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291 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. 1 (1954)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0291 and id is 1 raw text is: A Preface to Law Enforcement By BRUCE SMITH A DVANCES made by American po- lice during the past thirty years are certain to be recorded in the his- tory of our time. The brilliant record of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the emergence of a dozen or more state police forces of outstanding quality, and the striking reversal of old police pat- terns in many cities and villages-these are the physical evidence of a radical change in police thought and action that has exercised an influence in many ways. UNEVEN PROGRESS It is likely that all police establish- ments, at the federal, state, and local levels, have participated in some degree in this great upward surge. That some of the largest forces should not have re- sponded as readily as others of moderate size or less, may be attributed in part to the operation of local and special influ- ences. The manner in which partisan control is applied is bound to be a fac- tor. Furthermore, the conditions mak- ing for police improvement are by no means equally distributed, and mere size can be a burden unless it also has animation and vitality. As a conse- quence, the advancing police front at all times offers a rather ragged appear- ance that is featured by the miscellany of the participants and the differing rates of their progress. Such failures to maintain perfect order and to achieve full perfection need not concern us greatly. In fact, it may represent one of the superior fea- tures of the current movement, since no one type of police force and no single geographical region can enjoy exclusive opportunities or feel secure in a hard- won position. With improvement so widely distributed and experimentation taking so many diverse forms, there is less likely to be a sudden drying up of the sources of inspiration; and the wide dispersion of both leaders and followers goes far towards assuring that today's adventurous efforts by a few will be ex- perienced tomorrow by the many who are destined to move at a slower pace. That so much should have been ac- complished so quickly is the more re- markable since our country has the most decentralized police system in the world, and there is no central authority to set the standards of police service and then exact compliance with them. But pre- cept, example, and a widespread desire to emulate have combined to produce a result so striking that one may doubt whether it could have been achieved in any other way. When the various aspects of police are viewed in detail, the same marked irregularities of accomplishment are noted on every hand. Methods for se- lecting, promoting, and disciplining po- lice are still obstructed by the outworn devices produced by civil service com- missions during the past half-century and more. But new and more reliable devices are in the making, are now un- der test, or have already won accept- ance among a widening circle of par- ticipants. Especially notable is the response of Young America to our country's new police patterns. The best police forces have captured the imagination of mil- lions of youths who stand at the verge of decision on their careers. If we are alert to this opportunity, we can attract ten thousand of them every year into po- lice uniforms and so produce a steadily 1

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