Police Era Essay

Community Era American law enforcement came under heavy scrutiny in the 1960s and 1970s. As a result of the police response to civil rights demonstrations, racial strife, Vietnam War protests and political dissent, the Lyndon Johnson administration organized the President’s Crime Commission to examine policing methods and practices (Peak, 2009). This group was tasked with finding solutions to crime, including the root causes, examining the methods of the justice system and solving the combative relationship between police and civilians. The recommendations of the committee included many aspects of law enforcement seen today; the hiring of more minority officers to improve police-community interactions, rigorous screening of applicants, providing intensive preservice academies and the recruitment of college educated candidates (Peak, 2009). The findings and recommendations of the President’s Crime Commission slowly created doubt as to the effectiveness of the reform era style bureaucratic and centralized methods of policing (Fyfe 1997). In the 1970s and early 1980s, foot patrols became popular again in several cities, such as Boston, Massachusetts and Newark, New Jersey. In addition, findings from research during the same time period showed that information could help officers improve their ability to handle crime, which …show more content…
Currently, there exists two conflicting mind sets regarding policing. The philosophy of community oriented policing (COPS) has existed for more than 30 years. While this method of training for officers in academy or while on the force has been slow in implementation, the application of COPS is now seen in communities across the United States (Chappell, 2008). This method of training, however, conflicts with the ever increasing militarization of law enforcement given the juxtapositions of the ideologies on which they are