Police communication was very difficult in the early history of American law enforcement. Rattles were one of the first alarms colonial police had at their disposal. Later, these would be replaced by whistles. In the 1850s, telegraph networks were being linked from individual police districts to their headquarters. Many years later, a telegraph system was available to patrol officers for contacting their stations.

Call boxes would go on to replace the telegraph. The first call boxes had a lever that, when activated, would notify the station that an officer was at their post. These would evolve into telephones at specific district locations, which sometimes had lights at the top of the post. The illuminated light would signify to a patrol officer that they had a call pending and needed to call in for details. Still in use today, with many modifications and improvements, are two-way radio systems that replaced the call boxes and telephone stations.

State agencies

The first federal law enforcement agency was the U.S. Marshals Service, created in 1789. This federal agency, which still exists today, has the duties of carrying out various services for federal courts, providing security, serving warrants and subpoenas, and seizing property ordered to be confiscated by the court.

According to some historians, the first state police agency established was the Texas Rangers in 1835, created to combat cattle rustling, as well as to conduct border patrol duties. In 1874, the Texas Rangers were commissioned as police officers in the state of Texas and given additional duties such as tracking down absconders. Since the Rangers were initially considered to be quasi-military, some historians instead credit the Massachusetts State Police as the first such agency. Established in 1865, its primary duty at that time was controlling vice crime.

Corruption and reform

From about the mid-19th century to around 1930, policing in the U.S. was centered in a political arena. As a general rule, police were authorized by politicians and would all too often act on behalf of a political party. In New York City, for example, officers served one- or two-year appointments, always at the discretion of politicians. Law enforcement officers frequently acceded to unethical or criminal behavior to curry favor with their political allies and those who appointed them into police service. Political partisans often interfered in police departments by appointing relatives and friends to key positions with the agency. It was not uncommon for promotions or special assignments to be handed out to those who gave local politicians immunity from certain crimes. At one point, key positions were even sold by politicians. This began a cycle of corruption in many cities throughout the country.

One person who sought to change the corruptive influences in police work was none other than Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. In 1895, as president of the New York City Police Commission, Roosevelt set new standards for the police department. Disciplinary procedures were established, as well as a reorganization of the detective bureau. This would lead to the adoption of the Bertillon system, which identified criminals by bone structure measurements, a forerunner of the venerated fingerprint identification system in use today.

The progressive Roosevelt and his Commission colleagues also instituted marksmanship training for officers, regular inspections of firearms and physical exams. During Roosevelt’s two-year term, he saw over 1,500 officers appointed to the department because they were qualified, not because of political influence. It was under his aegis that the first woman was hired to work in the department headquarters in an administrative position.

Minorities and women in law enforcement

Minorities began entering law enforcement as early as 1861 in Washington, D.C. By 1900, minorities made up 2.7% of all watchmen, policemen and firefighters. The percentage declined by more than half by 1910. Minority police officers would discover much discrimination and segregation within their own departments, as well as outside their jobs. It was not uncommon that Black officers were issued patrol cars with the conspicuous words “Colored Police” inscribed on the doors. Black officers were almost always assigned to minority neighborhoods, and many times were only allowed to arrest offenders who were minorities themselves.

The first woman to be appointed as a police officer was Marie Owens in 1883. She was hired by the Detroit Police Department and set a precedent that conveyed the message that women could be effective officers in a changing and modernizing law enforcement agency. By 1920, over 200 cities around the nation followed Detroit’s example and began employing female police officers.

An era of change

Beginning around 1930, there was a general movement toward reformation of law enforcement. The idea was to get politics out of policing and apply all efforts at professionalizing officers, linking scientific methodology with crime solving.

A major change that has affected today’s proud law enforcement tradition is the specialization of services. Police officers at that time shared similar duties and few had any special skills to differentiate them from any other officer. With the advent of science and crime statistics, law enforcement agencies slowly came to the realization that an efficient department must be diverse. Detective bureaus, crime scene units, patrol, traffic enforcement, process service, special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams and undercover units are but a few of the divisions within law enforcement in practice today.

The quality of law enforcement officers has changed with the times as well. There’s little disagreement among police historians that the Great Depression bolstered police recruitment with an influx of educated recruits, especially in large urban areas such as New York, Boston and Los Angeles. Jobs were scarce at that time and forced educated people who might otherwise have worked in other professions to join police forces. Many agencies throughout the country now have a minimum educational requirement that would’ve been scoffed at decades earlier.

Weaponry and communications in law enforcement have also continued to make significant strides. Where muskets, truncheons and swords were once the weapons du jour, semiautomatic handguns, electrical devices and chemical sprays are found on the duty belts of police officers today. Police officers in larger cities are connected not only by radio but electronically by computer terminals in patrol cars.

While politics may not have been entirely erased from law enforcement, its influence has greatly diminished. Today’s officers are taught to think as team members and as individuals, and to accept responsibilities without regard to politics, gender, race, religion or any other irrelevant factor. Thanks to professional police organizations, state-of-the-art training and equipment, and individual ethics, law enforcement officers have become specialists in criminal detection and apprehension and continue as professionals in a field that is abundant in history and tradition.

Find parts 1 and 2 of this story at apbweb.com/author/jrgates.