Editing Police (section)

===Modern===
====Scotland and Ireland====
Following early police forces established in 1779 and 1788 in [[Glasgow]], [[Scotland]], the Glasgow authorities successfully petitioned the government to pass the [[Glasgow Police Act 1800|Glasgow Police Act]] establishing the [[City of Glasgow Police]] in 1800.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.policemuseum.org.uk/glasgow-police-history/pre-1800|title=Pre 1800 – Glasgow Police Museum|website=[[Glasgow Police Museum]]}}</ref> Other Scottish towns soon followed suit and set up their own police forces through acts of parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotia-news.com/issue5/ISSUE05a.htm |title=Glasgow Police |work=Scotia-news.com |access-date=2009-06-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090716173010/http://www.scotia-news.com/issue5/ISSUE05a.htm |archive-date=July 16, 2009 }}</ref> In [[Ireland]], the [[Irish Constabulary Act 1822]] marked the beginning of the [[Royal Irish Constabulary]]. The act established a force in each barony with [[chief constable]]s and inspectors general under the control of the civil administration at [[Dublin Castle]]. By 1841 this force numbered over 8,600 men.

====London====
[[File:Patrick Colquhoun.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|[[Patrick Colquhoun]], founder of the [[Thames River Police]]]]
In 1797, [[Patrick Colquhoun]] was able to persuade the [[West Indies]] merchants who operated at the [[Pool of London]] on the [[River Thames]] to establish a police force at the docks to prevent rampant theft that was causing annual estimated losses of £500,000 worth of cargo in imports alone.<ref name="paterson">Dick Paterson, [http://www.thamespolicemuseum.org.uk/h_police_1.html Origins of the Thames Police] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006164158/http://www.thamespolicemuseum.org.uk/h_police_1.html |date=6 October 2017 }}, ''Thames Police Museum''. Retrieved 4 February 2007.</ref> The idea of a police, as it then existed in [[France]], was considered as a potentially undesirable foreign import. In building the case for the police in the face of England's firm anti-police sentiment, Colquhoun framed the political rationale on economic indicators to show that a police dedicated to crime prevention was "perfectly congenial to the principle of the British constitution". Moreover, he went so far as to praise the French system, which had reached "the greatest degree of perfection" in his estimation.<ref name="critchley">T.A. Critchley, ''A History of Police in England and Wales'', 2nd ed. Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith, 38–39.</ref>
[[File:No Police!! Well Done Aberystwyth Boys 1850.jpg|thumb|left|Poster against "detested" Police posted in the town of [[Aberystwyth]], [[Wales]], April 1850]]

With the initial investment of £4,200, the new force the [[Thames River Police#Marine Police|Marine Police]] began with about 50 men charged with policing 33,000 workers in the river trades, of whom Colquhoun claimed 11,000 were known criminals and "on the game". The force was part funded by the [[London Society of West India Planters and Merchants]]. The force was a success after its first year, and his men had "established their worth by saving £122,000 worth of cargo and by the rescuing of several lives". Word of this success spread quickly, and the government passed the [[Depredations on the Thames Act 1800]] on 28 July 1800, establishing a fully funded police force the [[Thames River Police]] together with new laws including police powers; now the oldest police force in the world. Colquhoun published a book on the experiment, ''The Commerce and Policing of the River Thames''. It found receptive audiences far outside London, and inspired similar forces in other cities, notably, [[New York City]], [[Dublin]], and [[Sydney]].<ref name="paterson" />

Colquhoun's utilitarian approach to the problem – using a [[cost-benefit analysis|cost-benefit]] argument to obtain support from businesses standing to benefit – allowed him to achieve what [[Henry Fielding|Henry]] and [[John Fielding]] failed for their Bow Street detectives. Unlike the stipendiary system at Bow Street, the river police were full-time, salaried officers prohibited from taking private fees.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-36618/police "Police: The formation of the English Police"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621060103/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-36618/police |date=21 June 2008 }}, Britannica.com, 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2007.</ref> His other contribution was the concept of [[preventive policing]]; his police were to act as a highly visible deterrent to crime by their permanent presence on the Thames.<ref name="critchley" />

====Metropolitan====
[[File:A "Peeler" of the Metropolitan Police Service in the 1850s.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.75|An officer of the [[Metropolitan Police Service]] in the 1850s]]
London was fast reaching a size unprecedented in world history, due to the onset of the [[Industrial Revolution]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Kathryn Costello |url=http://www.nettlesworth.durham.sch.uk/time/victorian/vindust.html |title=Industrial Revolution |publisher=Nettlesworth.durham.sch.uk |access-date=2009-05-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501202603/http://www.nettlesworth.durham.sch.uk/time/victorian/vindust.html |archive-date=May 1, 2009 }}</ref> It became clear that the locally maintained system of volunteer constables and "watchmen" was ineffective, both in detecting and preventing crime. A parliamentary committee was appointed to investigate the system of policing in [[London]]. Upon [[Robert Peel|Sir Robert Peel]] being appointed as [[Home Secretary]] in 1822, he established a second and more effective committee, and acted upon its findings.

[[Royal assent]] to the [[Metropolitan Police Act 1829]] was given<ref name="ndad">{{cite web |url=http://www.ndad.nationalarchives.gov.uk/AH/1/detail.html |title=The National Archives &#124; NDAD &#124; Metropolitan Police |publisher=Ndad.nationalarchives.gov.uk |access-date=2009-05-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122044922/http://www.ndad.nationalarchives.gov.uk/AH/1/detail.html |archive-date=2008-11-22 }}</ref> and the [[Metropolitan Police Service]] was established on September 29, 1829, in [[London]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://polis.osce.org/countries/details?item_id=73|title=Policing Profiles of Participating and Partner States|publisher=Polis |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203004148/http://polis.osce.org/countries/details?item_id=73|archive-date=2013-12-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A Brief Guide to Police History  |url=http://faculty.ncwc.edu/mstevens/205/205lect04.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908151018/http://faculty.ncwc.edu/mstevens/205/205lect04.htm |archive-date=September 8, 2009 }}</ref> Peel, widely regarded as the father of modern policing,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://criminologycareers.about.com/od/Criminology_Basics/a/The-History-Of-Modern-Policing.htm|title=The History of Modern Policing: How the Modern Police Force Evolved|author=Timothy Roufa|access-date=30 November 2013|archive-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203053215/http://criminologycareers.about.com/od/Criminology_Basics/a/The-History-Of-Modern-Policing.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> was heavily influenced by the social and legal philosophy of [[Jeremy Bentham]], who called for a strong and centralised, but politically neutral, police force for the maintenance of social order, for the protection of people from crime and to act as a visible [[Preventive police|deterrent]] to urban [[crime]] and disorder.<ref name="brodeur284">{{cite book|last=Brodeur|first=Jean-Paul|editor1=Kevin R.E. McCormick|editor2=Livy A. Visano|chapter=High Policing and Low Policing: Remarks about the Policing of Political Activities|title=Understanding Policing|publisher=Canadian Scholars' Press|year=1992|pages=[https://archive.org/details/understandingpol0000unse_o7k7/page/284 284–285, 295]|isbn=978-1-55130-005-4|ol=<!--OL-->1500609M|lccn=93178368|oclc=27072058|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/understandingpol0000unse_o7k7/page/284}}</ref> Peel decided to standardise the police force as an official paid profession, to organise it in a civilian fashion, and to make it answerable to the public.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.met.police.uk/history/timeline1829-1849.htm |title=Metropolitan Police Service – History of the Metropolitan Police Service |publisher=Met.police.uk |access-date=2009-05-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426000459/http://www.met.police.uk/history/timeline1829-1849.htm |archive-date=2009-04-26 }}</ref>

[[File:Police group portrait Bury St Edmunds Suffolk England.jpg|thumb|Group portrait of policemen, [[Bury St Edmunds]], [[Suffolk]], [[England]], c. 1900|left]]
Due to public fears concerning the deployment of the military in domestic matters, Peel organised the force along civilian lines, rather than [[paramilitary]]. To appear neutral, the uniform was deliberately manufactured in blue, rather than red which was then a military colour, along with the officers being armed only with a wooden [[Baton (law enforcement)|truncheon]] and a [[Ratchet (instrument)|rattle]]<ref>Taylor, J. [http://www.constabulary.com/mystery/rattle.htm "The Victorian Police Rattle Mystery"/] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218043036/http://www.constabulary.com/mystery/rattle.htm |date=February 18, 2010 }} ''The Constabulary'' (2003)</ref> to signal the need for assistance. Along with this, [[Police ranks of the United Kingdom|police ranks]] did not include military titles, with the exception of [[Sergeant#Police 7|Sergeant]].

To distance the new police force from the initial public view of it as a new tool of government repression, Peel publicised the so-called [[Peelian principles]], which set down basic guidelines for ethical policing:<ref>{{Cite web|last=The Committee Office, House of Commons|title=House of Commons – HC 1456 Home Affairs Committee: Written evidence submitted by the National Black Police Association (NBPA)|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmhaff/1456/1456vw07.htm|access-date=2020-06-14|website=publications.parliament.uk|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|author=Lentz, Susan A.|author2=Chaires, Robert H.|year=2007|title=The Invention of Peel's Principles: A Study of Policing 'Textbook' History|journal=Journal of Criminal Justice|volume=35|issue=1|pages=69–79|doi=10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2006.11.016}}</ref>
* Whether the police are effective is not measured on the number of arrests but on the deterrence of crime.
* Above all else, an effective authority figure knows trust and accountability are paramount. Hence, Peel's most often quoted principle that "The police are the public and the public are the police."

[[File:Pride London 39.jpg|thumb|upright|Metropolitan Police officers in 2019. The [[custodian helmet]] has been called "an iconic symbol of British policing".<ref>{{cite news |title=Police helmets to make a return to Bucks this year |url=https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/16085763.police-helmets-make-return-bucks-year/ |access-date=15 April 2023 |work=Bucks Free Press}}</ref>]]
The Metropolitan Police Act 1829 created a modern police force by limiting the purview of the force and its powers and envisioning it as merely an organ of the judicial system. Their job was apolitical; to maintain the peace and apprehend criminals for the courts to process according to the law.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYoJQVYwFB8C&q=bentham+on+policing|title=The Policing Web|author=Brodeur, Jean-Paul|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=2013-02-07|isbn=978-0-19-981331-5}}</ref> This was very different from the "[[Continental Europe|continental]] model" of the police force that had been developed in France, where the police force worked within the parameters of the [[absolute monarchy|absolutist state]] as an extension of the authority of the monarch and functioned as part of the governing state.

In 1863, the Metropolitan Police were issued with the distinctive [[custodian helmet]], and in 1884 they switched to the use of whistles that could be heard from much further away.<ref>{{cite news |title=Just how practical is a traditional Bobby's helmet? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-30932319 |access-date=15 April 2023 |agency=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thejanuarist.com/joseph-hudson-inventor-of-the-police-and-referee-whistles/|title=Joseph Hudson: Inventor of the Police and Referee Whistles|author=Dan Zambonini|date=October 24, 2009}}</ref> The Metropolitan Police became a model for the police forces in many countries, including the [[United States]] and most of the [[British Empire]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Terrill|first1=Richard J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xZ3hCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|title=World Criminal Justice Systems: A Comparative Survey|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1317228820|edition=revised|page=32}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Dempsey|first1=John S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W4TCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA7|title=An Introduction to Policing|last2=Forst|first2=Linda S.|date=2015|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1305544680|edition=8th|pages=6–8}}</ref> Bobbies can still be found in many parts of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].

====Australia====
{{Main|Law enforcement in Australia}}
[[File:South Australian Police in 1938.jpg|thumb|[[South Australia Police]] officers on [[police motorcycle]]s with sidecars in 1938]]
In [[Australia]], organized law enforcement emerged soon after British colonization began in 1788. The first law enforcement organizations were the Night Watch and Row Boat Guard, which were formed in 1789 to police [[Sydney]]. Their ranks were drawn from well-behaved convicts deported to Australia. The Night Watch was replaced by the Sydney Foot Police in 1790. In [[New South Wales]], rural law enforcement officials were appointed by local [[Justice of the peace|justices of the peace]] during the early to mid-19th century and were referred to as "bench police" or "benchers". A mounted police force was formed in 1825.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/about_us/history/history_pages/significant_dates |website=NSW Police | title = 1788–1888}}</ref>

The first police force having centralised command as well as jurisdiction over an entire colony was the [[South Australia Police]], formed in 1838 under [[Henry Inman (police commander)|Henry Inman]]. However, whilst the [[New South Wales Police Force]] was established in 1862, it was made up from a large number of policing and military units operating within the then Colony of New South Wales and traces its links back to the Royal Marines. The passing of the Police Regulation Act of 1862 essentially tightly regulated and centralised all of the police forces operating throughout the Colony of New South Wales.

Each Australian state and territory maintain its own police force, while the [[Australian Federal Police]] enforces laws at the federal level. The [[New South Wales Police Force]] remains the largest police force in Australia in terms of personnel and physical resources. It is also the only police force that requires its recruits to undertake university studies at the recruit level and has the recruit pay for their own education.

====Brazil====
{{Main|Law enforcement in Brazil}}
[[File:Turquinho.jpg|thumb|A [[Federal Highway Police (Brazil)|Federal Highway Police]] motorcycle officer in 1935]]
In 1566, the first police investigator of [[Rio de Janeiro]] was recruited. By the 17th century, most [[captaincy|captaincies]] already had local units with law enforcement functions. On July 9, 1775, a [[Minas Gerais Military Police|Cavalry Regiment]] was created in the state of [[Minas Gerais]] for maintaining law and order. In 1808, the Portuguese royal family relocated to Brazil, because of the French invasion of Portugal. [[Dom João VI|King João&nbsp;VI]] established the {{lang|pt|Intendência Geral de Polícia}} ('General Police Intendancy') for investigations. He also created a [[Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State|Royal Police Guard for Rio de Janeiro]] in 1809. In 1831, after independence, each province started organizing its local "[[Military Police (Brazil)|military police]]", with order maintenance tasks. The [[Federal Railroad Police]] was created in 1852, [[Federal Highway Police (Brazil)|Federal Highway Police]], was established in 1928, and [[Federal Police of Brazil|Federal Police]] in 1967.

====Canada====
{{Main|Law enforcement in Canada}}
[[File:President Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau meeting with Royal Canadian mounted police during a visit to National Arts Center in Ottawa, Canada.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] officers present at a meeting between [[Ronald Reagan]], [[Nancy Reagan]], and [[Pierre Trudeau]], 1981]]
During the early days of English and French colonization, municipalities hired watchmen and constables to provide security.<ref name="wlu"/> Established in 1729, the [[Royal Newfoundland Constabulary]] (RNC) was the first policing service founded in Canada. The establishment of modern policing services in [[the Canadas]] occurred during the 1830s, modelling their services after the London Metropolitan Police, and adopting the ideas of the Peelian principles.<ref name="wlu">{{cite web|url=https://online.wlu.ca/news/2019/08/13/history-policing-canada|title=The History of Policing in Canada|date=13 August 2019|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University|access-date=9 September 2019|website=wlu.ca}}</ref> The [[Toronto Police Service]] was established in 1834 as the first municipal police service in Canada. Prior to that, local able-bodied male citizens had been required to report for night watch duty as special constables for a fixed number of nights a year on penalty of a fine or imprisonment in a system known as "watch and ward."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.torontopolicehistory.org/cph3.htm |title=Toronto Police in 1834–1860 "Formidable Engines of Oppression"}}</ref> The [[Quebec City Police Service]] was established in 1840.<ref name="wlu" />

A national police service, the [[Dominion Police]], was founded in 1868. Initially the Dominion Police provided security for parliament, but its responsibilities quickly grew. In 1870, [[Rupert's Land]] and the [[North-Western Territory]] were incorporated into the country. In an effort to police its newly acquired territory, the Canadian government established the [[North-West Mounted Police]] in 1873 (renamed Royal North-West Mounted Police in 1904).<ref name="wlu" /> In 1920, the Dominion Police, and the Royal Northwest Mounted Police were amalgamated into the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] (RCMP).<ref name="wlu" />

The RCMP provides federal law enforcement; and law enforcement in eight provinces, and all three territories. The provinces of [[Ontario]], and [[Quebec]] maintain their own provincial police forces, the [[Ontario Provincial Police]] (OPP), and the [[Sûreté du Québec]] (SQ). Policing in [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] is provided by the RCMP, and the RNC. The aforementioned services also provide municipal policing, although larger Canadian municipalities may establish their own police service.

====Lebanon====
In [[Lebanon]], the current police force was established in 1861, with creation of the [[Internal Security Forces|Gendarmerie]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isf.gov.lb/English/LeftMenu/General+Info/History/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060602061225/http://www.isf.gov.lb/English/LeftMenu/General+Info/History/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 2, 2006 |title=Historical overview |publisher=Interior Security Forces (Lebanon) |access-date=June 26, 2007 }}</ref>

====India====
[[File:Gcp patrol car.jpg|thumb|[[Greater Chennai Police]] officers patrolling in a police car in [[Chennai]], [[India]]]]
 
Under the [[Mughal Empire]], provincial governors called [[subahdar]]s (or nazims), as well as officials known as [[faujdar]]s and thanadars were tasked with keeping law and order. [[Kotwal]]s were responsible for public order in urban areas. In addition, officials called amils, whose primary duties were tax collection, occasionally dealt with rebels. The system evolved under growing British influence that eventually culminated in the establishment of the [[British Raj]]. In 1770, the offices of faujdar and amil were abolished. They were brought back in 1774 by [[Warren Hastings]], the first [[Governor-General of Bengal|Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal)]]. In 1791, the first permanent police force was established by [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|Charles Cornwallis]], the [[Commander-in-Chief, India|Commander-in-Chief of British India]] and Governor of the Presidency of Fort William.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://testbook.com/ias-preparation/police-under-british-india|title=Police Under British India: History, Administration, And Reforms!|website=Testbook}}</ref>

A single police force was established after the formation of the British Raj with the [[Government of India Act 1858]]. A uniform police bureaucracy was formed under the Police Act 1861, which established the Superior Police Services. This later evolved into the [[Indian Imperial Police]], which kept order until the [[Partition of India]] and independence in 1947. In 1948, the Indian Imperial Police was replaced by the [[Indian Police Service]].

In modern [[India]], the police are under the control of respective [[States and union territories of India|States and union territories]] and are known to be under [[State Police Services (India)|State Police Services]] (SPS). The candidates selected for the SPS are usually posted as [[Deputy Superintendent of Police]] or [[Assistant Commissioner of Police]] once their probationary period ends. On prescribed satisfactory service in the SPS, the officers are nominated to the [[Indian Police Service]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.spiritofchennai.com/careerguide/ps.htm| title = Police Service<!-- Bot generated title -->| access-date = 17 February 2015| archive-date = 9 August 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180809060448/http://www.spiritofchennai.com/careerguide/ps.htm| url-status = dead}}</ref> The service color is usually dark blue and red, while the uniform color is ''Khaki''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/open-space/Why-is-the-colour-of-the-Indian-police-uniform-khaki/articleshow/1719969.cms|title=Why is the colour of the Indian police uniform khaki?|access-date=2010-05-11 | work=The Times of India|date=3 March 2007}}</ref>

====United States====
{{Main|Law enforcement in the United States}}
[[File:DRIVER GETS TICKET FOR JUMPING THE LIGHT - NARA - 546661.jpg|thumb|A [[Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia]] officer ticketing a motorist for a traffic violation, 1973]]
In [[Colonial history of the United States|Colonial America]], the county sheriff was the most important law enforcement official. For instance, the [[New York City Sheriff's Office|New York Sheriff's Office]] was founded in 1626, and the [[Albany County Sheriff's Department (New York)|Albany County Sheriff's Department]] in the 1660s. The county sheriff, who was an elected official, was responsible for enforcing laws, collecting taxes, supervising elections, and handling the legal business of the county government. Sheriffs would investigate crimes and make arrests after citizens filed complaints or provided information about a crime but did not carry out patrols or otherwise take preventive action. Villages and cities typically hired constables and marshals, who were empowered to make arrests and serve warrants. Many municipalities also formed a night watch, a group of citizen volunteers who would patrol the streets at night looking for crime and fires. Typically, constables and marshals were the main law enforcement officials available during the day while the night watch would serve during the night. Eventually, municipalities formed day watch groups. Rioting was handled by local militias.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Longley|first=Robert|title=The History of Modern Policing and How It Has Evolved|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/the-history-of-modern-policing-974587|access-date=2021-05-13|website=ThoughtCo|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/criminal-justice/development-of-the-american-police/policing-colonial-america| title = Policing Colonial America}}</ref>

In the 1700s, the [[Province of Carolina]] (later [[North Carolina|North]]- and [[South Carolina]]) established [[slave patrol]]s in order to prevent slave rebellions and enslaved people from escaping.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Origins of Modern Day Policing |url=https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/origins-modern-day-policing |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=naacp.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=How the U.S. Got Its Police Force|url=https://time.com/4779112/police-history-origins/|access-date=2020-06-09|magazine=Time|language=en}}</ref> By 1785 the [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] Guard and Watch had "a distinct [[command hierarchy|chain of command]], [[uniform]]s, sole responsibility for policing, [[salary]], [[authorized use of force]], and a focus on [[crime prevention|preventing crime]]."<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Gospel or a Glock? Mennonites and the Police|author=Andy Alexis-Baker|issue=2|year=2007|journal=The Conrad Grebel Review|volume=25|url=https://uwaterloo.ca/grebel/publications/conrad-grebel-review/issues/spring-2007/gospel-or-glock-mennonites-and-police|access-date=10 June 2020|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028162748/https://uwaterloo.ca/grebel/publications/conrad-grebel-review/issues/spring-2007/gospel-or-glock-mennonites-and-police|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
In 1751 moves towards a municipal police service in [[Philadelphia]] were made when the city's night watchmen and constables began receiving wages and a Board of Wardens was created to oversee the night watch.<ref>[https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/police-department-philadelphia/ Police Department (Philadelphia)]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ppdonline.org/hq_history.php |title=Department History |publisher=Philadelphia Police Department |access-date=February 24, 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080517082302/http://www.ppdonline.org/hq_history.php |archive-date = May 17, 2008}}</ref> 

In 1789 the [[United States Marshals Service]] was established, followed by other federal services such as the [[United States Park Police|U.S. Parks Police]] (1791)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/uspp/ |title=The history of the Park Police |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=February 24, 2010}}</ref> and [[United States Mint Police|U.S. Mint Police]] (1792).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/mint_police/ |title=United States Mint Police |publisher=[[United States Mint]] |access-date=February 24, 2010 |archive-date=10 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410180915/https://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/mint_police/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Municipal police services were created in [[Richmond, Virginia]] in 1807,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ci.richmond.va.us/Police/HistoryPoliceDepartment.aspx |title=History of the Richmond Police Department |publisher=City of Richmond |access-date=February 24, 2010 |archive-date=29 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929180144/http://www.ci.richmond.va.us/Police/HistoryPoliceDepartment.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Boston]] in 1838,<ref name="bpd">{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofboston.gov/police/about/history.asp |title=A Brief History of The B.P.D. |publisher=City of Boston |access-date=February 24, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304222909/http://www.cityofboston.gov/police/about/history.asp |archive-date=March 4, 2012 }}</ref> and [[New York City]] in 1845.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/New+York+City+Police+Department |title=New York City Police Department |newspaper=New York Daily News |access-date=February 24, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100118042703/http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/New%20York%20City%20Police%20Department |archive-date=January 18, 2010 }}</ref> The [[United States Secret Service]] was founded in 1865 and was for some time the main investigative body for the federal government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secretservice.gov/history.shtml |title=Secret Service History |publisher=[[United States Secret Service]] |access-date=February 24, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100219142622/http://www.secretservice.gov/history.shtml |archive-date=February 19, 2010 }}</ref>
[[File:FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorist Task Force.jpg|thumb|Members of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]]–[[New York City Police Department|NYPD]] [[Joint Terrorism Task Force]] carrying evidence as part of an investigation in the early 2000s]]

Modern policing influenced by the British model of policing established in 1829 based on the [[Peelian principles]] began emerging in the United States in the mid-19th century, replacing previous law enforcement systems based primarily on night watch organizations.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dempsey|first1=John S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W4TCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA7|title=An Introduction to Policing|last2=Forst|first2=Linda S.|date=2015|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1305544680|edition= 8|pages=6–8}}</ref> Cities began establishing organized, publicly funded, full-time professional police services. In [[Boston]], a day police consisting of six officers under the command of the city marshal was established in 1838 to supplement the city's night watch. This paved the way for the establishment of the [[Boston Police Department]] in 1854.<ref name="bpd"/><ref>[http://www.cityofboston.gov/police/about/history.asp A Brief History of The B.P.D.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304222909/http://www.cityofboston.gov/police/about/history.asp |date=2012-03-04 }} City of Boston, Police Department (accessed 3 December 2009)</ref> In [[New York City]], law enforcement up to the 1840s was handled by a night watch as well as city marshals, municipal police officers, and constables. In 1845, the [[New York City Police Department]] was established.<ref>{{cite book |title=American Metropolis: A History of New York City |url=https://archive.org/details/americanmetropol00lank |url-access=registration |author=Lankevich, George L. |publisher=NYU Press |year=1998 |isbn=0-8147-5186-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanmetropol00lank/page/84 84–85]}}</ref> In [[Philadelphia]], the first police officers to patrol the city in daytime were employed in 1833 as a supplement to the night watch system, leading to the establishment of the [[Philadelphia Police Department]] in 1854.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C8E5DQAAQBAJ|first1=Joseph F.|last1=Spillane|first2=David B.|last2=Wolcott|title=A History of Modern American Criminal Justice|publisher=Sage|year=2013|page=13|isbn=978-1-4129-8134-7}}</ref>

In the [[American Old West]], law enforcement was carried out by local sheriffs, rangers, constables, and federal marshals. There were also town marshals responsible for serving civil and criminal warrants, maintaining the jails, and carrying out arrests for petty crime.<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=R_mRcTRYcvsC&pg=PA180| title = The Old West in Fact and Film: History Versus Hollywood | isbn = 9780786493111| last1 = Agnew| first1 = Jeremy| date = 2012| publisher = McFarland}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.legendsofamerica.com/old-west-lawmen/| title = Lawmen of the Old West – Legends of America<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref>

In addition to federal, state, and local forces, some [[Special district (United States)|special districts]] have been formed to provide extra police protection in designated areas. These districts may be known as neighborhood improvement districts, crime prevention districts, or security districts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/govs/go/index.html |title=Lists & Structure of Governments |work=Census.gov |access-date=2012-07-11}}</ref>

In 2022, San Francisco supervisors approved a policy allowing municipal police ([[San Francisco Police Department]]) to use robots for various law enforcement and emergency operations, permitting their employment as a deadly force option in cases where the "risk of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available to SFPD."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Law Enforcement Equipment Policy|url=https://sfgov.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=11449771&GUID=9FC57C5A-6E68-4485-A989-632C3837B909|access-date=December 16, 2022}}</ref> This policy has been criticized by groups such as the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] and the [[ACLU]], who have argued that "killer robots will not make San Francisco better" and "police might even bring armed robots to a protest."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Red Alert: The SFPD Want the Power to Kill with Robots|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/11/red-alert-sfpd-want-power-kill-robots|date=November 28, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Killer robots will not make San Francisco safer...|url=https://twitter.com/ACLU_NorCal/status/1597378672503054336|date=November 28, 2022}}</ref>