4.7: A Time of Change

A Time of Change

Starting in the 1960s and running through the 1980s, there were four main issues that finally spurred important changes in the field of law enforcement.

1. Supreme Court. Starting in the 1960’s much of the change for law enforcement was pushed from the outside, specifically through decisions issued by the Supreme Court of the United States. Many of these decisions were to control various police operations and procedures. One noteworthy case was Miranda V Arizona which resulted in the need for Miranda warnings in all police departments nationwide. The Supreme Court required that police officers when making arrests must remind the suspect that they have the right to remain silent, that anything they say may be used against them, that they can have a lawyer present during questioning, and that a lawyer will be provided if they cannot afford one.
2. Civil Rights Movement. While the movement to and racial segregation and racial oppression began long before this time it was in the 1960s that major civil rights legislation was passed particularly the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which banned discrimination in public accommodations and the workplace. Despite these attempts at legal equality not everyone in the nation agreed and there were many protests and violent demonstrations both for and against equality, as well as violent reactions by police to the demonstrations and demonstrators, especially those of the minority community.
3. Riots and Demonstrations. this was a turbulent time in our nation’s history as citizens struggled with opinions about race relations as well as opinions about whether protests should be nonviolent or not. One of the noteworthy demonstrations became known as the Birmingham demonstrations. In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. and his colleagues received national media attention when the public safety commissioner sent in police attack dogs on marchers that were undertaking a nonviolent protest. A federal court decision barred further demonstrations and when King violated that order and participated in a demonstration, he and many others were arrested. Another peaceful demonstration in the same town which was organized primarily by students was broken up by high pressure fire hoses, which provoked national outrage. President Kennedy helped negotiate a settlement but the very next day clansmen bombed the home of Rev. King. Despite all the violence and loss, the Birmingham events are said to have helped galvanize national support for civil rights reform leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and later the voting rights act of 1965.
4. Crime Rate. Changes in the number of crimes are typically examined by using data from the UCR which was discussed in chapter 2. Based on the index crime rate, the reported crime rate was fairly level during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s before sharply increasing until the early 1970s. So, not only were their problems with police tactics, police violence, and the inability of police to settle broader social issues [assuming this responsibility is theirs], but the data seemed to indicate that the main purpose of police which was to control crime – was not working either. Together these four issues lead to a public dissatisfaction with police.

As public pressure mounted law enforcement agencies responded to the pressure to change. The changes which began in the 1960s continue even into today. The number and type of changes varies from department to department but overall there are six key changes which are rather commonplace throughout the country.

1. Special Services. In an attempt to be responsive to community needs many departments divided their officers into groups and created specialized services. It was realized that in modern society it is unrealistic to assume that every officer can know every aspect of policing. So instead groups of officers will receive specialized training and thus be able to offer specialized services to the public. For instance, in many departments it is not uncommon to see a bomb squad, or a K-9 unit, or a crime victims unit, or drug task force and so on. By specializing it is hoped that certain officers can be sent to handle certain circumstances and their advanced training and tactics will allow them to do a better job and offer more well-rounded services to the public.
2. Increased federal support. Typically, to create changes in any employment group financial support will be needed. The changes and improvements that were needed in law enforcement were often too expensive for local jurisdictions to pay for on their own. Thus, it was important when the federal government started providing support to other law enforcement agencies. This support included the formation of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration which was discussed in Chapter 1, as well as providing training, education, and equipment grants to a wide assortment of agencies.
3. Increased Recruitment. Given the successful fight for rights of minority groups and women, efforts have been made to have law enforcement agencies reflect the communities they serve. Thus, increased efforts have been made, and continue to be made to increase the number of women and minorities in the field of law enforcement.
4. Community Policing. there has been a change that instead of envisioning law enforcement strictly as crime fighters to view them as working with the public to protect the public order. This emphasis on community policing promotes partnerships and ties with the public to cooperatively and proactively problem solve and address issues such as crime, but also social disorder, and even fear of crime.
5. Technical Innovations. Working smarter not just harder is also important to improvements in law enforcement. Many improvements have been made in terms of improved cars, improved use of the computers for things such as searching fingerprint and warrant databases or even automated license plate recognition, improved use of radios not just in the cars but on the officers and now even recording through body worn cameras, as well as innovative investigation techniques like GPS tagging and monitoring communications to and from targeted individuals, and so on.
6. Police Unions. Part of the improvement of law enforcement includes improvement in the pay and benefits for personnel employed in law enforcement in some jurisdictions police unions are an important part of pushing for improvements in pay, protective uniforms, appropriate schedules, needed training, and so on. One notable union is the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) which reports over 325,000 members organized in 2100 different local chapters. The organization states that they attempt to improve the working conditions of law enforcement officers and the safety of those they serve. Unions such as the FOP often push for improved education, legislation to protect law enforcement officers, employee representation in negotiations and special legal defense for officers who have complaints filed against him.

It has been a long and sometimes difficult evolution which has resulted in the law enforcement agencies that we see across the United States today. From the early English Constable patrolling on foot to the modern law enforcement officer equipped with a range of modern technologies the occupation of law enforcement has become far more professional. The occupation of law enforcement is not without its dangers however. Some of these dangers such as violent gangs are from individuals in the local communities while other dangers such as drug cartels and human trafficking have international implications to understand how law enforcement operates we need to examine police organization which is the subject of the next chapter.