officers more professional.
8 Coproduction of crime prevention was the centerpiece of the reform era of policing.
9 One aspect of policing that has not changed over time is how frequently the police use batons in force incidents.
10 The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, immediately led to the creation of new laws and redirected law enforcement concerns, but the effects of the attacks have proven to be short lived.
Police Spotlight: Policing in the Early Days
According to The First One Hundred Years, a publication of the Milwaukee Police Department,
On October 4, 1855, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Police Department began functioning. William Beck was chosen chief of police by the mayor. His salary was set at $800 a year. Privates were to get $480 a year.
Six policemen were chosen by Beck; they were picked for their size and fighting ability.
To arrest a man in those days, it was nearly always necessary to whip him first. The first policemen in Milwaukee were consistently seen with black eyes, bruised cheeks, and split lips. They earned their $40 a month the hard way. Murders were reduced to practically nothing; thugs quit prowling the streets at night lying in wait for prosperous looking individuals, and citizens began writing letters of praise about the battered and bruised policemen and the fine work they were doing.1
As described here, formal policing in Milwaukee (and other cities) had very humble beginnings. As we will discuss in this chapter, while some aspects of policing have dramatically changed over time, others have changed very little. In particular, police use of force and the relationship between police and crime control remain central facets of the policing function.
Source: Milwaukee Police Department. 1955. The First One Hundred Years. Milwaukee: City of Milwaukee, p. 3.
Chapter 2 chronicles the history of the police in America. It begins with a discussion of how the police first came to exist and ends with a brief discussion of modern-day policing. The chapter serves as a foundation for the rest of the chapters that focus directly on policing as it is conducted today.
Why Study the History of the Police?
There are at least three reasons why understanding the history of the police is useful and important. First, in order to better appreciate how the police in America have changed over time, it is necessary to understand what policing looked like when it first began. Some aspects of policing have changed a lot, some have changed little. Most crucially, some of the reasons why the police are controversial today are rooted in why the police were created in the first place. Overall, knowledge of police history will assist in developing a more complete understanding of the police today.
Second, police history identifies persistent policing problems and the “solutions” that were applied to those problems but did not work. Consequently, if we are aware of these ineffective measures, we can avoid duplicating them when trying to address age-old problems today. In addition, an understanding of history can help us recognize and more fully comprehend the problems that seem immune to solution, such as police misconduct.
Finally, it is useful to study police history because it may provide insight into the future. Some people say that because history is cyclical we can actually predict the future based on knowledge of the past. Although the more specific the prediction, the more likely it is to be wrong, history can be used to identify general trends and patterns that may extend into the future. This can make it possible to predict the future based on the past.
Policing Colonial America
The first explorers crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the late 1400s, and the first Europeans settled permanently in America in the late 1500s and early 1600s. The most prominent settlers were the British, who created the thirteen colonies in what eventually became the United States of America. Many of the colonists had fled their homeland because they wanted religious freedom; thus, freedom became a central feature of the new government when it was created.
The colonists had a difficult time in the new land. The economy of the colonies was based almost entirely on the land and farming. Without the benefit of any modern equipment, the work was hard. Starvation and diseases were rampant. Medical care was primitive. As laborers were needed to work the land, indentured servants were first used. Many of these people were poor teenagers from England who received a free boat ride to the new colonies in exchange for years of labor.
In colonial America during the 1600s and 1700s, there were four primary policing entities: constables, watches, slave patrols, and sheriffs.
Constables and the Watch
In the early days of colonial America, there was little need for law enforcement. The colonists were God-fearing, hard-working people who took responsibility for their own actions and the actions of their neighbors. As settlements turned into towns, constables were the first appointed law enforcement officers. The duties of the constable varied depending on the size of the community, but generally the post was responsible for dealing with everything from stray cattle and dogs to misbehaving children. In some towns constables even enforced church attendance.2
constable: The first appointed law enforcement officers in colonial America. They often organized and supervised the watch.
In larger villages, constables were responsible for organizing and supervising the watch. The watch consisted of men who would watch the town, especially at night. Looking out for fires was a major responsibility of the watch since fires had the potential to destroy entire villages. The watch was also responsible for being on the lookout for suspicious persons. In the 1630s, Boston formed a watch that consisted of one constable and six watchmen.3 In other towns, the watch assignment rotated among the men in the village. At first, men who worked on the watch were unpaid volunteers; later they were paid, but the pay was minimal. Members of the watch patrolled on foot. When necessary, members of the watch could summon the other men in the village with what was known as the hue and cry. Whistles and wooden clappers or rattles were also used to alert townspeople of danger and to summon assistance.
watch: Men in larger villages in colonial America who were tasked with guarding the town, especially at night.
A Question to Consider 2.1 Reflections of the Watch in Policing Today
Do you see any similarities or parallels between