Law Enforcement Introduction the Modern Police Forces

Law Enforcement Introduction The Modern Police Forces Prior to the formation of the Philadelphia force in 1833, policing primarily consisted of "night watches" and sheriffs recruited from the community (Sabeth). The role of law enforcement was ad hoc in nature to fight crime, night watch patrols, and not an organized or uniform organization. Incidentally, the rural nature of the country did not necessitate an established and robust policing force until the urbanization and industrialization of the 1830s and 1840s.

In response to a growing need to maintain law and order on city streets, a significant and visible presence was needed to counter riots and avert crime. Philadelphia, and later New York, first established polices forces whose jurisdiction and duties were attended twenty-four hours a day (Sabeth). The significance of the modern police force was that it was developed to prevent crime, law enforcement, and maintain order by being visibly present (Walker & Katz, 2008).

Becoming an officer in the new departments was by appointment and answerable to local political bosses, and as a result the force was plagued by corruption (Sabeth). An individual's connections were directly related to becoming an officer, and allying with the correct political faction resulted in job retention or loss after elections. Social Control To live in a community secure enough to facilitate commerce and free from the fear of brutish mobs, it is necessary to accept certain explicit and implicit norms.

Instilling the norms of a community initially is set out within the family. Beyond the family, schools and religious organizations are tasked with assimilating more uniform rules and ethics into citizens. The police enforce a general rule of social control, defined as, "the organized ways in which society responds to behavior and people it regards as deviant, problematic, worrying threatening, troublesome or undesirable in some way or another," (Walker & Katz, 2008, p. 11).

The Police Role What services should police departments provide? Should the police serve only to "fight crime" or "enforce the law?" What do these terms actually mean? How much crime fighting and law enforcement do police departments actually do? Adherence to the social norms enables citizens to flourish in their respective lives and pursuit free from fear of arbitrary violence. Individuals that fail to conform to social norms find negative reinforcement delivered from by family, churches and schools, or the police.

The police serve as the community wide apparatus to enforce the broadest and farthest reaching social norms, in the form of laws. The police perform two primary tasks of "fighting crime" and "enforcing the law." The modern police officer may operate within a specialized unit, however they still perform both of primary tasks within the community. The task of "fighting.