POLICING IN COLONIAL AMERICA Similar to England, Colonial America experienced an increase in population in major cities during the 1700s. Some of these cities began to see an influx of immigrant groups moving in from various countries (including Germany, Ireland, Italy, and several Scandinavian countries), which directly contributed to the rapid increase in population. The growth in population also created an increase in social disorder and unrest. The sources of social tension varied across different regions of Colonial America; however, the introduction of new racial and ethnic groups was identified as a common source of discord. Racial and ethnic conflict was a problem across Colonial America, including both the northern and southern regions of the country. Since the watch groups could no longer cope with this change in the social climate, more formalized means of policing began to take shape. Most of the historical literature describing the early development of policing in Colonial America focuses specifically on the northern regions of the country while neglecting events that took place in the southern region—specifically, the creation of slave patrols in the South. Slave patrols first emerged in South Carolina in the early 1700s, but historical documents also identify the existence of slave patrols in most other parts of the southern region (refer to the Reichel article included at the end of this section). Samuel Walker identified slave patrols as the first publicly funded police agencies in the American South. Slave patrols (or “paddyrollers”) were created to manage the racebased conflict occurring in the southern region of Colonial America; these patrols were created with the specific intent of maintaining control over slave populations. Interestingly, slave patrols would later extend their responsibilities to include control over White indentured servants. Salley Hadden identified three principal duties placed on slave patrols in the South during this time, including searches of slave lodges, keeping slaves off of roadways, and disassembling meetings organized by groups of slaves. Slave patrols were known for their high level of brutality and ruthlessness as they maintained control over the slave population. The members of slave patrols were usually White males (occasionally a few women) from every echelon in the social strata, ranging from very poor individuals to plantation owners that wanted to ensure control over their slaves. Slave patrols remained in place during the Civil War and were not completely disbanded after slavery ended.36 During early Reconstruction, several groups merged with what was formerly known as slave patrols to maintain control over African American citizens. Groups such as the federal military, the state militia, and the Ku Klux Klan took over the responsibilities of earlier slave patrols and were known to be even more violent than their predecessors. Over time, these groups began to resemble and operate similar to some of the newly established police departments in the United States. In fact, David Barlow and Melissa Barlow noted that “by 1837, the Charleston Police Department had 100 officers and the primary function of this organization was slave patrol . . . these officers regulated the movements of slaves and free blacks, checking documents, enforcing slave codes, guarding against slave revolts and catching runaway slaves.” Scholars and historians assert that the transition from slave patrols to publicly funded police agencies was seamless in the southern region of the United States. While some regard slave patrol as the first formal attempt at policing in America, others identify the unification of police departments in several major cities in the early to mid-1800s as the beginning point in the development of modern policing in the United States. For example, the New York City Police Department was unified in 1845, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department in 1846, the Chicago Police Department in 1854, and the Los Angeles Police Department in 1869, to name a few. These newly created police agencies adopted three distinct characteristics from their English counterparts: (1) limited police authority—the powers of the police are defined by law; (2) local control—local governments bear the responsibility for providing police service; and (3) fragmented law enforcement authority—several agencies within a defined area share the responsibility for providing police services, which ultimately leads to problems with communication, cooperation, and control among these agencies. It is important to point out that these characteristics are still present in modern American police agencies.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 04:32:37 +0000
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