August Vollmer's Role In Policing

August Vollmer, considered the father in the development of the field of criminal justice, was born New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1876. Vollmer was widely read and consumer many journals and publication, His only official education, beyond grade school, was in vocational courses consisting of bookkeeping, typing, and shorthand from New Orleans Academy. At age 15, his family moved to Berkeley, California, August was active in the formation of Berkeley’s volunteer fire department. Upon Vollmer’s erection in 1905 to Berkeley police department, first as sheriff and later as Berkeley’s first chief of police, Vollmer learned that police officers had very little literature and education on policing. One of Vollmer’s first acts established bicycle patrols
The interactions among different police departments and communities allow for effective policing. Many of Vollmer’s ideas came from his associates, from police experiences in other countries, and from academic sources. Vollmer recognized the potential of these ideas and unified them into a working whole, using his energy and dedication to set a pattern for police reform that continues to this day.
For Vollmer, control of crime was the first role of the policeman and was to be accomplished by giving him better organization and techniques than were available to the criminal elements. Both Vollmer and Wilson’s policing strategies and knowledge along with many of their students have changed the way modern policing is viewed today. The technologies and support systems envisioned by these two pioneers have heavily influenced modern law enforcement. A 2008 polygraph (lie detector) report done by the National Academy of Sciences showed a median accuracy of 85 percent for polygraph tests which are still used by law officials today. Not only is the polygraph test still a tool for policing, but police departments still heavily rely on computerized databases and record systems for management. Both Vollmer and Wilson were not only successful in their own venues of policing but their policing strategies and techniques branched off to other police departments in surrounding areas and around the country. Vollmer and Wilson will continue to go down in police history as educators, police administrators, criminologists, consultants and influential leaders in policing and modern law