6: Policing 
Learning Objectives 
In this section, you will be introduced to the history of policing in the United States. Today, policing is under 
the microscope to ensure past mistakes are not repeated and forward momentum is reached. It is for this reason this 
section will explore the history, as well as the foundations, that the American policing system was built upon. At 
the end of this section, students will be able to: 
• 
Discuss how the history of policing relates to current policing 
• 
List the different parts of the history of policing 
• 
Recognize the four eras of policing and identify the important parts of each era 
• 
Explain why Sir Robert Peel is important to policing 
• 
Describe how August Vollmer impacted policing 
• 
List what three issues marked the Political Reform Era 
• 
Illustrate several important occurrences during the Community Policing Era 
• 
Discuss why the fourth era of policing is the Homeland Security Era 
Critical Thinking Questions 
Discussion Questions: 
1. Why is the history of policing important to understand? 
2. What about kin policing made it not a good form of policing? 
3. What are the four eras of policing? 
4. How was the Homeland Security Era established? 
5. Why was Sir Robert Peel important to policing? 
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