A Brief and Racist History of the Police Force
PC: Zachary Huff @z.acharyh
A Brief and Racist History of Police
Policing originates from the practice of ‘Night Watching’ where members of a community would sign up to serve over the property and ensure safety. .However, due to the small scale and little regulation, it was common for night watchers to fall asleep or drink on the job. As cities in America began to urbanize, the night watchers evolved into police while expanding and fortifying infrastructure. The first police force to be publicly funded began in Boston in 1838. The intended purpose of the police was to protect property while maintaining safety as goods were being transported. But in reality, Southern Colonies predominantly formed regulations as a way to preserve slavery. The primary form of policing in the south included slave patrols, that were there to capture runaway slaves, and preventing slave revolts. The first documented formal slave patrol was made in 1704. These slave patrols had many “freedoms”, one of which was being allowed to enter homes, regardless of race, if there was suspicion a household was harboring escaped enslaved people. During the civil war, the military became America’s primary way of policing, but, during the time or reconstruction, police forces were reestablished. However, that new police continued to work like the slave patrol system furthering the enforcement of segregation and mistreatment of freed slaves.
Due to the large wave of immigration that brought Catholic, Irish, Italian, German, and Eastern European immigrants, discriminatory policing expanded. As these new American immigrants flowed into the workforce, companies wanted to prevent unions and strikes that may occur from workplace discrimination and malpractice. As such these companies and police worked together to stop workers from protesting. 19th-century polices corruption continued to manifest through politics. Sergeants and captains were often hired by political leaders( who would also run street gangs) to intimidate voters and harass opponents. These officers were also bribed to turn a blind eye to illegal acts such as prostitution and gambling, especially if done by politicians.
In 1929 President Hoover had appointed the Wickersham Commission in 1929 to investigate the effectiveness of nationwide law enforcement. The Commission soon created a separation between police and political wards and turned them into their own sectors with the new goal to make policing a professional career. This is what we have currently in the 20th century, not even a decade later. The investigation of effectiveness was opened in 1929 but throughout, the Jim Crow laws were still in place. After the disband of slave patrols, Jim Crow laws were put in place to continue slave patrol policing by restricting where Black people could work, their pay level, travel availability, property, along with restricted voting rights. The Black Codes were put in place directly after the 13th amendment was passed in 1856 to continue a more modern form of white supremacy. Now, police were made to enforce these restrictions and now with the federal judges as well as the police force being filled with former confederate soldiers, there was no way for black people to win in court and not be subject to these codes. These codes were used to continue to enslave black people using the prison system where once put in prison, prisoners were placed into labor camps. Black people on average got longer sentences and the labor was so excruciating that many didn’t live till the end of them. These laws did not end until the passing of the 14th amendment in 1868.
Written by: Dasiajpeg
Edited by: Sydnie Giles
More places to read about The history of Policing
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