Old Style Policing

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I. I have been assigned to answer the question of what does Walker say about Wilson, Kelling, and Moore’s call for a return to the days of Watchman style of policing, and to describe the old style of policing according to Walker. II. According to Walker, the old style of policing was inefficient, highly corrupt, unprofessional, and ineffective. Walker asserts that Wilson, Kelling, and More have a highly romanticized idea of what the old style of policing was like, and points out several flaws in their statements. One instance is when Walker points out the inconsistencies between Wilson, Kelling, and Moore’s idea of the police being completely crime-control oriented and operational reality. Walker states that we can see the discrepancies …show more content…

Additionally, Walker points out that another flaw in Wilson, Kelling, and Moore’s assertions that old style policing was better is their interpretation of the relationship between the police and the public. Their view was that the public “accepted the authority of the police,” and how that has been lost today, which Walker states is false (Walker, 1999, P.58 & 59). Walker states that instead of a congenial relationship, the police instead harassed citizens, and reinforced the prejudices of constituents (Walker, 1999, P.59). In their statement that the police enjoyed “political legitimacy” in the nineteenth century, Walker refutes this by writing that instead of “political legitimacy,” the police of the nineteenth century were unorganized, and there was nothing systematic in the way they operated (Walker, 1999, P.59). Lastly, Walker argues that Wilson, Kelling, and Moore had a “highly romanticized” idea of nineteenth century police serving the needs of local neighborhoods and as a result, enjoyed political legitimacy (Walker, 1999, P.59). Walker

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