Police in America. Steven G. Brandl
black codes were made illegal as a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. In place of the black codes came Jim Crow laws, which mandated racial segregation in public facilities. Interestingly, Jim Crow laws actually first appeared in the North before being widely adopted in the South. These laws existed until the 1960s. The black codes and Jim Crow laws are particularly relevant when considering the history of the police because although these laws were not created by the police, the police were expected to enforce them. It is also important to remember that at this time, the police were exclusively white. It was not until the late 1800s that any blacks were appointed as officers.
Jim Crow laws: Laws that mandated racial segregation in public facilities.
The London Metropolitan Police Department as a Role Model
The events that took place in the early to mid-1800s in the United States were not limited to that country. In fact, the United States trailed England in the unfolding of the Industrial Revolution. In 1829, the London Metropolitan Police Department (LMPD) was created. At this time, London had a population of approximately 1.5 million people. Londoners had made do without a formal police force as long as they could. Soon after its creation, the LMPD had 1,000 officers. It served as the model for police departments subsequently created in the United States.
The problem for the English was that although the need for a more effective means of policing was obvious, how to go about providing it was not. It was decided that the police department would exist in order to prevent crime, and this was to be accomplished through patrol. The reasoning was that by having officers patrol on foot throughout the city, their presence would deter would-be criminals from committing crimes. It was also decided that the structure of the LMPD should resemble that of the military. The person who is most often given credit for the creation of the LMPD is Sir Robert Peel. It is for this reason that British police officers are today still often referred to as “bobbies.”
The founders of American police departments subscribed to the theory the English had already established: Crime prevention through patrol and using a military structure seemed reasonable. The creators of American police departments also wanted policing to be a local responsibility. With local control of police departments, there was little role for the federal government in law enforcement. Indeed, when the first police departments were created in the mid-1800s, there were few federal laws and thus no need for federal law enforcement agencies. Early police departments operated at the local level and were controlled by citizens who lived in the towns and cities. Another important facet of the initial operations of police departments was that police power was limited by law. The Constitution made this clear.
The Creation of the First American Police Departments
As noted, the Industrial Revolution, the creation of large cities, and the abolishment of slavery set the stage for the creation of the formal police departments in America. The first police departments were created by combining the night watch with the day watch. In the South, the former slave patrols became the core of the new police departments. Although the dates are difficult to precisely pinpoint, Boston created its police department around 1838, New York City around 1845, Chicago around 1851, and New Orleans around 1857.15
The mid-1800s to the early 1900s is known as the political era of American policing.16 As its label suggests, policing at the time was all about politics. Politicians, especially the mayor, controlled everything related to policing, including who got hired, who got fired, and what policemen did while they were on the job. There was little or no training. There were virtually no selection standards except for political party affiliation and connections. As politicians moved in and out of office, so did policemen and police chiefs. For example, in Hartford, Connecticut, the process went like this: Democrats and Republicans each created lists of their fellow party members that were deemed suitable as policemen. Democrats then crossed names off of the Republicans’ list and vice versa. From there, the policemen were selected. The chief of the department was usually directly appointed by the mayor and was of the same political party as the mayor. Police officers were generally also of the same political affiliation as the mayor.17
political era: The period from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s during which policing was heavily influenced by politics.
Diversity in the Political Era of Policing
Black policemen were first hired in Selma, Alabama, in 1867 and in Houston, Texas, in 1870. In New Orleans, there were 177 black officers by 1870. Chicago hired its first black policeman in 1872. Interestingly, the black men who were appointed police officers were often better educated and qualified than their white counterparts. Nevertheless, the appointment of blacks as officers was controversial. Some cities experienced riots because of black officers taking action against white citizens.18 Consequently, black officers were more likely not to wear uniforms and to be assigned to black neighborhoods. Some cities did not allow black officers to arrest white citizens. In Miami, blacks were called patrolmen while white officers were designated as policemen. In the late 1800s, the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was ruled unconstitutional, and later the Supreme Court upheld “separate but equal” laws. As a result, black officers lost their jobs in droves. This was most evident in New Orleans, where the number of black officers dropped from 177 in 1870, to 27 in 1880, to 5 in 1890, and to none in 1910. It was not until 1950 that another black officer was hired in the largely African American city.19
There were no women police officers until late in the 1800s, and even then, there were very few. Police officers were simply referred to as policemen. The first women employed in police departments were called police matrons and did not have powers of arrest. Their duties were generally limited to handling female prisoners. Although the historical record is incomplete and inconsistent with regard to the employment of women in police departments, it has been offered that the first fully sworn female police officer was hired in 1891 in the Chicago Police Department; her job was to enforce child labor laws. The first female African-American officer was appointed in 1916 in the Los Angeles (CA) Police Department.20 Most large police departments did not employ any women until the 1920s, and it was not until the 1970s that women had the same authority as male officers. It is accurate to say that in large part the political era involved white male leaders appointing white male officers to police white and black citizens.
police matrons: Female police department employees whose duties usually involved only female prisoners.
The Role of the Police During the Political Era
The capabilities of the police at the time were minimal, although officers were on duty twenty-four hours a day and police departments were better staffed than were the watches. In many cities, the first policemen wore designated hats and carried wooden clubs, but they did not wear uniforms. Not until the late 1800s did police officers begin to routinely carry firearms. In large cities, officers were assigned to extensive beats and they patrolled on foot. Some areas of cities were not patrolled at all. There was no system of communication between citizens and the police or between the police officers themselves. There were no means by which police supervisors could supervise their officers; as a result, there were very few supervisors. Needless to say, seldom were citizens able to find the police when they were needed. This situation created an environment where politicians could easy influence and control the officers’ activities and the police department in general. Cities were typically divided into wards; each ward had an elected ward leader, and the police in each ward were accountable to that leader. Many police activities were political, including campaigning and, at times, assisting in rigging elections.21 Indeed, corruption among politicians and their police forces was rampant. Payoffs and bribes were an unquestioned aspect of policing at the time. Officers accepted bribes not to enforce laws; officers paid bribes to get promoted. Chiefs and political leaders were in on the action as well, demanding a portion of the bribes accepted by officers.
Street-corner call boxes were put in place in