American Criminal Justice System Essay

The roots of the American Criminal Justice System is based off of the British model, since America was first founded as a British colony. The British law enforcement began to be an actual organization around 1200. The law enforcement was generally a group of able bodied men who would be able to hear a victim scream and could chase after the offender(s). This group was led by a shirt reeve, which is where we get the word for sheriff. This system was not very effective or fair. When caught, guilt was generally assumed and they were then executed. This primitive system eventually evolved into the Criminal Justice System that we have today in America. America’s colonial Justice System was largely modeled off of the English night watch system. According to Dr. …show more content…
This change came in in 1658 when “paid watchmen were hired by the city of New York to replace drafted citizens”(Schmalleger 140). Over a century later, the first precinct was built. Many other larger cities followed New York’s model and hired watchmen in the 1800’s. Change to the police system came once again when Sir Robert Peel made a new police system for London. In 1830, Robert Peel donated a large amount of money in order to create a more capable police force in Philadelphia. This allowed for “120 men to staff a night watch and 24 to perform similar duties during the day (Schmalleger). Soon after, New York combined the day and night forces into the New York Police Department, and Boston followed New York’s model in 1855. The development of Police departments finally brought the beginning of modern law enforcement. Technological advancements would bring even more change to the ability of the system, as there was now the ability to compile national data more easily. As the roles of women grew, Alice Stebbins Wells became a policewoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. She was the first policewoman in the