The Use Of Technology And Officer Education - 1110 Words

During the early days of American law enforcement, there were very few guidelines, or policies in place that governed the police forces (Bohm, 2010). It was not uncommon for police officers to pay for their appointments through political connections, which led to the widespread corruption that was common during this time frame. It was not until the early 1900s that the movement began to reform police departments, and to try and put an end to this corruption. One of these movements was led by August Vollmer. August Vollmer was appointed to the position of Chief of Police in Berkeley, California in 1909, a position he would hold until 1932 (Bohm, 2010). Vollmer was a progressive thinker who saw the need for reform in the police†¦show more content†¦This was based on data such as calls for service, response times, and crime rates in a given area (Bohm, 2010). It is this last area of reform where we can see the relationship between Vollmer’s ideas, and the creation of Com munity Oriented Policing and Compstat. In Vollmer’s view, he saw the need to move policing from a community service oriented job, to a crime fighting, crime reduction job focus (Bohm, 2010). The advent of Community Oriented Policing is changing the attitudes of police administrators, and is causing them to revert back, or adopt, a service oriented method of policing. During the last century, police reformers, such as Vollmer, moved policing in the direction of crime fighting, not just providing services to the community. In this way, Community Oriented Policing rejects the ideas of Vollmer, and other reformers, who created the professional model of policing which was common place (Walker, 2012). The community oriented model of policing puts the focus by on providing services to the community, not just responding to calls and chasing criminals (Bohm, 2010). By forming partnerships with the community which they serve, the police are providing services other than just crime figh ting. While crime may be an issue to some in the community, it may not be the most important issue to the majority. By working with the public to solve these other issues, the police are providing services to the community,