Slave Patrols & American Policing

n the South, fear of slave revolts leads to the enactment of laws providing for the surveillance of all blacks. The "slave patrols" of the 1740s are considered by some scholars to be the beginning of American policing. These patrols are free to capture and punish runaway slaves in any way they see fit. They have few restrictions and, among many other invasive actions, are allowed to break into private houses. Any slave who interferes with them or resists arrest can be whipped. The patrols enforce the southern codes — such as laws restricting movement or forbidding gun ownership — that control all of black life and behavior.

Invoice for Hanging a Slave, July 8th, 1752 Courtesy Municipal Archives, Department of Records and Information Services, City of New York