Policing policies have drastically changed since 1963. The changes have occurred over time with the purpose of suiting contemporary needs of civilians. It is not possible to apply the policies used fifty years ago in the modern society. Most of them are irrelevant due to evolution in the nature of criminal activities. The nature of police patrols has also changed and police officers have now adopted a close relationship with civilians. They have also adopted the Miranda laws, technology and organized structures in their operations in order to address people’s needs. In addition, they have changed their approach to capital punishment due to the development of human rights organizations. This paper discusses the evolution of policing policies over the last fifty years from crude and inhuman policies to ones that care about civilians.
The first area of policing that has drastically changed is patrol. The way the police carry out patrols today is not the way they used to do it in 1963. Criminals have been changing their tactics. Therefore, the police also have to change in order to handle them appropriately. Fifty years ago, foot patrols were very common. Police officers patrolled the streets on foot, and people felt safe both in the streets and at home. However, an increase in the rate of crime has made it necessary for the police to use vehicles in their patrols. They patrol around people’s homes, as people no longer feel secure in their homes and the streets. In addition, state governments have introduced private police and community policing to supplement the regular police (Hartmann, 1989).
Before 1963, the police used to force suspects to admit their crimes. They then used the admissions against them in court. However, the introduction of the Miranda laws has made it necessary for the police to inform suspects of their rights to remain silent. The police can use the suspects’ admissions in court only after informing them of their rights to remain silent (Weiss, 2010).
In the 1960s, capital punishment was a very common tool for making suspects admit their crimes. The police also used capital punishment in suppressing demonstrators. In the 1960s, America experienced many protests that advocated for the rights of the blacks. Photos from such events show how police officers used force in handling the demonstrators. Using excessive force in handling civilians was not a big problem in those days. However, with the formation of human rights organizations, the police have no right to use capital punishment. These movements insist that even criminals have rights, and police officers must handle them like other citizens (Weiss, 2010).
Technological advancement has also been very crucial in the evolution of policing policies. All police departments in the US have adopted technology in most of their operations. Technology has helped improve service delivery in terms of speed and quality. The best examples of technological inventions in use are flashlights and graffiti cameras. The flashlights have wavelengths that can detect hair, blood and other items that can serve as evidence in court, while graffiti cameras take photos of cases of vandalism and inform the police about them. Police officers have also adopted other technological inventions such as thermal imaging and photo enforcement systems (Hartmann, 1989).
In conclusion, policing policies have drastically changed to suit the needs of civilians. The changes include friendship between citizens and the police, the adoption of the Miranda rules, the application of technology and the elimination of capital punishment. These and many other changes have transformed policing and made it different from what it was fifty years back.
References
Hartmann, F. (1989). Debating the evolution of American policing (1st ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice. Web.
Weiss, D. (2010). The evolution of community policing from theory to implementation (1st ed.). Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press. Web.