Free Essay - The History of US Law Enforcement

In the history of humankind, making and enforcing rules and regulations has remained a pillar to any society that needs to thrive and be successful. Free living and actions of free will arguably, are of the past. Today, people are guided by laws that establish accepted codes of behavior to make our society friendly. As such, creating and enforcing rules, makes a community possess a sense of order as people are guided to behavior and actions that are appropriate for prosperity (Ghappour, 2017). Without laws, therefore, there would be chaos and mayhem as people would tend to do whatever they want, resulting in a disorderly nation. Consequently, law enforcement in the US is one of the crucial components that make the criminal justice system, together with corrections and courts of law (Ghappour, 2017).

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As mentioned above, the prosperity, as a result of making and enforcing laws (for orderliness), is one of the pillars that the US has built on. Notably, the US is one of the countries with the highest human population diverse in terms of culture, beliefs, and religion. As such, the history of making and enforcing laws in the US dates back to its independence on July 4, 1776 (Johnson, 2015). Upon realizing the high population that would be ungovernable, the country’s top management foresaw that rules and regulations, which subsequently became laws, were the only means to govern the people and ushered them into prosperous developments, both to an individual and at a collective level (Ghappour, 2017).

In the US, law enforcement operates mainly through government police agencies. Today, there are about 17,900 US police agencies, including the City Police Department, State Police/Highway Patrols, County Sherriff’s Offices, and Federal law enforcement agencies. The law enforcement agencies are mandated in an organized manner to enforce the law by deterring, discovering, punishing, or rehabilitating people who contravene norms and rules that govern the society (Johnson, 2015).

Although law enforcement in the US is a collective effort shared by police, courts, and corrections, police are the primary link between the courts and corrections. Therefore, examining the history of policing in the US provides an understanding of how law enforcement has progressed and changed over a period (Monkkonen, 2012). Notably, the alteration of the purpose, structure, and duties of the police agencies have transitioned law enforcement from being ineffective watch groups to powerful police agencies. Today the policing agencies have incorporated advanced problem-solving and technology strategies that have enhanced law enforcement processes within the US (Monkkonen, 2012).

American law enforcement is heavily influenced by the English system spanning from history. In the initial stages of policing development in both colonial America and England, natives or citizens were deemed responsible for law enforcement within the community level. This organization was referred to as kin police. Momentarily, people were responsible for watching out for their community at large and the relatives (Monkkonen, 2012). A system that consisted of volunteer members (men) was made the watch group, and such was the order of the day in colonial America up to the 19th century. The watch groups provided essential services such as lighting street lamps, recovering lost children, running soup kitchens, among other duties. The group, however, had minimal involvement in crime control activities, and as such, law enforcement and policing were largely ineffective (Monkkonen, 2012).

Later, as the population was swelling, people started having the necessity of effective community policing and agencies to enforce laws. The responsibility to implement rules was shifted from individual citizens to formed groups of men who lived within the community. The group was referred to as a frankpledge system, semi-structured, and their sole responsibility was to enforce the law (Waxman, 2017). Within the community, the group would form into ten (tythings), which were grouped into hundreds; the hundred were, in turn, grouped into shires, similar to the present counties. Each member form the tythings, was responsible for reporting and capturing criminals and bringing them for punishment (Waxman, 2017).

As time lapsed, the informal groups were by-passed. They were ineffective in dealing with the high rate of crimes, and social unrest and rioting that was stemming from disagreement in governance and service delivery in the late 18th century and beyond. At the moment, there was a need to install an independent agency or unit to help in enforcing the law. The legislatures were rallied to act and amend laws that would make the country governable. From thence, a public-funded police department was formed, and it emerged across the US with the mandate to oversight the application of the law. Thus in 1829, Sir Robert Peel rallied members of the parliament to introduce the bill of improving the police (metropolitan Act) (Waxman, 2017). The bill’s goal was to create a police force able to managing the social conflicts that resulted from rapid industrialization and urbanization within the city of London. Latter, Peel opined that the primary function of the London metropolitan police is crime prevention rather than detection after the crime is done (Waxman, 2017).

In both the 18th and 19th centuries, the US displayed a distinct policing style. Politics was central, and politicians developed a cordial relationship with police. High ranking government officials in need of protection from the locals sponsored policing bills, which later were enacted as laws streamlining the rule of law and means for reinforcing law. For instance, in December 1955, a black woman Rosa Parks was arrested when she violated what a segregation ordinance, a typical reinforcement of law (Waxman, 2017).

Today, the US is one of the countries that pride itself on progressive change of events with realigned law enforcement. The US being a federal republic, is governed by a well-streamlined means of justice dispensation consisting of various courts of the land, correction centers, and top policing agencies that enforce the law in states, federal and at the local level (Waxman, 2017). Notably, federal law enforcement agencies have one mandate; to implement bills enacted by the federal government.

References

Ghappour, A. (2017). Searching places unknown: Law enforcement jurisdiction on the dark web. Stan. L., Rev., 69, 1075. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2742706

Johnson, D. R. (2015, January). American law enforcement: A history. St. Louis, MO: Forum Press. https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=79230

Monkkonen, E. H. (2012). History of urban police. Crime and justice, 15, 547-580. https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=138808Waxman, O. B. (2017). How the US got its police force. Time Magazine. https://time.com/4779112/police-history-origins/