Police Influence on Society

780 Words4 Pages
Introduction Crime and criminals had been historical events since the beginning of human existence. The ability to stop an individual from breaks laws and stealing property of law-abiding citizens became the focus of law enforcement. Law enforcement was established to minimize and control crime, and to protect law-abiding citizens. The effect of law enforcement can be negative and positive. The job of a law enforcement officer is not easy. He must make rational decisions using taught police tactics and his discretion. Modern law enforcement officers have become more proficient and effective to protect and fight against crime. However, the foundation of modern law enforcement operations, are based on early policing principles. In this paper, the writer will discuss how the historic development of law enforcement policing in the United States relates to the current relationship between law enforcement and race, ethnic groups, and social classes. The policing history in the United States of America is traced to 900 A.D (Uchida, 2004). The United States policing concepts were influenced by the English law enforcement concepts (Uchida, 2004). Law-abiding citizens played the law enforcement roles guided by state-sanctioned force to keep social control prior to emergence of police officers (Uchida, 2004). The department of justice was created in the mid-1300 A.D. to help in keeping peace in territories (Bischke, 2013). It was common for criminals to be punished according to the crime he committed. Punishment was tailored to the crime committed. If, someone stole something, his hand would be cut off (Bischke, 2013). This type of punishments was known as An Eye for An Eye (Bischke, 2013). Punishment issued by justice department is not a form of brutality. Modern punishment focuses on rehabilitation. Both types of punishment primary goals focused on
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