The fourth era of policing: Homeland security

Abstract American policing has been said to have gone through three eras: the political, reform, and community; and consists of four different models of policing: traditional, community policing, problem-oriented and zero-tolerance. With the tragic events of 11 September 2001, and the government's movement toward enhanced domestic security, the author argues that we have entered a new era in American policing and are witnessing the adaptation of a new style of policing, namely Homeland Security. Drawing upon the works of Kelling and Moore (G L Kelling and M H Moore in Perspectives on Policing No 4, Washington DC, National Institute of Justice, 1988; G L Kelling and M H Moore, in J R Greene and S D Mastrofski (eds) Community Policing: Rhetoric or Reality? Praeger, 1991, pp 3–25) and Greene (J R Greene in Criminal Justice 2000: Policies, Processes, and Decisions of the Criminal Justice System Vol 3, 2000), the author advances their work to highlight what this new era and style of policing means for American policing.