Introduction to Law Enforcement

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Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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chapter

1

earlY effortS at polIcInG

Sir Robert Peel and the Bobbies

Law Enforcement in Developing America

Law and Order on the Frontier

Vigilante Policing

The Rise of Private Security

Summary

Review Questions

Discussion Questions

Selected Internet Sites

References

chapter out l Ine

Key Terms

Learning Objectives

Introduction

Maintaining Social Order

Standards of Behavior

Controlling Social Behavior

Types of Society

Societal Development

Early English Law Enforcement

The Challenge of Urban Growth

A Step toward Paid Police Protection

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4 Part 1 the context of law enforcement

informal social control

mores

mutual pledge system

night watch system

norm

primary relationship

reeve

secondary relationship

shire

shire-reeve

Sir Robert Peel

social control

thief taker

tithing

tun

vigilantism

KeY t ermS

anomie

assize of arms

Bow Street Runners

chief tithingman

common value system

conflict perspective

consensus viewpoint

constable

deviant behavior

entrepreneurial avocational policing

folkway

formal social control

gemeinschaft

gesellschaft

hue and cry

hundred

• sketch the early development of social control practices;

• comment on how the mutual pledge system was no match for urban development;

• explore the implications of entrepre- neurial avocational policing;

• acknowledge the principles that Sir Robert Peel formulated;

• appreciate the fears that Sir Robert Peel had to address;

• recognize two models of vigilantism; and,

• explain the rise of the private security industry.

l earn InG object IveS

The study of this chapter will enable you to:

• explain how social order is possible;

• compare and contrast the consen- sus and conflict perspectives;

• discuss how folkways and mores guide social behavior;

• illustrate how informal social control devices work;

• understand the importance of pri- mary and secondary relations;

• talk about how society develops and the problems associated with growth;

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Chapter 1 early efforts at policing 5

Introduction If one could turn back time, we would find that the police institution as we know it today did not exist in early times. People still had their fair share of arguments and disagree- ments, but they handled their disputes informally. Social disapproval was a weight that most people preferred to avoid. However, newer ways replaced the older traditions as society developed and became more complex. The shame once associated with misdeeds vanished as cities grew more impersonal. People became mere strangers to one another. The need for formal social control was more apparent than ever.

This chapter traces some of the important developments pertaining to early polic- ing. Because the roots of the American criminal justice system owe much to our English heritage, some attention focuses upon how law enforcement grew there. In fact, the early American settlers simply borrowed many English practices and adapted them for use in this country. But the American experience had its differences. Cities grew quickly. The frontier beckoned with adventure. The “Wild West” carried an image of lawless- ness; however, the truth of the matter is that many good people moved there. All these settlers wanted was to build a town and have a life that resembled what they had left behind. Justice, while swift and harsh, characterized the no-nonsense attitude of the townspeople.

It was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that law enforcement became a formalized bureaucratic entity in this country. As a result, this chapter will concentrate on how policing was achieved prior to that time and the following chapter will examine policing after 1900.

maintaining Social order The Hobbesian question of how society is possible has intrigued social scientists and philosophers dating as far back as Plato. How is it that people come to place the interests of the larger social group above their own individual pursuits? What mechanisms keep social relationships operating smoothly so that people can move about and accomplish their business? What keeps chaos and disorder from breaking out and havoc from run- ning rampant?

Two major competing explanations have emerged from the debate over how social order is possible. They are the consensus viewpoint and the conflict perspective. As one writer (Paternoster, 1985, p. 512) explains,

A central theme of this great debate was whether social order was best described as emerging from a commonly held set of values and beliefs (the consensus posi- tion) or is, instead, due to power and coercion (the conflict position).

Theorists who adopt the consensus viewpoint emphasize the degree to which people agree about what is right and what is wrong. They would explain that widely held beliefs

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6 Part 1 the context of law enforcement

or community standards guide the way in which everybody behaves. On the other hand, adherents to the conflict perspective believe that a small minority of powerful persons manipulate the legal system in order to preserve their advantage. Special interests con- trol the types of activities that the law prohibits and the way in which the law is adminis- tered. As we shall see, both views have been influential in criminological thought.

Standards of behavior Every culture contains a series of rules or norms that govern what people do, how they should act, and how others expect them to conduct themselves. Norms, then, are the standards for how people should behave. They make social interaction routine and pre- dictable. Generally speaking, there are two major types of norms: folkways and mores. Folkways pertain to behavioral expectations that deal with minor norms. A violation of a folkway generally results in a very mild sanction. One example of a folkway would be the various rules of etiquette. For instance, if a host or hostess places the silverware on the wrong side of a plate, people may scoff and make snide remarks. However, it would be inappropriate for a guest to call the police and report that this behavior has strayed from what one normally would expect at a dinner party. While it may be unconventional, a folkway violation is not a major affront to the social order.

Another example of a folkway is the courteous practice of holding a door open for someone else. Suppose, for a moment, that you open a door to exit a building. You notice that an elderly person is four or five steps behind you and is walking in your direction towards the exit. A common courtesy would be for you to stop momentarily and keep the door propped open rather than letting it slam on the person behind you. Suppose, though, that you failed to do just that and let the door close. You have broken a folkway. The other person might feel justified in making a sarcastic remark about your lack of manners. Once again, though, a call to the police station would hardly be necessary in this instance.

A second type of rule or norm is mores. Mores are normative standards that evoke strong reactions if violated. Mores are important because people consider them to be vital or essential to society’s welfare. As a result, violators receive harsh treatment for not observing a more. For instance, one strong taboo in American society is the prohibition against cannibalism. Other examples of disapproved actions include incest, murder, and infanticide. All these behaviors invite extreme reaction from other members of society.

One thing to be aware of is that mores sometimes change over time. Not so long ago, a common practice in this country was to put witches to death. Today, a person profess- ing to be a witch would not receive such harsh treatment.

As one can imagine, there are a large number of folkways and mores in American society. In addition, the American population contains many ethnic and demographic groups. Despite this heterogeneity, if one could put these differences aside and find out which norms people generally agree upon, then one would have identified the norma- tive structure or the common value system in which people believe. In other words, there