Chapter 8

Key Terms

Mutual pledge system= a system of community self-responsibility that existed in Britain during the Middle Ages, in which residents were held responsible for the conduct of their neighbors.

Constable= a citizen in charge of weapons and equipment for one hundred families in his geographical area. In England constables were appointed by a nobleman beginning around the year 900.

Shire reeve= An official appointed by the British Crown who was responsible for overseeing the constables and several hundred families in a given area (called a “shire”). The modern word sheriff is derived from this term.

Watch and ward system= a system established in England in 1285 to aid constables in their law enforcement efforts. Men from each town were required to take turns standing watch at night. Crime suspects were turned over to the constables.

Justice of the peace= an office established by Edward II in 1326 to assist the sheriff in enforcing the law. Eventually the role of the Justice of the peace shifted to adjudication, while the sheriffs retained their local peacekeeping function.

Preventive police= the first organized police department in London, established in 1829. The popular English name for police officers, “bobbies,” comes from Sir Robert Peel, a founder of the Metropolitan Police.

Crime commissions= early twentieth-century crime commissions included the Chicago crime commission (1919), the National Crime Commission (1925), and the Wickersham Commission (1931). These commissions focused on the improved operation of the criminal justice system as the best way to reduce crime.

Progressivism= early twentieth-century era in policing that focused on efficiency, professionalism, and improved technology.

Professionalization= those changes in police organization, administration, and technology aimed at improving the efficiency of the police 

in the deterrence and apprehension of criminals.

Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA)= Established in 1968, the LEAA was set up within the U.S. Department of Justice to allocate money to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice system. Between 1968 and 1977 the LEAA spent more than $6 billion on crime control programs and college education for police officers.

Local police= The police departments of municipalities; local law enforcement also includes county sheriffs and special police agencies such as park, airport, transit, and university police.

Community Policing=a service-oriented style of law enforcement that focuses on disorder in the community, crime prevention, and fear reduction (as opposed to the traditional focus on serious street crimes).

Weed and Seed= Federal programs that combine enforcement with community services in an effort to reduce crime in targeted neighborhoods.

State police= enforcement agencies primarily engaged in highway patrol activities. About half of state police agencies also have the authority to conduct investigative work.

Federal law enforcement= seventeen different agencies that investigate the violations of federal law. Unlike state police agencies, few federal agencies engage in patrol work; most perform exclusively investigative functions.

Transnational law enforcement= International agreements and law enforcement efforts that attempt to serve the interests of all nations in the face of the growth of international travel, the transnational nature of the internet, and the threat of international organized crime and terrorism.

Interpol= The International Criminal Police Organization composed of 177 member nations. It assists member law enforcement agencies requiring information about crimes or criminals of a transnational nature.

Multijurisdictional task forces= multiagency efforts to combat multijurisdictional crimes allowing for pooling of evidence, personnel, and expertise and to reduce unnecessary duplication of effort.

Private security= Law enforcement agencies that protect private property and are paid by private individuals and corporations.

Questions

1. What systems for community protection evolved before the establishment of formal police departments?
2. Why did the invention of gin act as a catalyst for the establishment of public policing?
3. What were some of the problems faced by early police forces?
4. How was police professionalism enhanced in the early decades of the twentieth century?
5. Why is growing reliance on technology a problem for police operations today?
6. Why is law enforcement carried out largely by municipalities in the United States?
7. What are the primary activities of local and state police forces?
8. What are the major federal law enforcement agencies, and what are their responsibilities?
9. What are important issues facing transnational law enforcement?
10. Explain the growing diversity among police officers in recent years.
11. How is the growth of private security related to the police?

Answer

1. The mutual pledge system and the watch and ward system as well as the justice of the peace.
2. It attempted to limit the availability of gin by establishing extremely high licensing fees for all gin sellers and manufacturers and proving rewards for information leading to conviction of unlicensed distillers or retailers.
3. Officers often drank and slept on the job, lack of discipline, low pay, disrespect and ineffectiveness, also problem wearing the uniform.
4. Classroom training and written test for police recruits. The method was also “Authentic assessment”.
5. It coupled with the increasing demand for police services, began to peak during the 1960’s when concern about crime is at an all-time high.
6. Because they are the ones who primarily enforce applicable state laws, but they also enforce local ordinances and traffic laws and investigate accidents and suspected crimes.
7. State police enforce state laws exclusively.
8. U.S. customs and Border control- Investigates contraband entering or leaving country. U.S. immigration and Customs enforcement- border patrol and investigation of illegal aliens at ports of entry. Secret service- Investigates counterfeiting and federal computer fraud; provides security for federal officials. Federal Bureau of Investigation- enforces 250 federal laws not specifically designated to other agencies. Federal Bureau of Prisons- Corrections officers in federal jails and prisons.
9. Political violence, organized crime, drug trafficking and corruption.
10. Until recent decades, women and those of certain heights, weights, and backgrounds were excluded from police work.
11. They are a multijurisdictional agency that enforce in areas where it is out of the hands of police, and they function the same but just in private standards.