Introduction
After the development of policing in England, the United States of America also developed policing. At that time, there were two forms of policing: informal and communal. They were referred to as the watch system or private, for-profit policing. The overall system was known as The Big Stick.
The people who were part of this system were mostly volunteers from the community who kept watch for any possible danger. The system was first implemented in Boston under the name of the night watch, and after that, both New York and Philadelphia adopted this system. The watchmen did not strictly control crime initially; instead, this system was also used as a form of punishment for people who had to perform night duty as watchmen. The functions of these watchmen were mostly to serve the land surveyors and provide verification of the accuracy of measurements and weights. The system included night and day duties, which constables performed. The structure of the policing system changed and evolved over time, and it even remained in operation after the American Revolution. Now, the advancement of technology demands the development of modern policing, and future needs require attention (Cordner, 2014).
Discussion
Now, the modern policing system also shares several characteristics: it is supported by the general public and has a bureaucratic structure. The second characteristic is that officers are fully employed instead of being merely volunteers, and the third is that policing policy is now fully designed with designated roles, duties, and selection criteria. The last characteristic is that the ultimate authority of this system lies with police departments, which answer to the central authority of government. In the southern states, policing structures developed partly to oversee the affairs of enslaved people. Their duties were to enforce laws on enslaved people, pursue those who ran away, and maintain discipline among them. After the Revolution, this form of policing structure became a means of enforcing laws against formerly enslaved people as they became laborers (Cordner, 2014).
During those times, the need to develop police forces arose because of growing populations and cities. Rapid urbanization required the government to have additional law-enforcement officers to maintain law and order. Soon, this volunteer policing evolved into authorized law enforcement because of the increase in crime and violence, and the volunteers did not have the authority to enforce the law but only to watch for possible danger. There is evidence that shows that this system helped greatly in restoring order amid an increase in crime. Another reason for the need for this system was economic and social differences. These differences among classes raised crime rates because of injustice in the overall system. To control these violent crimes, the government enforced a policing system. It was a collective effort of businessmen and government officials to design and implement this system with defined structures and duties.
The 20th century brought many changes, and one of the most significant was technological change. Besides everything else, the policing system also needed changes in the technology it used. The government should ensure that police are fully equipped to perform their jobs (Tyler, Goff & MacCoun, 2015). The police system needs technological advancement for several reasons:
- Police officers work in the streets to ensure the safety of people, and their efforts are directly linked with policymakers.
- Citizens are concerned because of the increase in crime.
- The media and leaders are interested in making this system more efficient.
- The private sector has developed technology, so its involvement in policing technology has changed.
To perform their jobs, police are emphasizing the technology they need in order to make their work more effective and efficient. Technology related to fingerprints and laboratories for crime investigation has greatly influenced police work and made it more effective. Communication through radio and the use of advanced cars have made this job even more productive and beneficial to society. All these technologies first reached the army, but the police received them quite late because little priority was given to them. After acquiring all these facilities, police are more efficient in performing their jobs. Technology evolves each year, and policymakers should ensure that police departments are not ignored again; timely change will help in controlling possible crimes. It was through technology that the Crime Commission created the 911 system, which is widely praised and remains one of the most effective systems used by citizens (Ratcliffe, 2016).
The concern that was mentioned earlier regarding the private sector is that private business owners are buying technological instruments. Cars, computers, radios, and firearms are examples of tools and instruments that are owned and manufactured by the private sector. This concern can be addressed if policymakers give the private sector resources and allow it to invest in advanced technologies that are not accessible to police departments. Their manufacturing will eventually help police departments deal with lethal weapons used by terrorists and meet the challenges they face in their daily tasks of enforcing laws and preventing violent crimes. Another concern directly related to policymakers is the need to emphasize the integration of federal agencies that provide advanced technologies to other departments but ignore police departments. Integration between local and federal agencies will not only help in sharing advanced technology, but procedures and training could also be shared for dealing with crimes. There are also several other technological tools used by police that are old and cause harm, which has a bad impact on the reputation of the police. For instance, pepper spray has been used by the police for several years, and it should be replaced with other tools that are more efficient but cause less harm. There is another issue with detection devices used for detecting weapons: they raise concerns that they invade privacy. Advances in technology should also address these issues and provide tools that can help police detect weapons without invading the privacy of other people (Carter & Phillips, 2015).
Police departments themselves can acquire advanced technologies if their funding increases. They now have their own research and development departments, and they can work efficiently. They are capable of creating effective tools, but the lack of funds limits them and forces them to ask the federal government for such tools. The future of police departments in America is promising, as policymakers are inclined toward the empowerment of police departments. Advanced training similar to military training is given to them because of growing terrorism around the world and the threat to America. These technologies will allow them to tackle such incidents efficiently. They are also being integrated with federal intelligence agencies and will work closely with them while performing some intelligence functions. This raises concerns about privacy issues, although these changes may also make police departments more efficient. The core objective of the police department is to restore law and order by decreasing the crime rate. Citizens’ rights, such as the right to bear arms, are a challenge for police departments, but advanced technology and training will help them deal with every possible threat. Another significant step the government takes is to liberate police departments from political influence, which also enables them to work more efficiently (Friedman & Pnomarenko, 2015).
Conclusions
In the end, strong emphasis should be placed on a system that focuses purely on citizens’ safety while keeping in view the history in which mistakes were made by ignoring this department. The modern policing system also shares several characteristics: it is supported by the general public and has a bureaucratic structure. The duties of early southern police included enforcing laws on enslaved people, pursuing those who ran away, and maintaining discipline among them. During those times, the need to develop police forces arose because of growing populations and cities. Rapid urbanization required the government to have more law-enforcement officers to maintain law and order. There is evidence that shows that this system helped greatly in restoring order amid an increase in crime. All these technologies first reached the army, but the police received them quite late because little priority was given to them. After acquiring all these facilities, police are more efficient in performing their jobs. Technology evolves each year, and policymakers should ensure that police departments are not ignored again; timely change will help in controlling possible crimes. They are capable of creating effective tools, but the lack of funds limits them and forces them to request such tools from the federal government. The future of police departments in America is promising, as policymakers are inclined toward the empowerment of police departments. The future holds many new reforms closely associated with intelligence and advanced technological equipment that will enable them to work more efficiently than ever before.
References
Cordner, G. (2014). Community policing. The Oxford handbook of police and policing, 148-171.
Tyler, T. R., Goff, P. A., & MacCoun, R. J. (2015). The impact of psychological science on policing in the United States: Procedural justice, legitimacy, and effective law enforcement. Psychological science in the public interest, 16(3), 75-109.
Ratcliffe, J. H. (2016). Intelligence-led policing. Routledge.
Carter, J. G., & Phillips, S. W. (2015). Intelligence-led policing and forces of organizational change in the USA. Policing and society, 25(4), 333-357.
Friedman, B., & Pnomarenko, M. (2015). Democratic Policing. NYUL Rev., 90, 1827.
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