UNIT #1 - EVOLUTION OF POLICING Flashcards
List some unique features about Police, Police Structure, and/or Policy that set Canada apart from the US, UK and/or Australia
(5)
1) Sworn officers are armed unlike UK and Australia
2) Canada has a National Police Service (unlike UK that is separated in England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
3) Significant differences regarding State surveillance of the public (Canada vs. US)
4) Differing standards and practices of Use of Force
5) Canadian Police have unique managerial structures
Hue and Cry
In early England, the requirement that able-bodied men assist the police in the pursuit and apprehension of law violators. Failure to do so could result in punishment of the “derelict citizen” often equal to that of the lawbreaker.
Frankpledge
Every free man between fifteen and sixty was required to enroll in a tything whose members were then responsible for reporting crimes and to respond to hue and cry.
Tythingman (2)
1) Elected community spokesman responsible for keeping order, considered the forerunner of the English police officer.
2) Had the authority to collect fines and demand bail.
The Statute of Winchester
A statute that made policing a community responsibility and called for night watches and the statute also allowed constables to arrest lawbreakers.
Justice of the Peace Act (3)
1) The act that centralized peacekeeping duties under justices of the peace appointed by the king.
2) The Justice of the peace replaced the shire-reeve.
3) This act subordinated the police to the judiciary and resulted in injustice and corruption.
The Emergence of Modern Policing (5)
1) Rural agrarian societies applied retribution against members that contravened social customs and folkways.
2) The increasing complexity of societies reduced the effectiveness of self-policing and the system of codified laws laid the foundation for centralized authority.
3) Civil unrest in the late 1700 and early 1800 spurred on by the Industrial Revolution, caused push back by the labour force who resisted the idea of a 24-hour, organized police force.
4) Sir Robert Peel attempted to establish a metropolitan police force but his advances were voted down seventeen times from 1822-1828.
5) Peels push for a full-time, unarmed police force was successful in 1829 and is embodied in the Metropolitan Police Act (bobbies/peelers)
When was the first organized police force established?
in England in the mid-1700s by Henry Fielding called the Bow Street Runners
What are Some features that made the Bow Street Runners distinct? (4)
1) Adequately paid (to lessen bribe taking)
2) Equipped with batons, handcuffs and uniforms
3) Delivered court testimony
4) Duty of patrol
In order to legitimize the new “bobbies” or “Peelers”, Sir Robert Peel outlined some of the benefits of having a centralized force. (7)
- Serve the interests of all citizens
- Prevent crime
- Be recruited from the working class
- Be recruited through a standardized recruiting process
- Receive professional training
- Play a role in establishing community police stations
- Engage in proactive policing
Peel also formulated several principals that serve as the basis for community policing. (9)
1) Prevent crime and disorder
2) Use force only when necessary
3) Perform duties in accordance with public approval
4) Maintain a relationship with the public based on the ideal that police are the public
5) Secure the cooperation of the public
6) Do not usurp the powers of the judiciary
7) Public cooperation decreases with physical force
8) Police efficiency is found in the absence of crime and disorder
9) Maintain public favour by remaining impartial
Policing developments in Upper Canada (2)
1) Appointment of high constables; unpaid constables within parish’s/township.
2) Similar to England
Policing developments in Lower Canada (2)
1) Justices of the Peace appointed constables;
2) rejection of French dominated policing model
Policing developments in the West (2)
1) First police force established in 1871;
2) followed the Irish Constabulary model
Policing developments in Nova Scotia/Newfoundland
*Captains of fishing vessels “fishing admirals” were appointed to fight crime and keep order
When municipal forces were finally established they generally had a three-part mandate:
1) Police conflict between ethnic groups and between labour and employers
2) Maintain moral standards e.g. alcohol, prostitution, and gambling
3) Apprehend criminals
as noted in the text readings, the officers’ duties also included:
dog catching, sanitation, firefighting and building inspector
municipal services were also heavily influenced by…
politics and were often used by politicians as a private army against opposition groups
The municipal services were also heavily influenced by politics and were often used by politicians as a private army against opposition groups. Note just a few significant occurrences: (3)
1) Toronto 1839-1860: twenty-six riots - almost all conflicts between rival political factions
2) Toronto 1870-1920: Toronto Police focused efforts on controlling “dangerous classes”
3) This historical period was also marked by the hiring of new officers with little to no requirements or training, instead the focus was on physical attributes.
Without requirements, save hefty thighs and being married, the municipal forces were not able to maintain a high moral standard nor were they particularly good at catching criminals. In fact, many departments were notoriously corrupt in what ways? (4)
1) bribe taking
2) protecting strikebreakers
3) officer alcohol abuse
4) gambling
The main purpose for the policing system introduced in Montreal was to protect:
settlement from the Iroquois
Which Canadian city appointed the first police constables:
Quebec
transition from modern to postmodern policing is marked by what core changes? (3)
1) restructuring and relocation of policing authority and responsibility
- For example, according to the Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO) Policing Modernization Report (2015), police should prepare for the developing demographic shift that will accompany an aging population, resulting in changes to the nature and types of crime associated with an aging population.
2) re-conceptualization of public policing
- The AMO also discussed the use of lapel or body cameras on officers should be studied carefully from a cost-benefit analysis. This should include the broader policy and privacy implications for officers and members of the public. These have significant implications for the modern officer.
3) rationalization and commodification of public and private policing services
- the AMO discussed that independent research capacity on policing issues needs to be expanded to assist police services with evidence based decision making. Both police services and independent research institutes have a role to play.
Griffiths readings detail what 3 trends in policing?
1) the police, their services and their budgets are visible in almost every way possible, e.g. television, radio, social media, public debate, etc.
2) Policing is no longer monopolized by the public police, that is, the police created by government. Policing is now being widely offered by institutions other than the federal government, such as by private companies on a commercial basis and by communities on a volunteer basis.
3) The monopoly on policing, long held by the government, has been broken by the creation of a host of private and community-based agencies that prevent crime and deter criminality among other things.