Policing in the United States has greatly evolved from the earliest beginnings until now. In the early history of policing in the US, individual citizens were responsible for the task of maintaining law and order in their communities. Communities have people who volunteered as constables and justices of the peace. They were not paid for the services they offered. At the time, the English colonial forces employed the Shire reeves, or as currently called the ‘sheriffs’as full time overseers of law enforcement activities within their shires in England colonial territories in the America and other counties in the colonies. For centuries, policing was handled in the afore-mentioned approach (Makov, 2014).
While this system worked. A loosely based system controlled the society for years. However, the system worked well for the rural and remote areas where the population was low. However, the coming of the 1700-1800, there was population explosion in the US and especially in the cities. Owing to the population explosion, riots and civil unrest became common. At the time, it became increasingly clear that there were gaps and need for permanent and professional form of law enforcement in form of the police. The need to have the police sparked debates on the policing model that would be adopted in the US to protect the citizens from increasing danger.
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Key philosophers and sociologists such as Jeremy Bentham and his acolytes made efforts to demand for centralized police force to protect the citizenry and for the purposes of maintaining order. The most powerful advocate for modern policing in the United States is none other than Sir Robert Peel, the then Minister of Parliament who served as Home Secretary for the United Kingdom in the 1820's. He championed for the development of the centralized police force that would allow policing to be well coordinated. This was agreed and the British police force was established.
As the policing structures began to be put in place in the United States, there developed early public Opposition to the Police Force. This opposition happened as a concept of fear increasingly came in the minds of people. The resistance made it difficult to sell the concept of centralized police. It was feared that the police would act as another arm of military and cause more danger. This challenge made Peel to get back on the board and develop a functional framework on how the police would work in the United States. Peel developed a paper on what the police force would be comprised of and the behaviors that a police is expected to observe. Some of the key ideas that he raised contributed to what is referred to as the core principles of policing.
Indeed, it is clear that policing in America has come from a distance. From the time the creation of the police force was feared by the public through the times where the police were seen as enemies to the people to the times when policing is conducted in a professional manner and run through principles. Today, the United States is among the countries with the best policing structure. The police act as law enforcers and deployed to work at different state departments. Looking back, there is no doubt that the police in the United States have done a major role in shaping law and order (Caldero & Crank, 2014). The police have continued to employ new and better techniques to deal with criminal behavior and criminals making it a worthy course.
Notwithstanding the fact that there are numerous allegations and complaints about the police and policing in the US, policing has greatly improved in the country. Besides, allegation of increased racism by the police on minorities, public harassment, and cases of injustice; the police are and have continued to play a major role towards maintaining law and order in the United States. Policing in the United States has experienced major milestones to this day. The police have become a major source of law and order through the enforcement of local laws in the country (Dempsey & Forst, 2009). Besides, the police have increasingly played a major role in helping the state carry out other social and justice responsibilities.
The progress of policing and police operations in the United States is a consequence of the adoption of the ‘Peelian Principles of Policing’. The core aspect of these principles is the need for the police to prevent crime and maintain order. The need for police to know they depend on public trust to be effective in law enforcement. The other principles are acknowledgement that the ultimate goal of policing is to attain voluntary compliance among communities with the local laws. In addition, the police must maintain non-impartiality and avoid being swayed by people in power or the public. The observances of these principles have shaped America’s policing as it is today. Indeed, the progress attained in policing in the United States is remarkable and worth the effort.
References
Caldero, M. & Crank, P. (2014). Police Ethics: The Corruption of Noble Cause London: Routledge.
Dempsey, J. &Forst, L. (2009). An Introduction to Policing. London: Cengage Learning.
Makov, H. (2014). The Making of the Modern Police. New York: Pickering &Chatto.
