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How Did August Vollmer Influence Policing

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August Vollmer is recognized for being a leading figure in the development of the American criminal justice system. Due to Vollmer forward-thinking and new innovations in law enforcement ethics, police department today and other law enforcement agencies are respected as professionals. Because of all Vollmer hard work and dedication to branding law enforcement he was recognized as the father of American police professionalism. In 1905 The City of Berkeley elected August Vollmer as Town Marshal. During those years the Marshal Job was mostly to serve papers and make seldom arrested without a warrant. In 1909, Vollmer was appointed as this City's first Chief of Police. He served as chief of police in Berkeley, California, from 1905 to 1932 during this time he defined the reform agendas that continues to influence policing today, he also serve as chief of the Los Angeles police department. Vollmer is most famous for encouraging higher education for police officers. He began to hire college graduates in Berkeley and organized the first college-level police science …show more content…

Vollmer efforts to professionalize was part of a political movement known as progressivism between 1900 and 1917 all of his efforts didn’t go unnoticed. Progressive reformers wanted to control big business, eliminate child labor, improve social welfare services, and bring improvement local government and professionalize the police force. The Reform Agenda was based on a plan to professionalize the police movement by defining policing as a profession. Hiring qualified chief executives to head police departments to establishing minimum recruitment requirements of intelligence, health, and moral character, and also to eliminate the influence of politics on policing in order to create specialized

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