American Policing: A Historical Overview of Strategies and Policing

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of American policing. It begins by highlighting the early reliance on volunteer citizens, conscription, and watch groups. The essay then delves into the 19th-century development of ethical policing, emphasizing the Peelian principles and their impact on police-community relations. It further discusses the establishment of the modern police department in New York in 1845 and its role in documenting and recording criminal activities. The essay traces the transformation from early policing methods to the well-structured and ranked policing system that is prevalent in the United States today, referencing key literature on the subject.

Running head: AMERICAN POLICING
AMERICAN POLICING
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The rates of the crimes have increased in the recent years in the United States. The other
factor that have been observed to be increased in the recent times are the factors that pertain to
the immigration issues that are faced by the country. The policing departments in the United
States refers to the law enforcement departments that are existent within the country. The
following essay attempts to trace the evolution of the policing strategies and activities that are
prevalent within the country.
The proper and organized policing activities within the United States had been introduced
since the 1600s. The police department of the country was known to have spent the maximal part
of their duty attending the cases of the horses that have gone stray and the children who have
gone missing and spent lesser time on solving the cases that were reported on the burglaries
within the concerned area of operation (Stevens, 2017). The early days of the policing in the
country was heavily dependent on the volunteering citizens of the country, a system of
conscription that was similar to the militia system of the current days and the various watch
groups that were active during those days.
The nineteenth century experienced attempts to develop as well as design the ethical
activities of the police force within the concerned political territories. These principles were
developed by the eminent British statesman, Sir Robert Peel (Willis, 2013). The Peelian
principles tend to prevent the disorder and crime that might take place, the recognition of the fact
that the executionary powers of the concerned police departments depended on the matters that
pertain to the approval granted by the common public to the members of the police force. The
principles further lay stress on the recognition of the various factors that are related to the co-
operation of the concerned public who have been residing within the territorial boundaries of the
area. The further experts on the matter stated that these principles might be applied in order to

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deal with the factors that are related to the involvement of the police as well as the residents of
the area. The modern police department in New York was created in the year 1845 (Emsley,
2017). This department was responsible for the maintenance of the peaceful state of affairs
within the concerned territories. This helped the concerned authorities to keep a check on the
various criminal activities that had been taking place in a more documented and recorded manner
(Cordner, 2016). This documentation and the recording tends to put forth the conditions that are
related to the matters that might pertain to the maintenance of the records that are related to the
various crimes as well as the legislations that had been meted out to the concerned defaulters.
Thus, the above discussion points out the evolution of the police department from the
early days of heavy dependence on the volunteering citizens, a system of conscription similar to
the militia system and the active watch groups to the well-structured and ranked policing system
within the United States.

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References
Cordner, G. W. (2016). Police administration. Routledge.
Emsley, C. (2017). Police Detectives in History, 1750–1950. Routledge.
Stevens, D. J. (2017). An introduction to American policing. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Willis, J. J. (2013). Improving police: What’s craft got to do with it. Ideas in American
policing, 16, 1-13.