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Evolution of American Policing

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The evolution of American Policing is perhaps one of the most interesting topics to study pertaining to our American government. The police system that we currently use today has evolved tremendously since it first was established in 1626 while the United States was still under British control. However, some forms of American policing began a few years before 1626. When the colonists first became settled down in America, they realized they needed to keep order through out their towns. That is when the colonists formed the very first Justice Of Peace. It was fairly similar to the Bristish government that was in place during the time period because most of the new American inhabitants came from Great Britain or had British roots. The Justice …show more content…

The two most important characteristics were that it dealt with neighborhood integration and community services among the americans.The first effect of this era was the formation of the Constable Watch in 1840 which would later be transformed into the Municipal Police Force. It originally began with approximately 800-900 officers. Jacob Hays was one of the contributors to the organization and later would retire in 1844. Just a few weeks after, the Governor of the state and the Mayor of the City agreed to allow the creation of a Police Department. All the officers wore badges that had an eight-pointed star which represented the first 8 paid members of the Old Watch during Dutch times. The badges had the seal of the City in their center to make it easier to determine what town/city they were form and were commonly made of stamped copper. In 1845, the people of New York combined the two separate day and night watched and combined it into the New York Police Department as we know it today. The first technological advance for this era occurred during the 1850s when the districts linked offices located in different cities together by the use of telegraph lines. During 1860-1890, police were known for doing good deeds such as assisting the poor, homeless, and little kids. In the year of 1886, Robert William Stewart and Roy Green were hired by the LAPD and became the first African American police officers in America. In 1893, The New York Times started

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