Cops at War: How World War II Transformed U.S. Policing
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World War II transformed policing in the United States. Many police enlisted in the military during the war, and in turn many veterans joined police forces following the victories of 1945. As wartime labor shortages depleted their ranks, police chiefs turned to new initiatives to strengthen and professionalize their forces, redoubling those efforts as growing fears of crime and internal security threats outlasted the global conflict. This article investigates the rapid growth of the military police, how African Americans responded to changes in policing due to the war, and these wartime experiences’ lingering impacts. Based on research in obscure and difficult-to-find police professional literature, and closely examining New York City, it argues that the war's effects on policing did not amount to “militarization” as currently understood, but did inspire more standardized and nationally coordinated approaches to recruitment as well as military-style approaches to discipline, training, and tactical operations.
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World War II was a turning point in policing, creating a series of challenges including manpower shortages, new training and managerial regimes, and fears about crime and delinquency during the war.
“World War II was a turning point in policing, creating a series of chalenges including manpower shortages, new training and managerial regimes, and fears about crime and delinquency during the war (Schrader 2021;Brooks 2023).”
From To Protect and to Serve: Police, Power, and the Production of Inequality in the United States (2024) · cites this paper as Schrader 2021
World War II provided impetus for police organizations, such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, to solidify and promote standardization of policing across the country.
“World War II provided impetus for police organizations, such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, to solidify and promote standardization of policing across the country (Schrader 2021).”
From To Protect and to Serve: Police, Power, and the Production of Inequality in the United States (2024) · cites this paper as Schrader 2021
World War II facilitated expansion and standardization of policing that positioned departments to take advantage of professionalization initiatives in the postwar years.
“World War II facilitated expansion and standardization of policing that positioned departments to take advantage of professionalization initiatives in the postwar years.”
From To Protect and to Serve: Police, Power, and the Production of Inequality in the United States (2024) · cites this paper as Schrader 2021
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Cites
Thompson, H. A. (2010) · Journal of American History · doi:10.1093/jahist/97.3.703 · Cited by 204 · see citing works
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Research works printed but not linked: 19
- Jennifer Luff, "Covert and Overt Operations: Interwar Political Policing in the United States and the United Kingdom," American Historical Review 122, no. 3 (Jun. 2017): 727-57;
- J. Edgar Hoover, "Alien Enemy Control," Iowa Law Review 29, no. 3 (1944): 396-408, here 402. In South America, a secret FBI counterintelligence mission helped deport or expel 4,924 "aliens"; see "Cooperation Stressed in International Relations Report," FBILEB 15, no. 2 (Feb. 1946): 15-7.
- "Two Letters Which Speak for Themselves," S3100, July 1943, 4-5; "The Third War Loan Drive," S3100, Nov. 1943, 1. The funds for the fighters mostly came from outside the NYPD but were donated in its name ($4.575 million); individual members of the department offered $357,524.
- Scheiber and Scheiber, Bayonets in Paradise. Upon declaration of martial law, due to a shortage of MPs, civil- ian police in Maui became "ex-officio" military police, with the chief designated Acting Provost Marshal; George Larsen, Jr., "Maui Police and the War," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 33, no. 5 (1943): 410-5. 76 "Honolulu Police Featured in 'Leatherneck,'" 3.
- Beth Bailey and David Farber, "The 'Double-V' Campaign in World War II Hawaii: African Americans, Racial Ideology, and Federal Power," Journal of Social History 26, no. 4 (Summer 1993): 817-43. 78 Scheiber and Scheiber, Bayonets in Paradise, 22-9. 79 Horne, Fighting in Paradise, 11.
- Homer L. Calkin, "Military Police Replacements in World War II," Social Science 27, no. 1 (1952): 17-22;
- B. M. Bryan, "Crossed Pistols," The Military Engineer 39, no. 264 (1947): 371-4.
- Paschal C. Longaker, "Significance of the Provost Marshal General's Schools," PCNL, Oct. 1945, 8, 10. 84
- Bryan, "Crossed Pistols." 85 See Russell A. Snook, "American Police Enjoy Rare Privilege," PCNL, June 1946, 24, 26, 28; "Your Stake in World Affairs," The Police Chief, Nov. 1961, 16, 18; "World Peace Through Law Enforcement," The Police Chief, Aug. 1962, 14, 16, 18.
- Bryan, "Crossed Pistols"; J. V. Dillon, "Military Police Functions," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 33, no. 5 (1943): 372-80;
- David Brion Davis, "World War II and Memory," Journal of American History 77, no. 2 (1990): 580-7.
- Thomas M. Frost, "Selection Methods for Police Recruits," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 46, no. 1 (1955): 135-45. 105 Schweppe, Firemen's and Patrolmen's Unions, 200-1. 106
- Raymond A. Kimball, "The Civil Service Selection of Policemen in Denver, Colorado," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 37, no. 4 (1947): 333-45. 107 "Veteran's Claim to Police Job Upheld," PCNL, Mar. 1946, 4. 108 "War Veterans Are Exempt from Police Age Limits, Civil Service Says," PCNL, Oct. 1945, 3. 109 "Positions Wanted," PCNL, Sept. 1945 and Nov. 1946. 110 "Other Interesting Items and Figures," S3100, July 1946, 2. 111 "Serving With Uncle Sam," S3100, Jan. 1946, 3. 112 "Welcome to the Ranks!," S3100, Sept.-Oct. 1946, 5. 113
- Bernard Posner, "Police Training under the G. I. Bill," PCNL, Nov. 1946, 1, 6; "Police Education and Training," PCNL, Oct. 1946, 16; "Vets Train for Police Jobs," Police Chiefs News, Apr. 1948, n.p.; "'GI Bill' Benefits Approved for Vets Attending the FBI National Academy," FBILEB 16, no. 2 (Feb. 1947): 18;
- V. A. Leonard, "Current Notes," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 37, no. 1 (1946): 70. 127 "Vets Launch Security Services," Police Chiefs News, June 1947, 24. 128
- James M. Mitchell, "Current Trends in Public-Employee Training," Journal of Educational Sociology 14, no. 5 (1941): 292-7;
- Walter C. Reckless, "The Impact of War on Crime, Delinquency, and Prostitution," American Journal of Sociology 48, no. 3 (1942): 378-86. 134 These data covered the early years of the war. Harry Willbach, "Crime in New York City as Affected by the War," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 34, no. 6 (1944): 371-6. 142 "Previews Post-War Crime Wave," PCNL, Jan. 1945, 19-20. 143 "Crime-1945," FBILEB 15, no. 5 (May 1946): 16-8. 144 Hoover, "To All Law Enforcement Officials." 145 Harry Willbach, "Recent Crime and the Veterans," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 38, no. 5 (1948): 501-8. 146 See Michael Hakeem, "Service in the Armed Forces and Criminality," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 37, no. 2 (1946): 120-31. 147 "Beware of this Japanese Pistol," PCNL, Apr. 1946, 14. 148 Arthur Wallander, "How New York Has Met Problem of Dangerous 'Souvenir' Weapons," PCNL, Jan. 1946, 4. 149 "Firearms Registration Plan Succeeds," PCNL, Jan. 1946, 18. 150
- Walter J. Howe, "Problems of the Submachine Gun in Post-War Crime," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 35, no. 1 (1944-1945): 69-72. 151 For instance, see "Surplus Property for Police Use," FBLEB 15, no. 2 (Feb. 1946): 3; "Surplus Machine Guns Available," FBILEB 16, no. 2 (Feb. 1947): 21; and "Notice of Surplus Property," FBILEB 16, no. 9 (Sept. 1947): 19.
- Stuart Schrader is associate director of the Program in Racism, Immigration, and Citizenship and lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, US. He is the author of Badges Without Borders: How Global Counterinsurgency Transformed American Policing (University of California Press, 2019). Schrader has published articles in Humanity, Journal of Urban History, Public Culture, and numerous popular outlets, including Artforum, Boston Review, and The Washington Post. 152 "Police Departments Receive Large Percentage of Supplies," FBILEB, 15, no. 9 (Sept. 1946): 8;
Cited by
Sorted by citations
To Protect and to Serve: Police, Power, and the Production of Inequality in the United States
Felker-Kantor, M. (2024) · Crime and Justice · doi:10.1086/732194 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
- Authors
- Schrader, S.
- Corresponding author
- Schrader, Stuart
- ORCID
- Schrader, Stuart
- Venue
- Modern American History
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2021-06-28
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 159-179
- ISSN
- 2397-1851 (ISSN-L)
- 2515-0456
- OpenAlex
- W3176474284
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 21.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2021-06-28)
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Modern American History (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Race, History, and American Society
- Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Military history and social perspectives
- Keywords
- World War II, policing, military police, police professionalization, African American police officers, police recruitment, police discipline, police training, police militarization, labor shortage, New York City Police Department
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