Police Force History

) Police are a “body of officers representing the civil authority of government.” (Banton) Police are responsible for maintaining public order and safety, enforcing the law, and preventing and investigating any criminal activities. The existence of American law enforcement has been around since the first Europeans landed in North America. America inherited much of its government policies from Great Britain. “The first Europeans who landed on our shores, found a strange and wondrous new land, inhabited by strange and wondrous people. The newcomers had all they could do to establish themselves and to protect themselves from those who did not wish to share their land. Thus, policing was the responsibility of all able-bodied men, and, of course,
Evolution of the police force has been interesting to study as it has become more organized and more complex over time. “In 1833, Philadelphia organized an independent, 24 hours a day, police force. In 1844, New York City had two police forces; daytime duty and the night watch” (Sabath). Over the next few years, police departments appointed police chiefs and accountable political bosses. A sheriff department was soon developed causing much havoc. Corruption became part of the Sheriff system. In most frontier towns, the Sheriff department became the chief law of enforcement. “Sheriff’s could be recruited from the local community, or more often a Sheriff was selected by his reputation, and not always a savory one. The Sheriff system still exists today, but, on a more formal and politicized basis.”
We all are dependent on police officers to protect and defend our “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
How Cops are trained
Nowadays, anyone wanting to become a police officer has the chance to become one. A person can not simply earn a badge immediately, but they have to undergo the police academy and be adequately trained before stepping out into the real world.
Completing a field program and police academy is the final hurdle before becoming a full-fledged police officer. Each state and jurisdiction have its own requirements before joining their forces. In some states, it is as easy as the basic law enforcement training in the local community colleges and after basic training the recruits can apply to an academy of their choice. Moreover, other states require the fulfillment of in-house training and readiness program, followed by a successful completion of the recruitment program before joining. Before an individual can step out into the streets as a police officer it must go through an extensive training. The majority of programs are based on classroom learning by going through different real life