“Police Are Raw Materials”: Training Bodies in the World War I Era

The growing distrust of immigrant officers during the height of the “White Slavery” panic, and the xenophobic patriotism around World War I coincided with a new training regime that tried to turn out white Anglo police capable of patrolling any neighborhood. In order to “build” the standardized police officer, the department attempted teach officers to perform every aspect of their job, from walking and chewing properly to compelling enrollment in legal and forensic science classes. Officer training and innovation became synonymous with preparedness and the World War I—adjacent militarization of the NYPD.