The agenda of the police professionalism movement was their desire to define policing as a profession. Since the police were often corrupt, inefficient, and manipulated by politicians, police officers wanted to change such an attitude and become more independent from any external sources. They tried to hire highly skilled professionals and improve the policing standards. However, police professionalism created new problems and challenges for the police. Thus, they had to reconsider their management principles and adjust them according to modern standards.
Moreover, police officers had to upgrade their occupation, creating new specialized departments for juveniles, vice, and traffic. They had to acquire new skills and competencies through education and training, which had to change too. Finally, the professionalization of the police enhanced racial discrimination because those people of color who were hired as police officers before this movement were given lesser power than their White colleagues. Such racial discrimination and injustice caused riots and protests, which led to further changes in the police reforms and policies.