I chose to write my civic issues blog about social services, specifically policing. The purpose of law enforcement in a free society is to promote public safety and uphold the rule of law so that individual liberty may flourish. The police are supposed to be seen as peace keepers and protectors in society but it isn’t always looked at this way. This week I will discuss the history of policing and how it has changed since then.
Some forms of policing date all the way back to the 1600s. The first form was called “night watch” and it started in the 1630’s in Boston. The night watch was made up of men who volunteered for a night but some were put on watch as a form of punishment. Not too long after in 1704, the first form of policing in the South was known as slave patrol. It was made up of 3-6 men riding on horseback chasing and hunting escaped slaves. In the mid 1800s, as more immigrants settled in the U.S., crime rates begin to rise and there was a need for better social control. In 1838, Boston established its first police force. Federal and state police forces were introduced in the early 1900s during prohibition. The 1960s were a turning point for the police because African Americans started protesting because of the way they were being treated by law enforcement. In 1999, following the Columbine High school shooting, law enforcement changed forever. After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 law enforcement changed drastically. The U.S. realized that as we advanced in society, so would crime and the rates of crime.
Today, there are more than 18,000 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies who employ more than 420,000 officers. In the 1600s there was 3-6 people that stayed up overnight to watch for crime and now there are an average of 2.2 law enforcement officers for every 1,000 individuals. It is crazy to think about how much the law enforcement and policing systems have changed since then. In the 1700s, when policing was made for escaped slaves, they were seen as heroes because slaves were not seen as humans to some people so they needed to keep society safe. At the same time, they were also seen as villains to society because they were capturing slaves and returning them to their owners and slavery was wrong. Todays police force obviously does not have the same intention of capturing slaves but they do intend on keeping society safe. Today they are also seen as heroes for risking their life to protect ours but they are also seen as villains to some. They are believed to be “bad” people because of the injustices and unfairness that the policing system has brought to people of color.
We always want the policing system to be a positive part of society but when trust is broken between law enforcement and its community this is a result. In order for our law enforcement to continue to get better, the relationship between law enforcement and the community needs to get better first.
Ever since I was a little girl, my dad would always explain to me the back stories about the policing systems because he is now a retired cop. As you stated, most people do aim for having the policing system to be a positive thing for the communities, unfortunately it does not always turn out this way.
I sometimes worry about what our future is going to look like in regards to the policing system, especially at this moment in time. It seems like everyday we wake up and each day becomes more uncertain and unpredictable. Is there ever going to be a time where police are just looked at as the peace keepers? Or are they always going to be looked at as a threat to some?
Hey Annalise! This is such an informative and well written post! I never really looked into the history of policing, but it was super interesting to see how much it has evolved since then. The part explaining the purpose of policing really caught my eye, especially when you mention how in the 1700s, the main purpose of the policing was to enforce even more control and power over the slaves because they were seen as property rather than humans.
It’s true that the one thing that has stayed constant in a sense is the police’s fundamental purpose to be a “public servant” and to keep people safe, but their application is not always taken positively by the public. However, I also agree with your point about how the criminal justice system, and modern-day policing has negative connotations due to the great amount of police brutality inflicted among people of color. Racial bias, I think, has its roots in the history of the nation (especially the treatment of black people in America), and I believe that this racial bias is still present not only in policing, but also within American society and civic as a whole.
However, I think this concept of patching up the relationship between the police and the public will take a great effort and will require open minds from both sides. But, I’m unsure about what steps can be taken to improve the system, and it is uncertain whether this positive rapport will happen in the near future.