Modern police[edit]

Main article:  Police

The first modern police force is commonly said to be the Metropolitan Police in London, established in
1829 by Sir Robert Peel.[19][20] Based on the Peelian principles, it promoted the preventive role of police as
a deterrent to urban crime and disorder.[21][22] In the United States, police departments were first
established in Boston in 1838, and New York City in 1844. Early on, police were not respected by the
community, as corruption was rampant.
In the 1920s, led by Berkeley, California police chief, August Vollmer and O.W. Wilson, police began to
professionalize, adopt new technologies, and place emphasis on training and professional qualifications
of new hires. Despite such reforms, police agencies were led by highly autocratic leaders, and there
remained a lack of respect between police and the community. Following urban unrest in the 1960s,
police placed more emphasis on community relations, enacted reforms such as increased diversity in
hiring, and many police agencies adopted community policing strategies.
In the 1990s, CompStat was developed by the New York Police Department as an information-based
system for tracking and mapping crime patterns and trends, and holding police accountable for dealing
with crime problems. CompStat has since been replicated in police departments across the United States
and around the world, with problem-oriented policing, intelligence-led policing, and other information-led
policing strategies also adopted.

History[edit]
Main article:  History of criminal justice

Prisoners at a whipping post in a Delaware prison, c. 1907

The modern criminal justice system has evolved since ancient times, with new forms of punishment,
added rights for offenders and victims, and policing reforms. These developments have reflected
changing customs, political ideals, and economic conditions. In ancient times through the Middle
Ages, exile was a common form of punishment. During the Middle Ages, payment to the victim (or the
victim's family), known as wergild, was another common punishment, including for violent crimes. For
those who could not afford to buy their way out of punishment, harsh penalties included various forms
of corporal punishment. These included mutilation, branding, and flogging, as well as execution.
Though a prison, Le Stinche, existed as early as the 14th century in Florence, Italy,[17] incarceration was
not widely used until the 19th century. Correctional reform in the United States was first initiated
by William Penn, towards the end of the 17th century. For a time, Pennsylvania's criminal code was
revised to forbid torture and other forms of cruel punishment, with jails and prisons replacing corporal
punishment. These reforms were reverted, upon Penn's death in 1718. Under pressure from a group
of Quakers, these reforms were revived in Pennsylvania toward the end of the 18th century, and led to a
marked drop in Pennsylvania's crime rate. Patrick Colquhoun, Henry Fielding and others led significant
reforms during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. [18]
The first official criminal justice system was created by the British during the American Revolution, as they
created the system to primarily justify hangings to the citizens of their government. In each selected area
or/and district there was a magistrate that in today's time would be known as a judge. These individuals
were in charge of determining if the Crown or also known as the British government had enough evidence
to hang an individual for a crime. The British would not always hang an individual for committing a crime,
there would also be trials for punishments that would be carried out by cleaning ships, prison ships, or be
locked up on British mainland. During the American revolution the primary type of punishment was to be
hanged or sent to prison ships such as the notorious HMS Jersey. After the American revolution the
British-based criminal justice system was then adopted by other developing nations (Such as the United