Problem
August Vollmer penned the following words in the concluding chapter of his book, "The Police and Modern Society," published in 1936 (p. 236).
"...it is not strange that the police of America are finding their present duties a task incredibly difficult. The United States was founded by pioneers from many lands. They were men and women strong in conviction and impatient of restraint. They passionately desired freedom and they came to the "land of the free" determined to get freedom. The millions of their descendants, non-assimilated, non-homogeneous American citizens, are alike chiefly in their unwillingness to give obedience to law. To protect these citizens, some three hundred thousand peace officers are employed by the various units of government. Most of these officials are improperly selected and untrained for the complex requirements of their numerous duties, and all of them are greatly handicapped. They are equipped with weapons inferior to those possessed by the criminals. They operate under a highly decentralized plan of organization. There is virtually no coordination of the governmental units, and the group as a whole is particularly distinguished by the absence of competent and continuous leadership."
Vollmer, A. (1936/1971). The police and modern society. Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith. (Reprinted in 1971 by arrangement with University of California Press. Originally appeared as a Publication of the Bureau of Public Administration, University of California)
(There is a reference to August Vollmer.)
Address the following:
• Do the conditions August Vollmer voiced in his writing (paragraph above) 85+ years ago still exist in contemporary American society or...have they been resolved?
• Identify and briefly discuss three areas in which progress has been made or, on the other hand, progress has not yet been made in today's American criminal justice system.