The Three Eras Of Policing

The changing role of policing over the three eras has changed dramatically. The three eras are Political, Professional and Community, within each era there are strengths and weaknesses of the police's role during it. The primary role and function of the police today should be community policing.

Political Era

In the Political Era, which is between 1840 and 1920, the police formed close ties with the political leaders. The police worked for the mayor's political party rather than the citizens. The ranks in the police force were for sale to the highest bidder. In 1845, New York was the first to establish a full-time paid police force. Then other cities like Chicago began to follow. The police sought to prevent crimes and keep order through

the use of foot patrols. They also kept order through rudimentary investigations, and third degree

Some of the strengths of policing in the political era is that they sought to prevent crimes and keep order. They also performed service functions such as providing beds and foods for homeless people. Overnight lodgers were able to sleep on the floor sometimes in the clean bunkrooms. The police mainly became general servants as well as crime control officers.

Some of the weakness of policing in the political era was that there was corruption among the police and the community.

The organization was decentralized and had no command structures. Lack of officer training and accountability were also one of the weaknesses.

Professional Model Era

During the professional model era which was between 1920 and 1970, American policing was greatly influenced by the Progressive movement. With their slogan, "The police have to get out of politics, and politics has to get out of the police," that was where the key to the Progressives' concept of professional law enforcement.

August Vollmer, the chief of police of Berkeley was a leading advocate of professional policing. There were other police reformers that stood along with him, so he urged that the police should be made into a professional force that is a nonpartisan agency of government committed to public service. The professional policing has six elements which include: (1) the force should stay out of politics;(2) members should be well trained, well disciplined, and tightly organized;(3) law should be enforced equally;(4) the force should use new technology;(5) personnel procedures should be based on merit;(6) the main task of the police should be crime fighting. I see these six elements as strengths of policing in the professional model

era.

There were many problems of policing in the professional era. One weakness is that there was no relationship with the community to avoid bias and corruption. Another weakness that I see as the police's role was that in the 1960s, the rising crime rates, urban riots and the antiwar movements challenged the police in the professional era. In order to maintain control, police officers found themselves enforcing laws that discriminated against the African Americana and the poor. To many of the residents in the inner city, the police were an army keeping them at the bottom of society, not the public servants that they were in the political era helping all citizens.

Community Era

During the community era, which started in 1970 and is still going on.