History of Policing and Police Reform
Today, I want to go back and share with you the history of policing in the United States. To show you the issue of murder of black people by police is a systemic problem. One that will not go away by creating police reform legislature.
Original Forms of Policing
Policing in the United States started in colonial times in two forms:
- “The Watch”: Community volunteers who warned of impending danger, during both day and night. It wasn’t totally effective as at night many volunteers were drinking and only joined the watch to evade military service or as a form of punishment.
- Constables- official law enforcement officers who also performed duties such as surveying lands.
In the 1830s, a more centralized police department formed in the northern United States, starting in Boston in 1838, By the 1880s all major cities had these municipal police forces. Compared to our modern day police systems, here are the similarities:
- Publicly supported
- Full time employees
- Fixed rules and procedures
- Police departments were accountable to the central government authority
In the Southern States, they had a “Slave Patrol”, starting in the Carolina colonies in 1704. These patrols chased down slaves and return them to their owners; deter slave revolts with a form of organized terror; and discipline slave workers, outside the law, if they violated planation rules. They eventually transformed into police departments that controlled freed slaves by enforcing Jim Crow laws. So we can see here that some of our original law enforcement were formed with the purpose of disciplining black people with increasing illegal terror methods that continued after the abolition of slavery.
The Purpose of Police Forces
Many attribute the development of police forces in the 1830s to the increasing urbanization of the United States. However, there isn’t much evidence of large crime wave, besides occasional violent mobs. The police forces real purpose was to keep the order. Social and public order, greatly influenced by economic interests. Developing a stable workforce.
As the factory system emerged, and with the booming corporations came increased inequality. Reducing rioting from the underpaid, endangered workers became the job of the police force, who were authorized legally to use force in the name of keeping order. Social control and crime control became synonymous to those in power. They portrayed the workers as inferior, unskilled, uneducated. Unsurprisingly, this group consisted of primarily poor immigrants and free blacks, viewed as dangerous classes of people. Police directed their force toward these individuals rather than the horrid social and economic discrimination they were facing.
Corruption in Police Forces
It should come as no surprise that there was corruption in the police forces and created by the police forces. Local politicians appointed police executives, typically the party ward leader who could be an owner of the local tavern and participate in gambling and prostitution. Police were paid off to allow these practices. Additionally, they actively stuffed ballot boxes or led vote-buying. There were little to no qualifications or training for policing. Police could drink on the job, and acted first on private economic interests, not upholding the duties of the position, to keep citizens safe and following the law.
What we haven’t talked about yet, part of the broader police murder issue, are firearms. Discussion occurred related to police uniforms, firearms and the amount of force they would be allowed to use. Many policeman didn’t want uniforms. They didn’t want to be recognized by citizens who they had power over. Police officers carried firearms on their own accord, before it was even legally allowed. Like present day, the use of weapons and force was opposed by the public. However, the voices of the public were overshadowed by those who had formed the police in the first place. Politicians considered them essential to keep the “dangerous class” in order.
By the end of the 19th century, police participated more and more in white supremacy by protecting white youth gangs, and even used them as intimidation against citizens or get out of the vote.
Police Reform
This is not to say that some forces didn’t provide services to the public. In New York and Boston, they helped the homeless find shelter and managed disease epidemics much like the one we are facing right now. However, at the root of it, police forces became a group that’s primary purpose was to serve the politicians needs.
Just as today, people called for police reform as response to the behavior of police even in the 1800s. Police officers and lieutenants formed prostitution syndicates and gambled. In 1894, the Lenox Committee investigated police corruption, and discovered that police required bribes for promotions. As time went on, more committees and grand juries were formed, investigating the police. Corruption, excessive force and racism were continually uncovered but little action was taken.
Surprisingly, some police reform acts came from police themselves as a response to scandals in the departments. Some of these police reforms included creating selection standards, training, clear chains-of commands and promotions based on testing procedures. All reforms proposed aimed to separate police from politicians. What resulted was middle-level management, change of geography of precincts to be different from political wards, and special squads for different duties (e.g. traffic, crime, narcotics).
Police Professionalism
O.W. Wilson was a major figure in the call for police reform described as “police professionalism” . He published a book called “Police Administration”, which became the guide for professionalizing policing. The book outlined measures such as greater police centralization, and closer supervision of police officers. While on the surface they appeared as a step in the right direction, the result was tension between police and citizens. Among Wilson’s suggestions were “stop and frisk” procedures to control crime. Police used these methods to target minority males most frequently. Professionalism only created isolated police forces that did not respond to any criticism of their methods, and did not address the inherent racism and sexism in the hiring processes of police.
Taylorization of the Police
The next era of reforms, titled the “Taylorization of the police” by Sydney Harring, arose after the unionization of the police in the 1970s. The size of forces decreased, and the departments divided into specific, specialized tasks. Technology allowed for 911 and emergency lines so police administrators could perform other duties. Civilian employees were given some tasks. All of this separated the police even further from citizens. Citizens called for increased efficiency as the police organizations became increasingly more inefficient.
The Public Response
At the same time the civil rights movement grew, while simultaneously being suppressed by police forces. Like present day, protests sparked as a result of police brutality. There were nearly 300 demonstrations in college campuses across the United States, followed by multiple assassinations of JFK, MLK and Robert Kennedy, as well as Malcom X and Medger Evers.
Instead of continued reform of the systemic issue with police, focus shifted to improving the police image. They attempted to practice community policing, working with the community to reduce community problems.
From this history of policing, we can see that police forces were not established to serve the people and reduce crime, but actually the politicians and the economy, no matter the practices or their illegality. Police forces are founded on the racism, xenophobia, oppression and murder of marginalized communities and the support of white men to stay in power. They act with these discriminatory practices in mind, and it only compounds over time, with the support of many of our politicians who are supposed to serve all people. It’s shameful. We cannot reform the police system if they were formed to actively discriminate against people of color by whatever means of force they seem fit.
This is just one part of an ongoing series of blog posts discussing the systemic issue of police brutality. Come back next week to learn more about what are solutions that may work to keep all citizens safe, regardless of their race.
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