The Development and Improvements of Professional Policing - Essay Example

Task Issues in Criminal Justice History: Crime, Punishment & Policing (Criminology) Introduction The modern police have been greatly associated a bill presented into parliament in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel. The bill led to the introduction of Metropolitan Police Act that was associated with improvement of the police in and around the metropolis. The act provided for solitary authority that was required to provide services for an area amounting to 7-mile radius from the center of the metropolis (Gaines and Kappeler, 2011, pg. 65). The act was approved only as a political concession and it was functional only in London. The act applied for metropolitan regions of London but barred London city and its constituent provinces. The police unit started functioning in 1829 immediately after the Metropolitan Police Act took effect. The police force at this time had 1000 police officers in only six divisions with a new headquarter located in 4 Whitehall Place, which later on turned into a courtyard. The Peelian reform had twelve principles that served as guide to the modern police undertakings. Robert peel built on the work of different reformists and finally managed to develop and implement the vital police act. The development of professional policing underwent three majors since implementation of Metropolitan act in 1829.The three major phases in the professional policing were; the reform phase, police entrenchment phase and the professional phase. Police Entrenchment Phase Political entrenchment came amidst the changes in exceptional growth and prospect that played a great role in the creation of political private enterprise. Politician viewed the police as machinery for cementing their powers through a better control of political antagonists as well as assistance to acquaintances (Gaines and Kappeler, 2011, pg. 73). The police was viewed not just as a means of enforcing law but also as the principal source of social services. Politicians used the police as a tool for garnering more votes through the provision of social services than making arrests. To this effect, the political heads urged the police to provide more of social services than making arrests. The police unit provided various social services to the surrounding communities such as the removal of dirt, emptying of privies, checking for cholera in residential homes (Gaines and Kappeler, 2011, pg. 73). The duties bestow against the early police officer brought in controversy over the role of the police. The problems over the role of police are still there today although not exhibited in large scale comparable to the early times. The controversy came in because most work during that period was social rather than law enforcement. The police played an instrumental role in performing most social service functions in addition to provision of basic health services. However, in 1917, New York Police Department who were known as welfare officers brutally beat an African-American male motorist and with the use of a video tape, the incident was televised (Richardson, 1980, 214). The city was forced into appointment of a commission that probed into the case in order to solve the problem. The committee was in addition required to make recommendations concerning the use of force in the police department. The commission continued to serve although it was seen as bias as an instrument of reforms. Despite the alleged service to the people, incidences of corruption and assault have still been prevalent in the police departments (Gaines and Kappeler, 2011, pg. 77). Later on, the reform phase followed which presented a period that had several reforms within the police unit. Reform Phase Several police administrators who had dedication to police work and who felt the need to provide quality law enforcement services to the community pushed for the police administrative reforms. The various reformists were against the idea of the politicians to utilize the police unit to obtain favor and votes from the public. The reformist resented the control and domination of the police unit by the politicians since it undermined the role of the police in administration of justice. With the maneuver of more competent and focused administrative police officers, they started to explore appropriate ways of reducing the influence of the politicians on police work. The reform had emphasis on personal issues and the reformists emphasized on assortment of standards and examination, recruit preparation, public service and promotion evaluation. The set standards and measures served as ways of discouraging the incompetent police officers from joining the force. The measures additionally ensured that the promotions were carried out in a fair manner based on quality of service. Further to that, the police finally managed to keep the politicians away through the establishment of minimum standards that the politicians had to maintain. The second reform was the police reorganization reform that took three forms. These different forms were; the adding of mid-level supervision ranks, transformation of police division lines and the deployment of more specialized police units (Gaines and Kappeler, 2011 pg. 77). The ranks that were added to the police unit were; majors, support rulers who helped the police unit in better control of its operations. The police also tried and managed to their alter station boundaries in order to include many different voting wards. This strategy greatly helped in reducing the power of politicians since it included more wards. In the end the police strived and deployed centralized and specialized police units the leading being the criminal investigation unit. The police were at this time controlled by the division politicians and their captain with their jurisdiction being within these divisions. Centralization meant that the police captains could exercise more control regarding various police responsibilities. Under the police reforms, there was the General Political Reform that was instituted due to the pressure that was exerted on the government through the public. The state and local government were marred with mismanagement and other problems such as corruption and this made the public to push for formation of commission to probe into these problems (Gaines and Kappeler, 2011, pg. 77). During this period, the public and other authorities exerted their power pushing for laws and programs that reduced the influences from politicians and other authorities. Professional Policing Phase During this phase, the police was a more defined unit and could manage its own activities as well as control the policing community. The police had by this period gained sovereignty from the local politicians and their roles were properly defined with the end of engagement in too much social work at the expense of their main goal, which is the maintenance of law and order within the areas of operation (Gaines and Kappeler, 2011, pg. 78). The professional phases had also seen the improvements within the police unit with the numerous reforms that had earlier taken place. Professional policing phase also saw the further centralization of the police unit and this led to the development of different police units. The police units carried out certain activities within their assigned areas of exerting jurisdictions. The professional phase also saw the development in better methods of law enforcements where various technological advances were integrated into the law enforcement organization. The police units also increased with the introduction of new reforms and the number of people per every police officer rose. With the specialization, more managed to join the law enforcements authority since the objective of enforcement had started to be exhibited through proper services to the public. The divisions in the area of service also increased and with the number of police increasing the police officers were able to enforce law and order efficiently in these regions. According to Brogden, the administrative chiefs and captains in the police force had great emphasis on more centralization of the policing unit because they were dedicated to their work to serve the public (Brogden, 1988, 40). According to Rawlings, the police became more specialized in dealing with crime rather than engaging in any other types of work such as social services (Rawlings, 1999, 54) Conclusion The development of professional policing took several phases since the launch of the developments in past years. Through the years, various improvements saw the advancements in policing which in turn increased the service of the police in their areas of assertion of jurisdiction. The policing have therefore come a protracted route to the current situation through the various reform-minded individuals with the force (Gaines and Kappeler, 2011, pg. 77). The police unit managed to overcome many problems that affected the unit leading to better services to the public. Throughout the period in development, the roles of the police became more defined through specialization in various fields. The police also became a political free unit with the reforms undertaken and this meant that the police were able to carry out their roles without interferences from the political heads (Gaines and Kappeler, 2011, pg. 77). The integration of more ranks into the unit also helped to consolidate the control and authority of the police as an independent unit in the government. Works Cited Brogden, M. et al. Introducing Police Work. London: Unwin Hyman, 1988. Gaines, Larry K. & Kappeler, Victor E., 2011, Policing in America, New Delhi: Anderson Publishing co. Pp. 73-78. Rawlings, Philip. Crime and Power: A History of Criminal Justice 1688-1988. London: Longman, 1999. Richardson, J. Police in America: functions and control in Inciardi, J. Faupal, C. eds. History and Crime: inspirations for criminal justice policy. Beverley Hills: Sage Publications, 1980. Read More