The role of police in American society : a documentary history
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The role of police in American society : a documentary history
（Primary documents in American history and contemporary issues series）
Greenwood Press, 1999
Available at 11 libraries
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
From the night watchmen of the 17th century to the highly publicized Rodney King hearings, the history and development of police policy and the role of police in American society are traced through this collection of 95 primary documents. Students, teachers, and interested readers can use this valuable resource to examine the development and role of the police in the United States through the words of the people who were involved in the struggle to enforce laws, uphold the Constitution, maintain safe and stable communities, and create efficient and effective police forces. An explanatory introduction precedes each document to aid the user in understanding the economic, political, social, and legislative forces that helped shape the role of the police in our society.
Riots, strikes, commission reports, innovations, groundbreaking studies, and major court cases from different time periods are presented in a balanced manner. This volume is divided into seven parts, each part representing a different time period in which the roles of the police were being redefined. Vila and Morris present the reader with theories from different professionals on what the role of the police should be and how to develop these roles, as well as presenting successful and unsuccessful models to help readers draw their own conclusions.
Table of Contents
Preface Introduction Night Watchmen, Constables, and Sheriffs: The Role of Early "Police" in Seventeenth-and Eighteenth- Century America Rangers, Marshals, and Municipal Police Forces: The Role of the Police in the Nineteenth Century Police Reform, and Social and Technological Advances in the Early Twentieth Century A Growing Emphasis on Police Training, Professionalism, Efficiency, and Ethics, 1939-1959 Social Change and Conflicting Expectations of the Police Role, 1960-1978 Reexamining and Redefining the Role of the Police, 1979-1989 The Role of the Police in the 1990s Glossary Appendices Selected Bibliography Index
by "Nielsen BookData"