Policing evolution from 18th century England to Robert Peel's reforms

¶ … policing in 18th and 19th century England and that of the colonies during that period

Policing in England was very similar to that practiced in the colonies. Both England and the colonies practiced what was referred to as 'kin policing', where citizens were taken as their brothers' keeper and were thus responsible for crime control in their communities. At first, the policing role was practiced by individual citizens who volunteered to keep watch and ensure that law and order was upheld in the community. This, however, proved ineffective, and was replaced with the frankpledge system, where the role of policing was still carried out by citizens, but rather than have individual volunteers, young men would form groups of ten and elect the group leader, known as the sheriff. The group members would carry out policing activities, and the sheriff was responsible for overseeing the smooth flow of the same. Differently from the colonies, however, where law-enforcement was not the sheriff's primary duty; sheriffs in England had law-enforcement as their top-most responsibility, and others such as tax collection as only secondary duties

2. What did Sir Robert Peel think about ethics and policing?

Peel felt that the citizen-led structure of policing was ineffective as it did not allow for effective coordination of law-enforcement activities. He opined that there was need to have a policing system that focused primarily on crime-prevention, and where the members had a legitimate responsibility. Peel expressed that the policing system needed to be guided by a code of ethics that ensured that officers carried out their law-enforcement activities in an ethical manner, and could be held accountable by a central authority. In this regard, he proposed that the policing function be placed under government control, with a central headquarters that was easily accessible and a military-like structure. Further, he proposed that officers receive the requisite training to be able to conduct their duties effectively, and have a standard attire for easy identification.

5. What did August Vollmer propose to professionalize the police?

August Vollmer proposed that a college education be taken as the minimum qualification for joining the police force. His proposition was based on the ideology that better-educated police officers were able to serve better and make better decisions. For this reason, he hired college students to work part-time at the Berkeley Police Department. His visionary thinking paid off in 1973, when the National Advisory Commission examining his proposal made the finding that police departments with higher education standards generally reported quicker response times and more coordinated operations.

6. What effect did the patrol car and education for officers have on community relations?

Education for officers and the patrol car were introduced during the Reform Era. Together, they had the effect of reducing the degree to which the community interacted with the police force (community-policing). Patrol cars, for instance, reduced the number of foot patrols, making it rather difficult for police officers to engage directly with the community. The higher education standard, on the other hand, made police officers college graduates, and community members changed their perceptions of them and began to think of them too more highly than they did before. This created some form of gap between police officers and members of the community.

7. What was the role of the Supreme Court during the Reform Era?

The main role of the Supreme Court during the Reform Era was to regulate police activities and progression to ensure that they did not violate the civil rights and rights of citizens. There were numerous landmark Supreme Court rulings which were geared at landing a conclusion on exactly how much force was 'acceptable' and what exactly constitutes excessive force. Guns were often at the center of the debate as was the case in Tennessee vs. Garner, where the Court invalidated state provisions that allowed police officers to shoot at fleeing felons, terming it as use of excessive force.

8. What are the basic elements of community policing? What are the advantages and disadvantages of community policing?

There are six core elements of community policing. These include government agencies, community members and groups, nonprofits/service providers, private businesses, the media, and the police themselves. These elements work together to form community partnerships that could help in addressing the conditions that cause fear of crime, social disorder, and crime. Community policing thus involves three core components -- community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem-solving. It has a number of advantages the main one being the reduction of fear among community members owing to the increase in police presence. Moreover, by getting citizen actively involved in policing activities, this approach basically improves police-community relations and makes law-enforcement a much easier role. Thirdly, it acquaints community members with the day-to-day activities of police officers, increasing the policing human resource base and consequently reducing crime and improving the overall quality of life. It is, however, not without its share of disadvantages -- i) there is the risk of community leaders and other key elements using the same to advance their own interests as opposed to those of the community; and ii) there is the risk of the police force losing its independence and autonomy, thereby making corruption and manipulation by key stakeholders rampant.

9. Explain values-learned perspective

This is one of the perspectives that seek to explain how police values are acquired. It suggests that police values are not acquired from the external environment as suggested by the values-predisposed perspective, but are learnt on the job. This theory suggests that as an officer socializes with others and gets accustomed to the culture of a particular police agency, they gradually learn the values and beliefs that the profession expects them to adhere to in the conduction of their duties.

10. What are the elements of classical criminology?

Classical criminology is based on three core elements, which also serve as its basic assumptions. The first is that criminal solutions are often attractive; after all, if they were not, people would not go for them. Secondly, people are free to do their will, and to choose whether to follow the criminal solutions, as attractive as they seem, or the less attractive lawful solutions. The third element is based on the rational choice theory, and it is that an individual will only select the criminal solution if they believe that the punishment or pain that could result from it will be less than the reward of deterrence (not committing the crime). Classical criminology, therefore, suggests that an individual will often weigh the potential benefits and costs of their intended acts when deciding whether or not to commit crime.

11. What is noble-cause corruption?

The term 'noble-cause' corruption is used to explain a situation where an individual engages in an illegal act with the aim of realizing the greater good. It is well-explained by the common adage, 'the end justifies the means'. In the policing context, noble-cause corruption occurs when an officer performs an illegal or unethical activity such as fabricating evidence or lying in court so that a dangerous criminal is convicted and the community's quality of life is, as a result, improved.

12. How do you view the ethical behavior of your police department? Have you had any good/bad experiences with ethical police behavior?

Police officers are expected to observe the highest ethical standards in the conduction of their duties. Movies and television