The Political Era's Influence On Policing

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The Political era started things off in 1840 and lasted till 1930. During this area politicians had a huge influence in policing. For example, police chiefs were appointed by local politicians and in return they helped those who contributed to them getting appointed. The main problem with this era is many officers became involved in corrupt conduct and police chiefs lacked the authority over the officers. “In addition, there were often no minimum standards or requirements to become a police officer other than political favor or connections” (The Badge Guys, 2013). With the lack of standards and training, criminal enterprises formed within the police force along with the use of unnecessary force, false arrests, unlawful searches and seizures (Stevens, 2009). Along with normal duties of crime control and order maintenance, police also had a list of social services they performed, such as, running soup kitchen lines, help new immigrants find shelter and work.
With corruption accruing
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They found that the rise in crime occurred not only because police would not or could not perform their job while having the link between officers and local politicians (Stevens, 2009). August Vollmer and O.W. Wilson were the main influences for this new era by drastically changing police deities. Vollmer started a training and education program for police at the University of California at Berkeley, while Wilson started taking political connections out of policing to make it more professionalized. Vollmer also wanted to improve accountability, create impartial opinions, and increase honesty among the police force. “Reformers sought to eliminate political influences, hire qualified leaders, and raise personnel standards” (Police: History, 2008). This made the public take on a more passive role and a hierarchy of command could be established to create a unity of control within

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