AMERICAN POLICE REFORM - AN ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE

• NCJ Number: 66749
• Author(s): J J SUMMERHAYS
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 218 pages
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: SPECIAL PRICES FOR ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY - DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

Annotation

TO EXPLAIN WHY EFFORTS SINCE THE 1960'S TO INCREASE POLICE EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH EDUCATION HAVE FAILED, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STATE AND THE POLICE AND THE HISTORY OF POLICE REFORM ARE EXAMINED.

Abstract

THE GOALS OF POLICE REFORM BEGUN IN THE 1960'S ARE TO INCREASE THEIR CRIME FIGHTING EFFECTIVENESS AND ABILITY TO KEEP ORDER THROUGH BETTER TRAINING AND EDUCATION. HOWEVER, POLICE EDUCATION DOES NOT PREPARE POLICE FOR THE FIELD, AND BETTER TRAINING AND EDUCATION HAVE NOT INCREASED POLICE EFFECTIVENESS AS CRIME RATES CONTINUE TO MOUNT. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS OVER THE PAST 8 YEARS ARE DISCUSSED, BUT THESE HAVE NOT AFFECTED THE CRIME RATE. THE REASON WHY POLICE REFORM CONTINUES TO BE POPULAR DESPITE ITS FAILURE CAN BE UNDERSTOOD ONLY THROUGH EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLICE AND THE STATE. MOREOVER, THE FORCE BEHIND THE 1960'S POLICE REFORM WAS NOT CONCERN ABOUT CRIME BUT ABOUT THE THEN GROWING CIVIL DISORDER AND INSTABILITY, SINCE THE PRIMARY GOAL OF ALL POLICING IS TO PROTECT SOCIETY'S INTEGRITY AGAINST THREATS. TWO THEORIES OF THE FORMATION OF STATES ARE DISCUSSED. IN A CAPITALISTIC SOCIETY, POLICING HELPS PRESERVE WEALTH AND ITS ACCUMULATION AND EXISTING CLASS STRUCTURE. THE POLICE ARE NOT CRIME FIGHTERS SO MUCH AS AGENTS OF SOCIAL CONTROL. A HISTORY OF THE POLICE ESTABLISHMENT IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA DURING AND AFTER THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION REVEALS THAT POLICE REFORM ACCOMPANIED SOCIETAL REFORM AS CONFLICTS ENGENDERED BY THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION BECAME UNMANAGEABLE. POLICE REFORM WAS ATTEMPTED FOR THE FIRST TIME DURING THE PROGRESSIVE ERA, LATE 1800'S TO EARLY 1900'S AS SOCIETAL REFORM BECAME THE RELEASE VALVE FOR SOCIAL CONFLICTS. HOWEVER, AS SOCIAL CONFLICTS CEASED, SO DID INTEREST IN POLICE REFORM. SIMILAR PATTERNS CAN BE SEEN DURING THE 1930'S AND 1960'S. THUS, CHANGES IN THE POLICE HAVE OCCURRED PRIMARILY AS A RESULT OF THE STATE'S NEEDS AND NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE PEOPLE. THE EFFECT OF THIS ON POLICE EDUCATION IS DISCUSSED, AND IT IS CONTENDED THAT THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF BETTER EDUCATION FOR POLICE IS TO IMPROVE THE POLICE IMAGE IN A TIME OF CONFLICT, RATHER THAN IMPROVE POLICING. FOOTNOTES AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED. (PAP)