Police

Abstract

American police can trace their roots back to ninth‐century England. Early American policing began as night watches and evolved into agencies modeled on the professional London Metropolitan Police Department. Police departments became the principal law enforcement agencies in the North and East while sheriff's departments evolved with police departments in the South and West. In western territories, the US marshal assisted sheriffs and town marshals with law enforcement. Despite the evolution of police agencies, police officers treated juveniles the same as adults for much of the early history of US policing. As policing became more formalized, it progressed into four eras: the Political Era, the Reform/Professional Model, the Community Policing Era, and the Homeland Security era. Each of these eras affected how police officers interacted with juveniles. Policing types also evolved from the municipal police and sheriffs agencies to include state police and investigative, federal, private/company, and special police agencies. Further, private citizens have been integral to supporting the police with many states passing laws that allow private citizens to make citizen's arrests. Public, municipal police agencies are most likely to have specialized juvenile units that work to address juvenile issues.