The history of policing America : from militias and military to the law enforcement of today / Laurence Armand French.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Origins of U.S. Law Enforcement: Militias, Military, Marshals, and Sheriffs -- Introduction: Colonial Roots in Policing America -- Introduction to the Origins of American Jurisprudence -- Growing Pains-1783-1865: Insurrections, Rebellions, and Indian Removal -- Post-Civil War Unrest and Social Control during the Nineteenth Century Part II: Law and Order in the Americas and Beyond, 1898-1946 -- U.S. Colonial Expansionism in the Caribbean and Pacific -- Reinforcing WASP White Supremacy: Eugenics and Prohibition -- Post-World War II Challenges to Law Enforcement Part III: Civil Rights Aftermath: Increased Militarization and Racial Myths Enhancement -- The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act -- Role of Academia in Validating "Institutional Racism" -- The War on Drugs and Its Escalation -- Factors Contributing to the Militarization of the Police Part IV: Twenty-First-Century Concerns -- Understanding Group Dynamics, Biases, Prejudices, and Discrimination -- Assessing Law Enforcement Personnel -- Politics and Policing -- Recommendations for American Law Enforcement Postscript: An Ethno-Methodological Note.