Continued from previous page door to mismanagement , ineffective policing , and potential chaos .
The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | April 2018
Take for example the rampant corruption in police departments during the days of Prohibition . Remember Eliot Ness and " The Untouchables "? Booze was illegal but many a cop was paid well to allow the criminal enterprises to prosper . Payoffs were common , and the higher the rank the fatter the envelope .
How about the days where the Mayor directed the selective enforcement of the law only for obedience , compliance , and submission to his will . Police officers were ordered to conduct raids , issue traffic citations , make arrests that were sometimes illegal , and target certain members of the community as examples to others . These same police officers who had sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution were trampling on it every day .
Yes , I am talking about the days of the 1920 ' s through the 1950 ' s when undue political interference was the norm throughout much of society . The Civil Rights Act of 1964 seemed to begin the long road to change that was sorely missing , but it was not easy . The " good ole boy " mentality , even though widely accepted by those it benefited , continued an us vs . them mentality that was defined by variables like skin color , gender , social status , nationality ; but in reality fostered the haves vs . the have nots throughout America .
New laws were enacted like the Hatch Act of 1939 that defined the limits of political related behavior for federal public employees to their personal right to vote and contribute to specific campaign ( s ), but prohibiting active participation in support of a candidate or party . Also , the Position Classification Act of 1923 required groupings of job descriptions based on knowledge , skills , and abilities necessary to effectively perform the responsibilities of the job .
It was during this era when it was commonplace for the Mayor ' s next door neighbor ' s brother-in-law to be hired by the Police Chief strictly because the Mayor could garner numerous votes in the process . There was no requirement for public employees to compete with other candidates in an open and fair process striving for the most qualified person to be hired .
Prior to the enactment of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 , the federal government ' s employment guide was the Pendleton Act that was in place for a century . However , the individual states did not follow the federal lead right away even back in the days of the Pendleton Act . It was not until the 1980 ' s when certain federal funding to states was tied to compliance to the federal standard that led to state participation in the much needed reform .
Now , mandated procedures were enacted by legislation geared to open , fair , and competitive testing aimed at finding and hiring the most qualified applicants . This was culture shock to many who had been hired and promoted under the Spoils System that was based more on who you knew that what you knew . Rookie police officers hired in the 1980 ' s had the ability to excel based on their performance , integrity , dedication , courage , education , training , and experience instead of blind , reckless loyalty to the party in power at the time .
During the 1970 ' s , Collective Bargaining emerged which allowed public employees the right to negotiate a fair contract while ensuring that certain rules of conduct were followed . Now , police officers could be guaranteed job protection , better salaries and benefits , and pension plans . In return police officers were prohibited from striking , for example . Police Unions were recognized as bodies to protect individual officers from unfair treatment by the administration and the government .
Professional police officers at all ranks began to emerge and being a police officer became a career to strive for . Young professional patrol officers became professional detectives , professional sergeants , professional lieutenants , professional captains , and eventually professional chiefs .
However , on the flip side , one major drawback developed as the unions gained strength and influence in the relationships between the police and the government . Other than there being an organized ability for collective bargaining leading to contracts , it seemed that the unions functioned more in protection of police officers who caused sometimes serious problems for both the Chief and the governing body to the degree that one would question how that officer could have ever been hired and should the officer be fired . These officers were ones who felt the sense of entitlement ( political patronage hire ?) who never responded to training , coaching , counseling , mentoring , or a system of progressive discipline all designed to provide corrective measures . These are also the officers who were guilty of mistakes of the heart ( intentionality ) and not mistakes of the head ( mistakes that usually showed an area needing improvement ).
Please do not misread my thought on the police unions because I believe very much in their value of protecting the interest of policing while keeping elected officials accountable ; but I believe one of the unintended consequences of unions across the board is that the bad apples benefited more than they should have , and at the expense of the good officers , the governing body , and the community .
Back in the days before basic academy training was mandated by law , the mayor handed the newly sworn in officer ( who he had sometimes single-handedly hired with some politically motivated purpose ) a badge , a gun , a whistle , and a call box key and he was sent out the door with the encouraging words to not let the mayor down . This meant that these officers had to be tough on
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