ABSTRACT
Caesar Augustus formed the first police department, responsible for his protection, general police duties, intelligence gathering, and night security patrols. In the United States, volunteers initially performed most of the policing. Slave patrols helped Southern slaveholders recover and punish runaway slaves. An elected sheriff, assisted by volunteers, policed rural areas, as U.S. marshals (for example, Wyatt Earp) did in western towns. In New England, volunteers performed a night watch, often overseen by a paid police officer, called a constable. Boston established a night watch in 1631 with an officer and six men. By 1635, male property owners over age sixteen took turns preventing crimes and disturbances. By 1796, watchmen carried a badge, a rattle to alert citizens of problems, and a six-foot pole to nab lawbreakers. Men were often assigned to watchman duty as a punishment or in lieu of military service. Hence, many of them, less than vigilant, drank and slept on the job.
