Introduction

In each unit, you will respond to discussion questions. Some units have one discussion, some have two discussion.

The responses to the discussion posts must be substantive and based on the text reading or an outside peer reviewed source. You may take whatever position you choose, but must provide substantive evidence in support. If you use outside sources it must be paraphrased. Do not copy and paste. It is also critical to identify the specific source consistent with APA formatting standards.

• Post On Time: Not posting a response to the principle questions on or before Wednesday of each week will result in a 4 point reduction for each question.
• Respond On Multiple Days:
  • Single day posting will result in a 4 point reduction
  • Final day posting will receive a 4 point reduction respectively for each question.
  • In the case of single and final day it constitutes a 8 point deduction for each question.

These guidelines for Unit Discussions are also available in Assignments and Grading.

Directions

1. Initial Post: Post one major response to each discussion board by Wednesday 11:59 pm CT. Initial post must be at least 150 words.
2. Response Posts: Respond to two colleagues on at least 2 different days by Sunday 11:59 pm CT. Respond to ideas and submission of your classmates.

Use APA formatting to reference sources. If there are questions about how to format according to APA you should access: Library Resource: Citing and Writing.

Key Points

The periods in the history of policing have seen significant changes in terms of professionalism, corruption, police brutality and violations of civil rights. This is not to suggest that these eras were identified by their problems rather to suggest that changes in policing strategies and tactics in previous eras were the deciding factors for change. There are some changes, such as education levels of police officers that were an attempt to professionalize the delivery of police services and not the result of some scandal or bad behaviors. At the same time the active courts of the 1960s and 1970s were not the result of bad behaviors either – just clarification of the rules for police conduct. You may want to examine the various commission reports on policing that may have impacted those eras and the attendant changes.

This Unit's Question

The first discussion question pertains to the history and development of policing in the United States. What effect do you think the eras of policing have had on the way policing is done today? Can elements from each era be found in today's policing or is everything completely different?