NCJ Number
68880
Date Published
1972
Length
311 pages
Annotation
THE ROOTS OF PROFESSIONALISM AS A MODEL FOR AMERICAN MUNICIPAL POLICING ARE EXPLORED BY FOCUSING UPON THE CAREER OF AUGUST VOLLMER, POLICE CHIEF OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, FROM 1905 TO 1932.
Abstract
TWO PERSPECTIVES ARE EMPLOYED FOR THE STUDY: AN INTENSIVE EXAMINATION OF THE ACTUAL WORK AND IDEAS OF VOLLMER, AND AN EXAMINATION OF THE HISTORICAL SETTINGS WITHIN WHICH PROFESSIONALISM WAS DEVELOPED. MATERIALS USED INCLUDE INTERVIEWS WITH VOLLMER'S FORMER COLLEAGUES AND ASSOCIATES, PERSONAL PAPERS, AND PUBLISHED SOURCES. THE ANALYSIS OF THE HISTORICAL SETTING DRAWS UPON LITERATURE IN SOCIOLOGY AND POLICING FROM THE LAST QUARTER OF THE 19TH CENTURY THROUGH THE 1930'S. THE STUDY CONTENDS THAT POLICE PROFESSIONALISM AROSE IN RESPONSE TO HISTORICAL TRENDS WHICH ARE DESCRIBED. VOLLMER'S MODEL OF PROFESSIONALISM CONTAINED A CONFLICT BETWEEN THE DETACHED STANCE OF THE PROFESSIONAL AND THE CONTINUING NEED FOR POLICING TO ADJUST TO SOCIAL FLUX WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. HOWEVER, VOLLMER INTRODUCED MANY TECHNOLOGICAL AND MANAGERIAL INNOVATIONS, SUCH AS THE USE OF MOBILE PATROL, RECALL SYSTEMS, BEAT ANALYSIS, MODUS OPERANDI, SCIENTIFIC DETECTION METHODS, AND CENTRALIZED CRIME RECORDS. ALSO, PERSONNEL STANDARDS WERE UPGRADED. THE PAPER CONCLUDES THAT VOLLMER CONSTRUCTED AN EFFECTIVE AND PERSONAL STYLE OF POLICING IN BERKELEY WHICH WAS NECESSARILY ALTERED TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF HETEROGENEOUS URBAN AREAS. HOWEVER, PRESENT PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS DO NOT JUSTIFY THE CONTINUANCE OF A MODEL THAT IS FOUNDED UPON DETACHMENT FROM SOCIAL CHANGE AND THE PRESELECTION OF PRIORITIES AND POLICE GOALS. FOOTNOTES ARE PROVIDED. EXTENSIVE APPENDIXES INCLUDE TABLES, A SURVEY COMPARISON, AND APPROXIMATELY 70 REFERENCES PUBLISHED BY VOLLMER AND COMPILED BY HIM IN THE 1940'S. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED).