Kristian Williams - Our Enemies in Blue - Police and Power in America

[Olnly the state (through the agency of the courts, councils, and militia)could force whites to act in concerted fashion to protect their ownself-interest. And some state legislatures, like South Carolina's, simplyrefused to reform patrol practices in order to coerce more public servicefrom their constituents.88Progress, here, came not as the result of continual efforts at critiqueand improvement, but in a rush during times of crisis, typically followingreal or rumored revolts. Aside from minor alterations in 1737 and 1740,the patrol system established in 1704 survived, virtually unaltered, until1819. The 1737 and 1740 acts limited the personnel of the patrols, first tolandowners of 50 acres or more, and then to slaveowners and overseers.89But in 1819, the state legislature-spurred by two separate slave revoltsshortly before-again made all "free white males" aged 18 to 45 liable forpatrol duty, without compensation. Substitutes could be sent, for a fee, anddiscipline came in the form of fines.YO After this revision, the structure andactivities of the patrols remained relatively unchanged until the Civil War.lWhile "[the patrol system in] South Carolina seems to have been the oldest,most elaborate, and best documented," other colonies followed suit.91 Georgia,Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi all had similar arrangements, with variations.In Georgia, slave patrols were also responsible for disciplining disorderlyWhite people, especially vagrants.93 In Tennessee, the law required slaveownersto provide patrols on the plantations themselves, in addition to those that rodebetween plantations. In Kentucky, after a series of revolts, some cities establishedround-the-clock patrols. And in Mississippi, the first patrols were federaltroops; these were gradually replaced by the militia, and then by groups appointedby county boards.94Until 1660, Virginia relied more on indentured European servants than onMrican slaves, though both groups sought to escape their bonds. Initially,the colonists used the hue and cry to mobilize the community and recapturerunaways. In 1669, the colonial legislature began offering a reward(paid in tobacco) to anyone who returned a runaway. And in 1680, as theslave population grew, slaves were required to carry passes, as debtors andNative Americans already had been. Slaves were singled out for specialenforcement measures beginning in 1691, when the legislature requiredsheriffs to raise posses for their recapture. In 1727, this responsibility wastransferred to the militia, creating the colony's first slave patrol. At first themilitia only patrolled as needed, but after a failed rebellion in 1730, it beganregular patrols two or three times each week. In 1754, county courts beganpaying patrollers and requiring reports from their captains. After that point,Virginia's patrols remained essentially the same until the Civil War.95North Carolina's system developed along similar lines, driven by the sameconcerns. The colony required passes for slaves, debtors, and Native Americansbeginning in 1669. In 1753, patrols were instituted. Called "searchers," the patrolswere initially responsible for searching the slaves' homes, but couldn't stop thembetween plantations. This function reflected the motives behind their creation: thelawmakers were more afraid of revolts than escapes. In 1779, paid patrols wereestablished, with expanded powers for searching the homes of White people and39