The Birth of the Modern Police - Case Study Example

Running Head: WHEN WAS THE MODERN SYSTEM OF POLICING BORN AND WHY DID IT OCCUR? When Was The Modern System Of Policing Born And Why Did It Occur?[Writer’s name] [Institution’s name] When Was The Modern System Of Policing Born And Why Did It Occur? Since the introduction of the new police in 1829 the force has taken on many new different shapes and sizes. From the historic Peelers to the modern day Bobbies, the aim has always remained the same. To prevent crime and protect and serve the public. It is usually presumed, by many who think why modern policing was born, that the police was made to handle the increase in crime cause by means of urbanization as well as growing numbers of immigrants. John Schneider gives complete description the above mentioned causes: The initial studies were legal as well as administrative in their centre of attention, was limited generally to explanations of the step-by-step end of the previous constabulary and the stable, but frequently divisive evolution of the experts. Scholars looked as if they were busy discussing the politics of police reform. Researching of the causes of modern policing was considered in a superficial manner, more often presumed than proved. Cities switched unavoidably to modern policing as a result of increasing degree s of crime and disorder in a period of phenomenal growth as well as intense social change (Schneider 1980 p 54). During the above mentioned period London was plagued via crime as well as the safety of a lot of citizens was doubtful. Pick pocketing, gambling and robbery were ordinary amongst the crimes that took place. An essential factor in Sir Robert Peels plan was the division of policing as well as the judiciary. Peel believed that police should be accountable for one side of the law, it was called the examination phase (Hurd 2007). Even till today, this idea remains almost unchanged. Until 1829, law enforcement had been dramatically lacking in organization. As London expanded during the 18th and 19th centuries, maintaining law and order had become a priority and also a matter of public concern. The policing system was seen as ineffective and failing dismally to restore and maintain peace and order. Previous systems were inhumane, containing severe penalties, and weak enforcement structures. Overall it was counterproductive and inefficient. Victims of crime became reluctant to prosecute, as did the jury with regards to conviction. In spite of its early plausibility, the concept that the police were formed in the reaction to a crime wave is dull and wrong. Moreover, it is not a very valid o explanation. It presumes that “when crime increases to a particular level it is only a natural social response to make a modern police force. This obliviously is not a clarification but a statement of a natural law apart from this it yields very little proof. We cannot leave out the possibility that the revolts of slave, rebellion, and other such examples of collective violence resulted in the creation of modern police, however we must keep in mind that neither crime nor disorder were not uncommon in the cities of the nineteenth-century, and thus cannot in any way be responsible for a change similar to the development of such a institution. Violent mobs were in power of a lot of parts of London throughout the summer of 1780; however the modern Police did not emerge till 1829. Getting drunk in Public was a severe problem in the early 1775, however a modern police force did not emerge till 1838.3 therefore the crime-and-disorder theory is unsuccessful in providing reasons as to why earlier waves of crime didn’t create modern police. Bowling (1999) researched the decrease in the rate of homicide in New York and believes that belligerent policing is only one factor which contributes to the decline of homicide. He states that the most persuasive argument for the increase and decrease of murder in New York is the increase and decrease of the crack cocaine sale which, as he believes to be reciprocal. Another reason why modern police emerged was that street activities had increases in areas where public living was common The effect of activities of the street on the public living or have jobs in crime infected areas which are known as hot spot was leading policy concern (Fooks and Pantazis, 1999), Urbanization without doubt had a part in creating modern policing, as in this ear instead of producing prevalent criminality, cities in fact supported widespread civility; as the population increased , the rate of severe crime decreased . The dilemma of the point in time was not regarding law; it was concerning order--specifically the order needed via the new industrial economy as well as the moralism... The much-decried incompetence and insufficiency of the night watch men who played the role of police in that era as a matter of fact demonstrated the restricts of power of the state. Due to urbanizliation the state could remove its restrictions. And now. The safety of the Public was n longer the responsibility of proletarian night-watchmen, now these responsibilities had been reassigned to a full-time professional body i.e. the modern police , directed by and answerable to the authorities of city they were appointed . The law enforcement no longer depended on the grievance of distressed citizens, but on the plan of officers whose task was to stop crime. Therefore, crimes with no victims were no more unnoticed, and possible offenders were not given the chance. The main objective of modern policing was to work with the cooperation of the public to ensure law and order, and its success stemmed from the deliberately civil and courteous manner in which the police constables were instructed to address the public. This basic premise has not changed, and the modern police force exists to protect the public and keep the peace throughout the UK. A lot of factors have given birth to this change. Technology is one of the biggest reasons why law enforcement has improved. New crimes are committed everyday that the criminal justice system has not seen. It is up to law enforcement to find new ways to fix new problems. Both in the past police were abusing their power. This especially affected young people and minorities Cities formed their police forces due to number of reasons, not the least of which was just because they were scared: period after the Civil War a city with any pretentiousness had to create modern police officers (Gene and Guy 2007). This, nevertheless, is not to contradict the value of the new police. The police was well organized and comparatively responsible. The modern police made sure that citizens may well know ho their police officers, the later invention of standard patrol beats--incorporated the new organizational type: patrolling, it was believed that this would reduce crime as the criminals would get sacred off. Another reason for why the modern policing was born is opportunistic use of their presence on the streets. They turned into the front line in a extensive series of urban services that eventually ended in forming especial city departments. The police organization permitted the state to set up a stable presence in a extensive geographic area as well as implement routinized control by means of the utilizeization of patrols and other inspection. Via the same organization, the state maintained the capability to contemplate its power in the occurrence of a riot or other crisis, without having to call the troops or the safeguarding of a military presence. By means of the birth of modern policing, the state obtained a new way of controlling the citizenry- this was completely base on its know-how regarding crime, domestic chaos, colonialism as well as slavery. In conclusion it is clear that the policing function has dramatically changed since 1829. The continuous growth of modern policing portrays the positive effect they are having on policing as a whole. From having very few private agencies in 1829, it can be said that there is more of an equal input from both public and private sectors. Although many view private organizations in a dim view it is clear that without them, the police service would struggle to maintain social control and fight crime. We have also seen a great change in the way policing is carried out, although some elements such as patrol have remained similar. This change demonstrates a continuous forward way of policing to overcome criminal activities. References Bowling B. (1999) The Rise and Fall of New York Murder British Journal of Criminology vol.39 no.4 Fooks, G and Pantazis, C.(1999) The criminalisation of hopelessness, begging and street living in Marsh, A. and Kannett, P. (eds) Homelessness. Exploring the New Terrain. Bristol: Policy Press Gene Hunt, Guy Adams (2007), the Rules of Modern Policing - 1973 Edition (Life on Mars) Bantam Press. Hurd Douglas (2007); Robert Peel: A Biography, Weidenfeld & Nicolson John C. Schneider (1980), Detroit and the Problem of Order, 1830-1880 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, p 54. Read More