LEA-6

COMPARATIVE POLICE
SYSTEM

POLICING SYSTEM IN THE

UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA
 Law enforcement in the United States is one of three major components of
the criminal justice system of the United States, along with courts and 
corrections. Although each component operates semi-independently, the
three collectively form a chain leading from an investigation of suspected
criminal activity to the administration of criminal punishment.
 Law enforcement operates primarily through governmental police agencies.
There are 17,985 U.S. police agencies in the United States which include
County Sheriff, City and State Police Departments, and Federal Law
Enforcement Agencies. The law-enforcement purposes of these agencies are
the investigation of suspected criminal activity, referral of the results of
investigations to the courts, and the temporary detention of suspected
criminals pending judicial action. Law enforcement agencies, to varying
degrees at different levels of government and in different agencies, are also
commonly charged with the responsibilities of deterring criminal activity and
preventing the successful commission of crimes in progress. Other duties
may include the service and enforcement of warrants, writs, and other orders
of the courts.
 Law enforcement agencies are also involved in providing first response to
emergencies and other threats to public safety; the protection of certain
public facilities and infrastructure; the maintenance of public order; the
protection of public officials; and the operation of some correctional facilities
(usually at the local level).
 Types of police

FEDERAL
At the federal level, there exists both federal police, who possess full
federal authority as given to them under United States Code (U.S.C.),
and federal law enforcement agencies, who are authorized to enforce
various laws at the federal level. Both police and law enforcement
agencies operate at the highest level and are endowed with police
roles; each may maintain a small component of the other (for
example, the FBI Police). The agencies have nationwide jurisdiction
for enforcement of federal law. Most federal agencies are limited by
the U.S. Code to investigating only matters that are explicitly within
the power of the federal government. However, federal investigative
powers have become very broad in practice, especially since the
passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. There are also federal law
enforcement agencies, such as the United States Park Police , that
are granted state arrest authority off primary federal jurisdiction.
 FEDERAL
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is responsible for most law
enforcement duties at the federal level. It includes the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the 
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the 
United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
and others.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is another branch with
numerous federal law enforcement agencies reporting to it. 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 
United States Secret Service (USSS), United States Coast Guard
 (USCG), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are
some of the agencies that report to DHS. The United States Coast
Guard is assigned to the United States Department of Defense in the
event of war.
 FEDERAL
At a crime or disaster scene affecting large numbers of people, multiple
jurisdictions, or broad geographic areas, many police agencies may be
involved by mutual aid agreements.[5] For example, the 
United States Federal Protective Service responded to the 
Hurricane Katrina natural disaster. The command in such situations
remains a complex and flexible issue.
In accordance with the federal structure of the United States government,
the national (federal) government is not authorized to execute general
police powers by the Constitution of the United States of America. The
power to have a police force is given to each of the United States' 50 
federated states. The US Constitution gives the federal government the
power to deal with foreign affairs and interstate affairs (affairs between the
states). For police, this means that if a non-federal crime is committed in a
US state and the fugitive does not flee the state, the federal government
has no jurisdiction. However, once the fugitive crosses a state line he
violates the federal law of interstate flight and is subject to federal
jurisdiction, at which time federal law enforcement agencies may become
involved.
 STATE

Most states operate statewide government agencies that

provide law enforcement duties, including investigations and
state patrols. They may be called state police or 
highway patrol, and are normally part of the state 
Department of Public Safety. In addition, the Attorney General
's office of each state has its own 
state bureau of investigation such as in California with the 
California Department of Justice. In Texas, the 
Texas Ranger Division fulfill this role though they have their
history in the period before Texas became a state.
Various departments of state governments may have their own
enforcement divisions, such as capitol police, campus police, 
state hospitals, Departments of Correction, water police,
environmental (fish and game/wildlife) game wardens or
conservation officers (who have full police powers and
statewide jurisdiction). In Colorado, for instance, the
Department of Revenue has its own investigative branch, as
 COUNTY

Also known as parishes and boroughs, county law enforcement is

provided by sheriffs' departments or offices and county police.
County police tend to exist only in metropolitan counties and have
countywide jurisdiction. For places that have both county police
and county sheriff, responsibilities are given to each. The county
police are in charge of typical police duties such as patrol and
investigations. Whereas the sheriffs' department in this situation
takes care of serving papers and providing security to the courts.
County police tend to fall into three broad categories, full service,
limited service, and restrictive service. Full service provides full
police services to the entire county. Limited service provides to
the unincorporated and special districts. Restricted service
provide security to the county-owned parts of the county.
 MUNICIPAL

Municipal police range from one-officer agencies (sometimes still called the

town marshal) to the 40,000 person-strong 
New York City Police Department. Most municipal agencies take the form
(Municipality Name) Police Department. Most municipalities have their own
police departments.
Metropolitan departments, such as the 
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, have jurisdiction covering
multiple communities and municipalities, often over a wide area typically
share geographical boundaries within one or more cities or counties.
Metropolitan departments have usually been formed by a merger between
local agencies, typically several local police departments and often the
local sheriff's department or office, in efforts to provide greater efficiency
by centralizing command and resources and to resolve jurisdictional
problems, often in communities experiencing rapid population growth and 
urban sprawl, or in neighboring communities too small to afford individual
police departments. Some county sheriff's departments, such as the 
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, are contracted to provide full
police services to local cities within their counties.
 Police functions
 Order maintenance. This is the broad mandate to keep the peace or otherwise
prevent behaviors which might disturb others. This can deal with things ranging
from a barking dog to a fist-fight. By way of description, Cole and Smith note
that police are usually called-on to "handle" these situations with discretion,
rather than deal with them as strict violations of law, though of course their
authority to deal with these situations are based in violations of law.
 Law enforcement. Those powers are typically used only in cases where the law

has been violated and a suspect must be identified and apprehended. Most
obvious instances include robbery, murder, or burglary. This is the popular
notion of the main police function, but the frequency of such activity is
dependent on geography and season.
 Service. Services may include rendering first aid, providing tourist information,

guiding the disoriented, or acting as educators (on topics such as preventing 

drug use). Cole and Smith cited one study which showed 80% of all calls for
police assistance did not involve crimes, but this may not be the case in all parts
of the country. Because police agencies are traditionally available year-round,
24 hours a day, citizens call upon police departments not only in times of trouble
but also when just inconvenienced. As a result, police services may include
roadside auto assistance, providing referrals to other agencies, finding lost pets
or property, or checking locks on vacationers' homes.
 Styles of policing
 Watchman. Emphasizes maintaining order, usually found in communities with a
declining industrial base, and a blue-collar, mixed ethnic/racial population. This
form of policing is implicitly less pro-active than other styles, and certain
offenses may be "overlooked" on a variety of social, legal, and cultural grounds,
as long as the public order is maintained. Cole and Smith comment the broad
discretion exercised in this style of policing can result in charges of
discrimination when it appears police treatment of different groups results in the
perception that some groups get better treatment than others;
 Legalistic. Emphasizes law enforcement and professionalism. This is usually

found in reform-minded cities, with mixed socioeconomic composition. Officers

are expected to generate a large number of arrests and citations and act as if
there were a single community standard for conduct, rather than different
standards for different groups. However, the fact that certain groups are more
likely to have law enforcement contact means this strict enforcement of laws
may seem overly harsh on certain groups;
 Service. Emphasizes the service functions of police work, usually found in

suburban, middle-class communities where residents demand individual

treatment. Police in homogeneous communities can view their work as protecting
their citizens against "outsiders", with frequent but often-informal interventions
against community members. The uniform make-up of the community means
crimes are usually more obvious, and therefore less frequent, leaving police free
to deal with service functions and traffic control.
 History

Early policing in American history was based

on the ancient English common law system
which relied heavily on citizen volunteers,
watch groups, and a conscription system
known as posse comitatus similar to the 
militia system, which continued until the mid-
Nineteenth century.

Hue and cry

 a loud outcry formerly used in the pursuit of
one who is suspected of a crime.
 COMPARISON

1.Number of Personnel.
2.Jurisdictions.
3.Equipments.
4. Different Procedures, Same
Goals.
THANK YOU.