Policing is accredited to be a difficult, intricate , and dynamic field of endeavor that is evolving as technology keeps on improving. The United States inherited the British universal laws and established a police department comprising of sheriffs, constables, security guards , and stipendiary justice (Lyman, 2009). The reform era was greatly influenced by the progressive movements of the United States in 1920 s . The progressives were mainly associated with the educated and upper-middle-class who had goals of attaining a more efficient government, which will offer security to the less fortunate in society. Also, the reform era of policing was established with the aims of reducing the influences of party politics and patronage in the U.S government ( Beckett, Reosti, & Knaphus, 2016). Therefore, the reforms saw police authority transform into law and professionalism in which crime control was centralized. Efficient organization and emphasis in the curbing crime and apprehending criminals became the central role police during the reform era of policing.
During the reform era, local politicians were in constant conflicts with ward leaders and urban activists over law enforcement in which these parties wanted control over the police, thus establishing a continuous struggle over regulating the police. According to Cruz (2015) , t he enforcement of the law on morality during the 19 th and 20 th was coupled with corruption and abuses, which bolstered the relationship between the police forces and politicians . The effect of this relationship was the divide created between the civilians and corrupt politicians and police officers who kept on mistreating the citizens. The civilians ’ attempts to reform the police department by applying external pressures such as demonstrations failed in the 19 th century. Still, the 20 th -century efforts called for reform as both external and internal forces were involved and lead to significant reforms.
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Bell (2016) describes that t he idea of rallying the police reforms was developed by Berkeley police boss August Vollmer in the early 1930 , in which his vision was to reclaim police glory in reminding American citizens and moral institutions that American law enforcement was tremendous and it was the responsibility of the police to maintain the vision. The icon saw the transformation of the corrupt and the Bureau of Investigation (FBI) morphed into an honest and esteemed institution that became the source administrative designer of police restructuring organizational stratagem. O.W developed August Vollmer vision. Wilson, who was taking guidance from J. Edgar Hoover, maintained that the FBI agent should take strict measures against immorality, lawlessness, and crime.
Edgar Hoover brought reforms by raising appropriateness standards and changing the recruitment patterns and training, which aided to reduce the incidences of kidnapping crimes, robbery, and espionage . Hoover established central control on FBI agents by limiting their involvement in the undercover operations and keeping them out of narcotic enforcement, therefore, ensuring integrity in the operatives (Bell, 2016). The police started to strategize using the reformed FBI agency in which corruption, crimes, and brutality in America reduced as police were not bided with politicians.
The quest for legitimacy and authentication was continued by reformers in which they rejected politics to be a basis for police legitimacy. Reformers opined that political involvement posed a problem in American policing. The progressives and reformists allied to end ties between police and local politicians leaders ( Beckett, Reosti, & Knaphus, 2016). Civil service eradicated the patronage and influences from the ward in the process of hiring and firing police officers while the position of chief was to be examined before taking the seat.
The reformist established that police professionalism and criminal law were to form a base for police legitimacy. The professionalism and legitimacy for police were seen in instances of enforcing the law. When the police chose not to enforce the law, especially in the instances of riot, where they stayed in a secluded place to allow demonstrators to express their grievances, therefore, showing their professionalism (Lyman, 2009). Also, during riots, police did not allow political leaders to make tactical decisions as they had the responsibility of controlling both leaders and rioters when disorder erupts. The reformists were persuasive when removing political influences from police to the extent that police departments became autonomous organizations, especially in the urban governments. The control of the police in cities developed where technical and legal matters were left to the professional executive under the guidance of the law (Lyman, 2009). The influence of political leaders in the police departments was regarded as a failure as corruption was rampant, thus compromising various police departments.
Basing criminal law as a primary source of power for police, the reform era narrowed their function to criminal apprehension and crime control. The goal for police functioning was to control the crime as well as apprehending the offender to deter any criminal activities from happening. Social works that were done by police, such as providing emergency responses and ambulance services, were left to the medical fraternity, private organizations as well as firefighters leaving the police to control crime and enforce the law to people (Lyman, 2009). The police departments were conceptualized in urban centers due to development in which establishing the criminal justice system was needed in urban centers.
The organizational design adopted by police reformers reflected on scientific theories of administration promoted by Frederick Taylor (Lyman, 2009). Police leaders standardized and routinized police work, especially during patrols. The patrol work enabled police to enforce law and apprehend criminals when opportunities arise efficiently. The occurrence of special problems attracted the police department to create special units, including tactical units for juvenile and drug; therefore, furthering centralized commands and control. Moreover, police organizations stressed power through the use of bureaucracy included the flow of communication from seniors to junior officers as well as establishing high-end record-keeping systems.
The use of telephones and radios became universal during the reform era. Citizens were encouraged to call for police assistance through telephones whenever problems arose in which quick response from the police was evident. During this era, 911 and computer-aided systems were installed and dispatched throughout the country to help citizens reach the police services quicker. Detective units were modified while forensic techniques were advanced, which replaced old ways of handling various cases (Bell, 2016). Also, investigative units in the reform era were organized by central headquarters.
The primary outcomes of the reform strategy were crime control and criminal apprehension in which the achievement of outcomes was measured through Uniform Crime Reports developed by August Vollmer, which assessed police effectiveness. Similarly, officers' efficiency in dealing with crime was judged by the number of arrests they made, while other measures included response time police took to arrive at scenes of crimes ( Beckett, Reosti, & Knaphus, 2016). Moreover, despite police attempts to upgrade personnel through training, women claimed they had to be represented in policing for the department to be legitimate.
As seen in the above discussion, the reform strategy was successful for the police during the period of the reform era. Police were able to and maintain dominance in the crime control market. However, social changes produced unbalanced circumstances which included the public rights movements', migration of people in developed urban centers and industrialized cities as well as the changing population age which comprised of more youths and teenagers who were unemployed. Increases in misconduct and crimes augmented improved oversight of police actions by courts of laws as well as and the legalization and de - institutionalization movements. The social circumstances negatively affected the reform era leading to the emergence of the community problem-solving era, which has helped America solve crimes and enforce law efficiently.
References
Beckett, K., Reosti, A., & Knaphus, E. (2016). The end of an era? Understanding the contradictions of criminal justice reform. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , 664 (1), 238-259.
Bell, M. C. (2016). Police reform and the dismantling of legal estrangement. Yale LJ , 126 , 2054.
Cruz, J. M. (2015). Police misconduct and political legitimacy in Central America. Journal of Latin American Studies , 47 (2), 251-283.
Lyman, M. D. (2009, March). The police: An introduction . (4 th Ed.). Pearson.
