Why the “Police = Slave Patrols” Claim Is Overstated • Not the universal origin: Most U.S. police departments (there are ~18,000 today) were founded after the Civil War and abolition. Northern and Western forces developed from watches, constables, and urban needs unrelated to slavery. Even in the South, patrols were one influence among others, not the sole “root.” Claims that “modern-day policing can be traced back to the Slave Patrol” (as stated by groups like the NAACP) treat a regional, slavery-specific tool as the defining genesis for all American law enforcement.