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1838: America's 1st Professional Police Department

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1838: America's 1st Professional Police Department

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Beginning in Boston, America established its first full-time professional police department. This catalyzed an implementation of a PD in every major US city.

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The 13th amendment outlawed slavery "except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted" which created a loophole to criminalize formerly enslaved people back into slavery

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The black codes made it virtually impossible for former slaves to not violate the law. They were often deemed troublesome, lazy, and discourteous which was not only a very subjective decision to make, but it could get them arrested and forced to return to slavery through the convict leasing system.

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The first use of the electric chair was used on a convict named William Kemmler. He illegally sold drugs, murdered his wife, and was an alcoholic. The chair was an example of one of the criminal justice system teetering between what is too inhumane and what is just.

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Congress ratified the 18th Amendment, also known as prohibition. This banned the production and sale of alcohol in the US. Although its intention was to wane alcohol use, it instead created a new breed of criminals and alcohol use did not decrease at all.

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War on crime is declared by President Lyndon which established a federal role in local law enforcement. It blended the use of military weapons and equipment with local law enforcement.

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The war on drugs is declared by Richard Nixon and painted drugs as “public enemy number one” which ultimately backfired. It cost the U.S. 1 trillion dollars and filled prisons and harsh sentences for non-violent drug offenses, and even increased drug activity in Latin America.

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President Nixon Declares Drug Abuse "Public Enemy Number One"

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The Comprehensive Crime Control Act eliminated parole in the federal system and established mandatory minimum sentencing. This means that the prison population soared to 100,000 residents because of its harsh and commonly unjust sentencting.

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The violent crime control and law enforcement of 1994 established a three strikes and you’re out rule which was intended to scare criminals from committing another offense. However, low-level offenders received life sentences for minor crimes and this act was extended to the federal system where incarceration rates soared.

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George Floyd was a black man who was murdered by a police officer where he was suspected to use a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill. An officer knelt on Floyd's neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds which caused a lack of oxygen. After his murder, protests against police brutality spread across the world. This brought light to the injustices of the justice system.

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How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody (Published 2020)

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The Times has reconstructed the death of George Floyd on May 25. Security footage, witness videos and official documents show how a series of actions by officers turned fatal.