Positive And Negative Effects Of Community Policing Free Essay Example, 7000 words

The birth of the term police as today s concept may be contributed to Henry Fielding. In 1848, Fielding who was a magistrate at that time conceived the idea of crime prevention as the principal task of the police force. He believed that a strong police and cooperation of the public could eliminate the causes of the crime and thus reduce crime in the society. He introduced the horse patrol and crime reporting system by the victims. After his death, John Fielding, his brother continued to develop further the idea of police. Besides, Fielding brothers, Patrick Colquhoun, a police reformer of the eighteenth century advocated that the primary goal of the police force was to prevent crime; recommended separation of judicial powers from police. The crime prevention idea set forth by the Fielding brothers and Colquhoun became the cornerstone for today's concept of community policing (Palmiotto 4-6). The history of policing through its failures and successes created the roots for community policing philosophy. Sir Robert Peel in 1929 with the formation of the London Metropolitan Police District laid the foundation of modern community policing philosophy. We will write a custom essay sample on Positive And Negative Effects Of Community Policing or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Sir Peel in 1929 developed the idea that prevention of crime should be the main objective of the police force. However, it took a long time before it became the objective of the American police force. American police were trained to respond to the commission of a crime (Palmiotto 14). American police historically lacked police-citizen interaction. Police strategy in America, at the beginning of the 20th century, was political. Policing represented the will of the political powers and their dominance in public life. In early 1900, police actions were directed to help those in power while punishing their political enemies (Greene 305). By the beginning of the 1920s, police lawlessness became a legend, and reformers sought to separate police from political control.