American Policing History

History of Policing in the US: Night Watches and Slave Patrols Response

Jennifer L. Mandato

St. Francis University

Protect and Serve,those are the words that should most commonly appear when speaking of the police force within our country, but since its introduction into our society policing has yet to entirely fulfill those duties.Minorities have been a target of unfair treatment and brutality,as many Slave Patrolling citizens became those who would enforce the law of the land. Instead of policing being a direct response to crime, it originally became a response to urbanization and to ensure an orderly workforce as well as to control those who were deemed to be inferior.

The isolation of dangerous classes has been

the focus of crime control, policing bad individuals rather than focusing on bettering areas that produce these "bad individuals"(Dr. Gary Potter, The History of Policing in the United States,Pg 3). I firmly believe that an individual's social environment plays a major role in their development. Those who live in low income areas are not presented with the same opportunities as others. They may not have an opportunity to take part in adequate educational, workforce and housing related programs. Bad individuals are not born they are created by an inadequate social environment. As a society we must provide the building blocks for others to excel.
Police presence is used to prevent criminal acts from occurring.

By increasing police presence in certain low income areas could be hurting individuals rather than helping them. Instead of focusing on “bad” individuals police should be interacting positively within the community that produces these "bad" individuals. If the only time the police interact with individuals is to stop and frisk them or question them, of course they won’t be very fond of the police. A majority of police officers have a different socio-economic background than minorities living within low income and high crime areas. Community policing would cause the police to become more relatable to the public(Dr. Gary Potter, The History of Policing in the United States,Pg 10)Minorities may not feel as discriminated against if police improved relations and talked to them as human beings on their level, rather than criminals or

suspects.
Slave patrols had helped the wealthy landowners retrieve their Slaves, these same Slave Patrols would develop into Police Departments and eventually serve the needs of other wealthy citizens(Victor Keppler,P.h.D., A Brief History of policing and Slavery in America,Pg 1).Early police departments shared two primary characteristics, they were widely and intricately corrupt, as well as controlled by local politicians (Dr.

Gary Potter, The History of Policing in the United States,Pg 4). By controlling the police, politicians were able to maintain votes as well as enforce their policies. By doing this police were not truly helping citizens, they were helping corrupt politicians gain “support”(Dr. Gary Potter, The History of Policing in the United States,Pg 4) . Police would calm workforce riots(which were primarily contrived of minorities, mainly Blacks). (Victor Keppler,P.h.D, A Brief History, of Policing and Slavery in America,Pg 1) by brutally beating and arresting individuals. A minority or low income citizen exercising their free speech was too much for the upper class to handle alone. Ironically enough, this was the majority opinion being suppressed by the upper class minority. Even today police are implemented to solve civil unrest. Instead of getting to the root cause of the problem, law enforcement's primary reaction would tend to be violence or new restrictive policies first rather than actively becoming involved within a troubled community. Today politicians are

still using the police force as pawns in their political game. Some politicians criticize the police in their actions against criminals while others praise them. There should be a consistent conversation going on, on how the police force can actively make a difference within their individual communities. Politicians and the Police should come to mutual agreements rather than agreeing upon what most closely fits a politician's political agenda. Instead of looking for a "quick fix" law enforcement and politicians need to invest in long term solutions in order to lower incarceration rates. If more money is put into providing consistent and decent educational and workforce programs in low income areas, perhaps less money will be spent within the prison system.
The police force will be able to properly protect and serve its citizens when it becomes more relatable. Minorities have been the primary concern of the police force since its implementation. We are focusing on the individuals that commit crimes rather than the community's they are derived from. Minorities should not be the prime target of the police, the social background in which they derive from should be.

References
Victor E Keppler, P.h.D, A Brief History of Slavery and Policing, Retrieved from http://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/brief-history-slavery-and-origins-american-policing

Dr Gary Potter, The History of Policing in the United States, Retrieved from History of Policing in the US-1.pdf