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U.S. Capitol Police  

Definition

  • The U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) traces its history to John Golding, a watchman who was hired at an annual salary of $371.75 in 1801, a few months after the seat of government had moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. Golding had no specified legal authority or arrest powers other than a citizen's right to temporarily detain a suspect until assistance was provided by the marshal of the District of Columbia. In 1823, a detachment of U.S. Marines supplemented the watchman during reconstruction of the Capitol, which was completed in 1827, the year that President John Quincy Adams expanded the watch staff to four: James Knotts, J. A. French, Samuel Goldsmith, and Ignatius Wheatley. [Source: Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement; U.S. Capitol Police]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/U.S._Capitol_Police

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