Police Describe the Impact of Sir Robert

Police

Describe the impact of Sir Robert Peel on American policing

Sir Robert Peel was not an American police officer, or an American politician. He served twice as the Prime Minister of Britain as a Tory, passing a series of significant laws. Part of Peel's concern was in the field of criminal justice and law enforcement. He helped pass major prison reform legislation and also established the first significant metropolitan police force in the United Kingdom. In transforming British police organizations and law enforcement, Peel helped to lay the foundation for the modern American police force and its underlying philosophy.

Peel developed a law enforcement philosophy that was based on involving community residents in the process of crime prevention. The modern concept of community policing is in part based on Sir Peel's original "nine principles," which were outlined in the 19th century. The first of Peel's nine principles is that the "basic mission for while the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder," (New Westminster Police Service, n.d.). Also integral to Peel's principles include the need for community approval for the police. Interest in community approval indicated a paradigm shift in law enforcement: from a model in which the law was antagonistic to the public, towards a model in which the law existed to serve the public. Because of Peel's reforms, American policing systems depend on public approval and legitimacy The media plays a major role in policing the police in this respect. Prior to Peel, policing did not involve a standing force at all. Policing had a major, usually intrusive role, in intervening after a crime was committed but was unable to implement methods of crime prevention. One of the fundamental strategies used to prevent crime was the development of the "beat" model, in which a salaried force patrolled an area so that suspicious activities could be observed, questioned, and if necessary, halted. The American model of law enforcement continues to be modeled after Peel's nine principles.

2. Describe the history of American policing

The history of American policing is a colorful one, starting with the colonial models of law enforcement, growing with the general lawlessness of western frontier towns, and then evolving into the urban model of policing based on Sir Robert Peel's nine principles. In fact, most stages and models of American policing have been based at least in part on British input.

Early American policing involved the establishment of night watch policies for crime prevention (Sabath, n.d.). Still there were few salaried police officers until relatively late. Urbanization made the need for a more permanent, stable police force apparent. Population migration trends necessitated police forces in cities. One of the first was Philadelphia, which established a 24-hour force in 1833. New York followed suit. In most cities, police officers were appointed and therefore, corruption was "commonplace," (Sabath, n.d.).