Chapter 01 - Police History Flashcards
Beat System
System of policing created by Sir Robert Peel for the London Metropolitan Police in 1829 in which officers were assigned to relatively small, permanent posts.
CompStat
Weekly crime strategy meetings, featuring the latest computerized crime statistics and high-stress brainstorming; developed by the NYCPD in the mid-1990s.
Constable
An official assigned to keep the peace in the mutual pledge system in England.
Department of Homeland Security
Federal cabinet department established in the aftermath of 9/11.
Dred Scott decision
Infamous US Supreme Court decision of 1857 ruling that slaves had no rights as citizens because they were considered to be property.
Hue & Cry
A method developed in early England for citizens to summon assistance from fellow members of the community.
Jury Nullification
A vote by jurors to either ignore the evidence in a trial or disregard the instructions of a judge to reach a verdict based on their own consciences.
Mutual Pledge
A form of community self-protection developed by King Alfred the Great in the latter part of the ninth century in England.
National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Commission)
Commission created in 1968 to address the reasons for the riots of the 1960s.
Peel’s Nine Principles
Basic guidelines created by Sir Robert Peel for the London Metropolitan Police in 1829.
Posse Comitatus
Common law descendent of the old hue & cry. If a crime spree occurred or a dangerous criminal was in the area, the US frontier sheriff would call upon the posse comitatus, a Latin term meaning “the power of the county.”
Praetorian Guard
Select group of highly qualified members of the military established by the Roman emperor Augustus to protect him and his palace.
President’s Commission on Law Enforcement & Administration of Justice
Commission that issued a report in 1967 entitled “The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society”. The commission was created in the wake of the problems of the 1960s, particularly the problems between police and citizens.
Rodney King incident
The 1991 videotaped beating of an African American citizen by members of the LAPD
Shire-reeve
Early English officials placed in charge of shires (counties) as part of the system of mutual pledge; evolved into the modern concept of the sheriff.