Eras of Policing

Political era is the first era of policing in the United States which was from 1840 to 1900. This was the era when the police close ties with politicians. During this time the police played the role of watchmen and tried to keep troublesome classes under control by foot patrol. They walked on the beat and had a paramilitary structure which was run by captains which were politicians. The system was run by the ward bosses, politicians, which made a lot of corruption occur which didn't have the people best interest at heart.

The Reform era was form 1900 to 1980 which was the progressive movement to promote professionalism into the police department. There was a lot of concern about police corruption and brutality in the police department which cause the reform and takeover to become state ran organizations. This stopped corrupting influences of local ward politics. Reformers sought to insulate the police from political interference while retaining local government control. The American police enforced health in building codes to enhance the safety of the people. This gave the people hope and also they served the people which called for multiple jobs by the police force.

Community policing is from 1980 to the present which updated the reform to another level. The community policing era made the police a multifunctional social service agency working to reduce despair of poverty and deter crime. The community policing is used to make the community have a closer relationship with the police department. This is meant to be positive to bring things together and has been supported by the media and community. It has a strong intuitive appeal with the general public to make people feel safer in communities. The new technology such as cameras and making the police drive in police vehicles has made it less interactive with people and easier for them at the same time.