Policing dates back thousands of years to even before the Roman times. The origins of American policing are closely related the Anglo-Saxon model which gave a more communal responsibility. The four Eras’ of American policing that will be focused on are The Political, Professional, Community Policing, and Homeland Security. The Political era lasted from 1830-1900. This era can be characterized as political in nature and the police are controlled by elected officials. The police during this era were very uneducated in the ways of the laws and were usually hired in based on the patronage system. This meaning that they were friends or family members while eliminating non supporters (Bailey, 2011). During this era the police were not respected and very poorly paid. They had no job security so the police often used their position to supplement their wages. To help ensure job security they would pay workers to vote for their boss. The Political era of policing was corrupt and the police were not liked by criminals or the community. The Professional era started in the early 20th century. This era was also known as the era of governmental reform (Bailey, 2011). The underlying goal of this progressive movement was to eliminate corruption within the police. One of the key individuals of this reform was August Vollmer, Chief of police in Berkeley, California. He proposed to using more modern technologies and structural changes like a centralized command to control corruption (Bailey, 2011). Vollmer also improved the quality of officers hired by creating education and training standards. Five key elements this era included were: 1. Defining police as a profession, 2. Eliminating political influences and corruption, 3. Increasing the personnel standards for police, 4. Applying modern management and administrative principles in the delivery of police services, 5. Creating