CJ 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Los Angeles Police Department, Alice Stebbins Wells, August Vollmer
Frontier Justice
The absence of any law enforcement authority in the western territories was a major problem. A
variety of private and public police filled the void.
Vigilantes. Vigilante committees were made up of citizens who arrested, tried,
convicted, and punished individuals.
Sheriffs. The first formal law enforcement agency to emerge in the territories
beyond the Mississippi was the sheriff's office.
State police. The first territorial police agency established in the United States
was the Texas Rangers. Originally, the Rangers were a corps of fighters who
fought in the Texas revolution against Mexico in 1835. Later, the Rangers
evolved into a law enforcement agency. Pennsylvania formed the first modern
state police in 1905. Within the next 20 years, state police became common. For
the most part, early state police broke up labor strikes and performed other
duties that local police were unwilling or unable to do.
U.S. Marshals. Federal marshals constituted the oldest federal law enforcement
agency, established in 1789. In the 19th century, horseback riding marshals ‐
made arrests, served court papers, managed federal prisoners, and conducted
the U.S. population census.
Progressive Police Reform
At the end of the 19th century, progressives attempted to reform the
police. Progressivism was a social movement advocating progress, change, improvement, and
reform as opposed to maintaining things as they were. Reacting to the demands of an urban‐
industrial society in the early 1900s, Progressives advanced the ideas of regulating corporations,
eliminating corruption from municipal government, abolishing child labor, and extending the
right to vote to women. Under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt (who later served as the
26th president from 1901 to 1909), a small group of eastern civilian reformers entered
municipal government, made important contributions to police administration, and moved on to
careers in other fields. As president of the New York City Board of Police Commissioners
(1895–1897), Roosevelt advocated reforms designed to reduce the power of political machines
over the police.
Civil service
Civilian reformers instituted civil service. Under civil service, appointments and status
are determined by merit and examination rather than by political patronage. Eventually,
civil service helped to get rid of political patronage in American police departments.
Other recommended changes
Civilian reformers recommended these other changes:
1. Centralizing power and authority within police departments.
2. Upgrading police personnel.
3. Narrowing the police function so that police could focus on law enforcement
aspects of policing.
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Document Summary
The absence of any law enforcement authority in the western territories was a major problem. A variety of private and public police filled the void. Vigilante committees were made up of citizens who arrested, tried, convicted, and punished individuals. The first formal law enforcement agency to emerge in the territories beyond the mississippi was the sheriff"s office. The first territorial police agency established in the united states was the texas rangers. Originally, the rangers were a corps of fighters who fought in the texas revolution against mexico in 1835. Later, the rangers evolved into a law enforcement agency. Pennsylvania formed the first modern state police in 1905. Within the next 20 years, state police became common. For the most part, early state police broke up labor strikes and performed other duties that local police were unwilling or unable to do. Federal marshals constituted the oldest federal law enforcement agency, established in 1789.
