Police and Crime Fighting.

Police and Crime FightingNameInstitution
Police and Crime FightingCrime fighting and policing is a practice that has existed for many years. Notably, the police unit in the past is significantly different from policing today primarily due to the change in societal needs. This essay aims to explore the difference of how society viewed the police in the past and today.
In the past, many countries had a “fire brigade” method of policing. This technique aimed at protecting citizens from criminals by responding to emergency calls, and patrols by foot or bicycles. In the United States, during the political era from 1840-1930, the police unit was decentralized which enabled better execution of the fire brigade technique (Bond, 2016). Each police officer was assigned their area of patrol known as beat and was responsible for protecting the citizens of that area. The decentralization enabled a close relationship between the police and the community. As a result, the society viewed the law enforcers as friends and protectors.
Presently, a significant change that has occurred is the shift in focus from policing the community to being more aware of global threats (Palmiotto & Unitthan, 2010). Issues such as terrorism and international drug criminals have changed societal needs from needing protection from local criminals to requiring protection from elusive global criminals. Another change is notable in the relationship between the community and the police, especially in th…