Includes bibliographical references and index.

Legal and societal limits to police power in early America (1600's -- 1800's) -- Fourth Amendment -- Fifth Amendment -- Sixth Amendment -- Sir Robert Peel and principles of modern policing -- Bow Street runners -- Southern slave patrols -- Colonial night watches -- Pinkerton Detective Agency and private policing -- Law enforcement in the wild west -- International Association of Chiefs of Police -- Crime control versus due process -- Technological advances and the rise of organized crime (1900 -- 1950) -- Charles Becker (1870 -- 1915) -- Gangsters of the 1900's -- Secret Service -- Teddy Roosevelt's fight against police corruption -- ACLU -- J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972), director of the FBI -- Wickersham Report on soaring crime during Prohibition -- Brown v. Mississippi -- National Firearms Act -- Police misconduct during the L.A. Zoot Suit Riots -- Uniform crime reports -- Wiretapping -- Law enforcement in the era of political and social upheaval (1950 -- 1975) -- Miranda v. Arizona -- Mapp V. Ohio -- Terry v. Ohio -- Kerner Commission Report on race riots and police response -- Chicago police during the 1968 Democratic National Convention -- Increase in violent crime rate and risk to law enforcement -- Control theory -- Knapp Commission -- Frank Serpico (1936 -- ) -- Summerdale Scandal -- Church Committee Investigation of FBI Surveillance -- Police authority to detain -- Corruption -- RICO Act -- A new mandate for exercising police power (1975 -- 2000) -- Wilson and Kelling's Broken Windows Theory -- Fleeing felon legislation -- Rodney King beating and riots -- "Law and Order" as a popular political slogan -- Will Bratton (1947- ), police commissioner -- Ruby Ridge and the Waco Siege -- Zero tolerance policy -- "Thin Blue Line": Police as a guard against anarchy -- Impact of the war on drugs -- Christopher Commission -- Abner Louima Case -- Amadou Diallo Case -- Intensive debate about the "American police state" (2000 -- present) -- Deadly force -- Police Accountability -- Police brutality -- Police mistreatment in cases of civil disobedience -- Timothy Thomas's death -- Militarization of public and campus police departments -- Civil asset forfeiture as source of department funding -- Deaths in the line of duty -- Sean Bell shooting -- PTSD and family issues among officers -- Trayvon Martin shooting -- Michael Brown shooting and the aftermath in Ferguson -- Eric Garner case in New York City and subsequent tensions -- Variations in law enforcement attitudes about gun control laws -- Understanding probable cause -- Boardwalk Empire -- Dashcam videos -- Body cameras -- Community policing today -- Ezell Ford shooting -- Tamir Rice shooting in Cleveland -- Freddie Gray case -- Walter Scott shooting -- Sandra Bland death in Texas -- Use of tasers -- Police ethics -- Racial profiling -- Recidivism -- Constitutional mandates -- Crime prevention techniques -- Perceptions of police today.

"Providing a timely and much-needed investigation of how U.S. law enforcement carries out its public safety and crime fighting mandates, this book is an invaluable resource for students, educators, and concerned citizens. Provides a single-volume, go-to source for insight into police-citizen relations in the United States, from the 17th century through to today. Documents major turning points and historical events influencing the evolution of police power. Provides both supportive and critical perspectives on contemporary trends in law enforcement activities, attitudes, and practices. Enables a fuller comprehension of law enforcement in an era of significant political and social upheaval, much of which is tied to racial, ethnic, or economic factors." --Amazon.