Police Professionalism and Responsibility
Running Head: LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALISM AND RESPONSIBILITIES
American Military University
April Marshall
CMRJ201 Criminal Justice Administration
Final– Research Paper
Professor Charles Russo
Abstract
The purposes of this paper are identity and explan in depth history of Law Enforcement professionalism and responsibilities. The analytical content and data collected for this paper was obtained from a literature review of peer reviewed scholarly articles within the American Military University’s online library, as well as from scholarly texts.
Professional Policing comes to America
As reforms efforts gained momentum and politics played a less obvious and less intrusive role in policing, law enforcement in America began to be viewed as a profession. The so called professional phase of law enforcement began in the 1920s. The professional phase can be analyzed and best understood using three general perspectives: the law enforcement role, the bureaucratic model, and science and technology.
Professional Law Enforcement Role
The political spoils era emphasized the service role for obvious reasons. American policing did not adopt a law enforcement or crook catching role until the 1920s and 1930s. Police departments continued to move towards a more professional model as a result of various reform efforts. During the decades of the 1920s and 1930s two significant events occurred that helped orchestrate a move towards law enforcement. Passage of the Eighteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution often called the Volstead Act and the Great Depression which lead to a massive crime wave (Gaines & Kappeler, 2008, p. 195). Prior to t Volstead Act police officers allowed public opinion to dictate police enforcement policies regarding vice and victimless crimes. The police tended to enforce laws haphazardly, as they encountered criminal activity, rather than planning and concentrating on crime problems. Police officers were more concerned with order
American Military University
April Marshall
CMRJ201 Criminal Justice Administration
Final– Research Paper
Professor Charles Russo
Abstract
The purposes of this paper are identity and explan in depth history of Law Enforcement professionalism and responsibilities. The analytical content and data collected for this paper was obtained from a literature review of peer reviewed scholarly articles within the American Military University’s online library, as well as from scholarly texts.
Professional Policing comes to America
As reforms efforts gained momentum and politics played a less obvious and less intrusive role in policing, law enforcement in America began to be viewed as a profession. The so called professional phase of law enforcement began in the 1920s. The professional phase can be analyzed and best understood using three general perspectives: the law enforcement role, the bureaucratic model, and science and technology.
Professional Law Enforcement Role
The political spoils era emphasized the service role for obvious reasons. American policing did not adopt a law enforcement or crook catching role until the 1920s and 1930s. Police departments continued to move towards a more professional model as a result of various reform efforts. During the decades of the 1920s and 1930s two significant events occurred that helped orchestrate a move towards law enforcement. Passage of the Eighteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution often called the Volstead Act and the Great Depression which lead to a massive crime wave (Gaines & Kappeler, 2008, p. 195). Prior to t Volstead Act police officers allowed public opinion to dictate police enforcement policies regarding vice and victimless crimes. The police tended to enforce laws haphazardly, as they encountered criminal activity, rather than planning and concentrating on crime problems. Police officers were more concerned with order
References: Gaines, L.K. & Kappeler, V.E. (2008). Policing in America (6th ed. Newark, NJ: . Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. Ortmeier, P.J., & Meese, Edwin, III. (2004). Leadership, ethics, and policing. Challenges . for the 21st century (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall Schmallerger, Frank (2007). Criminal Justice Today. (8th ed.). Upper saddle, NJ:. Prentice-Hall, Inc