Police Administration Quiz 1

Early History of Law Enforcement

• The city of Boston created the first office of sheriff in America.
• New York City was the first city in America to have a paid, full-time day police force.
• The first unified day-night police force was created in America in 1838.
• The city of London saw the creation of a full-time police agency in 1829.

Sir Robert Peel and the Metropolitan Police Act

• The Metropolitan Police Act was passed in 1829, creating the London Metropolitan Police.
• Sir Robert Peel was an influential figure who strongly supported the passage of the Metropolitan Police Act.
• Sir Robert Peel served as Prime Minister of England from 1834-1835 and 1841-1846.
• Sir Robert Peel's life was cut short by a horse riding accident in 1850.

Urbanization and Social Change

• As England's cities grew, problems such as overcrowding, poverty, and crime increased.
• The Industrial Revolution marked the onset of the swift transition from a rural, agrarian society to an urbanized one.

Law Enforcement Agencies

• Local police departments employ the most full-time sworn officers.

Politics and Reform

• The Pendleton Act of 1883 aimed to reduce patronage in government and establish a merit-based system for federal jobs.
• Andrew Jackson is credited with coining the phrase 'to the election victor belongs the spoils'.
• Theodore Roosevelt took advantage of a loophole in the Pendleton Act and made patronage appointments.
• Boss Tweed was criticized for his 'prostitution of the public service'.

Muckrakers and Social Reform

• The Reformation Period took place from the 1890s to the 1910s.
• The Committee of Vigilance was formed in San Francisco in 1856 to address police corruption.
• The Knapp Commission was established to examine police corruption in the New York City Police Department.
• Lincoln Steffens is credited with labeling writers who exposed social ills, scandals, and corruption as 'muckrakers'.
• Upton Sinclair's novel "The Jungle" drew attention to major abuses in the meat-packing industry.
• The Meat Inspection Act was passed as a result of the major abuses exposed in the meat-packing industry.

Policing and Societal Currents

• Policing is often described as being like a 'canary in a coal mine', reflecting societal currents.
• Politics should be kept out of policing to maintain its integrity.

Settlement of the West

• The Homestead Act of 1862 provided tracts of land to settlers, contributing to the settlement of the West.
• The end of the Civil War in 1865 led to an increase in the number of free African-Americans in the West.
• The Ku Klux Klan was formed in 1866 to intimidate and terrorize African-Americans.
• Benjamin 'Pap' Singleton played a role in the settlement of the West, particularly for African-Americans.

Professionalization of Policing

• American cities drew on the experience of the London Metropolitan Police to create centralized, full-time police departments.
• The London Metropolitan Police hired officers on a probationary basis to ensure accountability and professionalism.
• Becker's, Merton's, and other criteria have been developed to describe the professionalization of policing.

Test your knowledge of early American colonial law enforcement with this quiz! Learn about the role of volunteer night watchmen, their responsibilities, and how the community responded to threats. Explore other important offices such as sheriff, constable, and coroner that were familiar to the early colonists.