Did American Police Originate from Slave Patrols? by Timothy Hsiao | NAS

Critics of American policing often make the claim that it is a direct descendant of antebellum slave patrols, the mostly voluntary groups organized to capture runaway slaves and stifle slave rebellions in the early eighteenth century. Consider just a few examples:

“The origins of modern-day policing can be traced back to the ‘Slave Patrol.’” — NAACP1
“Policing itself started out as slave patrols. We know that.”—Rep. James Clyburn.2
— Read on www.nas.org/academic-questions/36/3/did-american-police-originate-from-slave-patrols