August Gus Vollmer: The Evolution Of Law Enforcement
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The Evolution of Law Enforcement
August “Gus” Vollmer was one of the most influential figures in the Evolution of Law Enforcement. He, was the child of German Immigrants who was born in New Orleans but later relocated to California where he became marshal, and the chief of police. When he started out as marshal, the police force was known for misconduct, corruption and brutality, than for their ability to serve and protect. Although, Vollmer only had a basic education, he implemented many changes that bettered the police business and changed it to the way it is still operated today.
The first implementation made by Vollmer was a ban of gifts and graft (political corruption for personal gain). Once he laid down the first rule he went on to…show more content… Based on his efforts of education, implementation of forensics, he was the pioneer in crime scene investigation, when he required that his officers must utilize blood, fiber and soil samples to solve a case (1907). However, these reforms where just the beginning, because he was also the first who used lie detectors (1921), fingerprinted suspects to identify them and created and initiated the use of a centralized crime database (1906). But he was not only revolutionary in his practice of police work, emphasizing on training, utilizing new techniques, he also changed the humanitarian part of police work, embracing a social work approach and outlawing the use of the third degree (which was beating information out of a suspect/ detainee) and voiced his opposition to capital punishment. He was a true equal opportunist, because he employed one of the first African American police officer (1919) and gave women the chance to become part of the police force (1925). August Vollmer believed that police work should prevent crime, interact with the community and relate to them, not just solve crimes. Although, he only received a basic education, his modern thinking paired with his compassion for making police work better, compelled him to use psychology, to understand how criminals think. Every day he visited convicts in…show more content… (2010). Legendary Lawman August Vollmer. Retrieved from Officer.com: https://www.officer.com/home/article/10232661/legendary-lawman-august-vollmer
Dinkelspiel, F. (2010). Remembering August Vollmer, the Berkeley police chief who created modern policing. Retrieved from Berkeleyside.com: http://www.berkeleyside.com/2010/01/27/remembering-august-vollmer-the-berkeley-police-chief-who-created-modern-policing/
Kuzmarov, J. (2018). What August Vollmer, the Father of American Law Enforcement, Has to Teach Us. Retrieved from Huffingtonpost.com: