Policing was established in the 1800s as a response to the need that was created by the developing industrial cities in the United States. The period between the 1800s and 1970s was the political era of policing, where the police worked for local Politicians and patrolled their neighborhoods. The period had no structured civil service system, and the police could be employed and dismissed by the local politicians. During this period the police strived to please their local politicians; consequently, handling community issues in ways that favored the politicians. Although being a police officer was considered as a lucrative job, it was a highly insecure occupation due to the high political turnovers experienced in the 19 th century (Stevens, 2017) .
Not only did the police patrolled on foot, but also understood their communities. they knew all those who lived in their local neighborhoods and could easily identify strangers. The police could easily identify crime issues as they could receive crucial information from community members. They had an intimate attachment to both the political and the social systems. They even provided numerous social services like giving temporary dwelling for new workers, managing soup lines as well as helping the ward leaders in finding employment opportunities to the immigrants. Although they had a great opportunity to curb peddling, they occasionally gave some room to thieves and gamblers; leading to a developing culture of corruption in the police. As a result, there arose a need for a reform that led to the birth of the professional era in the 1970s.
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Professional era appeared as a new dawn to policing as it rejected political influences on the police legitimacy. Instead, the implementation of the civil service system changed the perception of the police officers from being mere representatives of political leaders to being law enforcers. Criminal law became the major foundations of police legitimacy, focusing their operations on both criminal apprehension and control of crime. They, however, became the defenders of the status quo, and even went on the frontline during civil rights protests against the government. As a result, police could only be seen during wars and demonstrations; working to finish riots and using force on citizens to set of demonstrations. The system was later regarded as not suitable and police-community collaboration identified as being the most essential system (Ransley & Mazerolle, 2009) .
The new community policing system was implemented in the 1980s and was founded on the thought that police needed to be a unit that dealt with various forms of disorder and to make members of the public feel that the police is sensitive to the information they give. The police need to use the advanced technology availed to them, to work closely with the communities to maintain law and order in society. The police sort to improve the quality of living in the communities by working for the people and controlling crime. The new strategy was meant to develop trust between the police and members of the community, to an extent that issues would be discussed and solved (Stevens, 2017) .
Police Brutality
Police use of force is prominent throughout the history of policing. The nature of police operations is occasionally accompanied by various forms of danger such as that experienced by those who might not want to comply with the demands of a police officer. Police officers are accorded various forms of force options ranging from firearms, batons to sprays; to help them execute their functions. Although the police are empowered to use force when dealing with non-compliant individuals, there is an increasing report of instances of unjustified use of force. A good example of a tazer in action event is the incident that involved Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a student at the University of California. According to Ransley and Mazerolle (2009), the mentioned person was stunned severally by a police officer working on the campus. The young man was alleged to have declined to be sent out of the university library following a failure to produce his student identity card. The young man said that he did not provide his identity card as asked as he made to feel like a victim of racial profiling. According to him, the subsequent teasing was police brutality. He consequently filed a lawsuit where it was agreed that he would receive monetary compensation.
Active Shooter Response
As outlined by Dunham and Alpert (2015) , police officers are expected to actively respond to instances of an active shooting. In most instances, they receive praises whenever they engage threats regardless of their safety during the operation. On the other hand, they get heavy criticism if they don't respond as quickly as expected. Law enforcers tend to charge against potential threats despite all their risks involved. As a result, a good number of police officers end up dying or getting injured. The pressure from the public has largely influenced policing strategies; consequently, compromising the basic principles of police safety in certain instances (Ransley & Mazerolle, 2009) .
Given the above-mentioned issues, the near future will certainly experience unforeseen challenges. However, it is important for law enforcement leadership to focus on these issues and others that might arise. It is difficult to predict what the future holds in the policing profession. However, it is important to review past events to avoid carrying over unresolved mistakes of the past into the future. It is also important that the role of public cooperation to the smooth running of police activities is not overlooked. Criminals tend to carry out their activities away from the police but are caught through the information provided by the members of the public (Ransley & Mazerolle, 2009) . Therefore, public cooperation has been in the past and continues to be essential in criminal justice procedures. Therefore, there is a need to reinforce the relationship between the police unit and the members of the public, to strengthen the trust between the two units. A healthy relationship between the police and the citizens will facilitate a flow of information and thus, curbing all potential threats to the security of the communities.
References
Dunham, R. G., & Alpert, G. P. (2015). Critical issues in policing: Contemporary readings . Waveland Press.
Ransley, J., & Mazerolle, L. (2009). Policing in an era of uncertainty. Police Practice and Research: An International Journal , 10 (4), 365-381.
Stevens, D. J. (2017). An introduction to American policing . Jones & Bartlett Learning.
