The police force in 19th century London sought to build a reputation for professionalism and proper conduct. He also traces the roots of what we’d call modern police forces, showing that they also failed to measure up to their principles early and often. Of course, the United States has violated this principle on multiple occasions. This one prohibits using a sort of standing army to police American citizens. From all this, Balko suggests an “unwritten Amendment” exists in the US Constitution. Because of this, the state should have very limited rights to intrude on it.
It also goes back to common law and the “castle doctrine” that a citizen’s home should be inviolable in most cases. The author ties this opposition to the 3rd Amendment, which bans quartering of soldiers. Americans in the Revolutionary War era opposed British forces forcibly stationing, or quartering, soldiers in citizens’ homes.
The modern notion of a citizen’s individual rights, protected by due process and set procedures, has its roots in the common law of this period. Here, Balko says early policing protected property more than it protected the state from dissent. When they did, people started to lose respect for politicians and scholars, and started gaining respect for soldiers. He notes that prior to the reign of Julius Caesar, soldiers were not permitted to enter Rome as a standing army. Based on what he sees emerging, we won’t enjoy where we’re headed.īalko reaches for policing’s original form and principles by heading all the way back to ancient Rome, at the end of the Republic. He’s asking us what kind of state we want for ourselves. Rise of the Warrior Cop drives home a message that a broad majority of Americans should find compelling. That he makes such a effective tear-down of policing’s seedy history and horrifying tactics should concern us. Constitution and in Enlightenment-era ideas of individual rights and liberties and due process of law. In fact, his words and his record of work suggest he’s a libertarian and serious about it. The author of Rise of the Warrior Cop doesn’t want to destroy policing.
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