CJ
Chapter 5
Law
Enforcement
Today
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Outcomes
LO1: List the four basic responsibilities of the
police.
LO2: List five main types of law enforcement
agencies.
LO3: Indicate some of the most important law
enforcement agencies under the control of
the Department of Homeland Security.
LO4: Analyze the importance of private secutiry
today.
LO5: Indicate why patrol officers are allowed
discretionary powers.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
LO 1
List the four basic
responsibilities of the police.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 1
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•
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The basic responsibilities of police
include:
To enforce laws
To provide services
To prevent crime
To preserve the peace
© 2011 Cengage Learning
LO 2
List five main types of law
enforcement agencies.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 2
There are more than 17,500 law enforcement
agencies in the US, employing more than 1
million people.
• 12,766 local police departments
• 3,067 sheriff’s departments
• 1,481 special police agencies
• 49 state police departments
• 70 federal agencies
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 2
Municipal Law Enforcement:
• Most police officers work in small and
medium-sized police departments.
• Municipal police agencies have the
broadest authority to apprehend criminal
suspects, maintain order, and provide
services to the community.
• Local offices are responsible for a wide
spectrum of duties.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 2
Sheriffs and County Law Enforcement:
– Elected by community for two- or fouryear terms.
– Responsible for:
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Investigating violent crime
Investigating drug offenses
Maintaining the county jail
Serving evictions and court summonses
Keeping order in the courthouse
Collecting taxes
Enforcing orders of the court, such as
sequestration of a jury
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 2
The County Coroner
– Investigates “all sudden, unexplained,
unnatural, or suspicious deaths.”
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 2
State Police and Highway Patrols:
– Historically, state police agencies were
created for four reasons:
• To assist local police agencies
• To investigate criminal activities that
crossed jurisdictional boundaries
• To provide law enforcement in rural and
other areas that did not have local or
county police agencies
• To break strikes and control labor
movements
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 2
State Police:
Highway Patrols:
–
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• 26 agencies
• Patrol state and federal
highways
• Jurisdiction limited to
traffic laws and
investigation of traffic
accidents
–
23 agencies
Statewide
jurisdiction
Wide variety of law
enforcement tasks
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 2
Federal law enforcement agencies:
– Small percentage of Nation’s law enforcement
force in numbers, but have substantial influence
– Authorized to enforce specific laws or attend to
specific situations
– The most far-reaching reorganization of the
federal government since World War II took
place in 2002 and 2003, with the creation of the
Department of Homeland Security
© 2011 Cengage Learning
LO 3
Indicate some of the most
important law enforcement
agencies under the control of
the Department of Homeland
Security.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Outcome 3
Department of Homeland Security
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection
– Polices the flow of goods and people across
U.S. borders.
• U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement
– Investigates and enforces immigration and
customs laws.
• U.S. Secret Service
– Combats counterfeiting and protects political
figures.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Outcome 3
Department of Justice
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
– One of the primary investigative federal
agencies.
– Has jurisdiction over nearly 200 federal
crimes.
• Drug Enforcement Agency
– Enforces domestic drug laws and
regulations.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
CAREERPREP
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Agent
Job Descript ion:
• Primary role is to oversee intelligence and investigate federal crimes. Agents
might track the movement of stolen goods across state lines, examine
accounting and business records, listen to legal wiretaps, and conduct
undercover investigations.
• Special agent careers are divided into five paths: intelligence,
counterintelligence, counterterrorism, criminal, and cyber crime.
What Kind of Training Is Required ?
• A bachelor’s and/or master’s degree, plus three years of work experience,
along with a written and oral examination, medical and physical examinations,
a psychological assessment, and an exhaustive background investigation.
• Critical skills required in one or more of the following areas: accounting,
finance, computer science/information technology, engineering, foreign
language(s), law, law enforcement, intelligence, military, and/or physical
sciences.
Annual Salary Range?
$61,100–$69,900
For additional information, visit: www.fbijobs.gov.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Outcome 3
Department of Justice
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearmsn,
and Explosives
– Primarily concerned with the illegal sale,
possession, and use of firearms, and control
of untaxed tobacco and liquor.
• U.S. Marshals Service
– Provide security at courts, transport federal
prisoners, and capture fugitives.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
CAREERPREP
U.S. Marshal
Job Descript ion:
• Provide security at federal courts, control property that has been ordered
seized by federal courts, and protect government witnesses who put
themselves in danger by testifying against the targets of federal criminal
investigations.
• Transport federal prisoners to detention institutions and hunt and capture
fugitives from federal law.
What Kind of Training Is Required ?
• A bachelor’s degree or three years of qualifying experience, which
includes work in law enforcement, correctional supervision, and volunteer
teaching or counseling.
• A rigorous seventeen-and-a-half-week basic training program at the U.S
Marshals Service Training Academy in Glynco, Georgia.
Annual Salary Range?
$37,000–$47,000
For additional information, visit: www.usmarshals.gov/careers/index.html.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
LO 4
Analyze the importance of
private security today.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Outcome 4
• Over $100 billion spent each year
• Over 10,000 U.S. private security firms
• 1.1 million people employed in security
each year
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Outcome 4
Private Security
• Citizen’s Arrest
– Any private citizen can perform a
citizen’s arrest in certain circumstances.
• Deterrence
– Private security is intended to deter
crime, not prevent it.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Outcome 4
Trends in Private Security
• Lack of standards
• Quality of employees
• Continued growth driven by:
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Increased public fear
Workplace crime
Police force reductions
Rising awareness of cost-effectiveness of
private security
© 2011 Cengage Learning
© 2011 Cengage Learning
LO 5
Indicate why patrol officers
are allowed discretionary
powers.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 5
Patrol Officers have the greatest amount of
discretionary power within the police
agency.
The courts have determined that patrol
officers are in a unique position to be
allowed discretion:
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 5
• Police offices are considered trustworthy
and are therefore assumed to make honest
decisions, regardless of contradictory
testimony.
• Experience and training give offices the
ability to determine whether certain
activities pose a threat to society, and to
take reasonable action necessary to
investigate or prevent such activity.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 5
• Due to the nature of their jobs, police
officers are extremely knowledgeable in
human, and by extension, criminal
behavior.
• Police officers may find themselves in
danger of personal or physical harm and
must be allowed to take reasonable and
necessary steps to protect themselves.
© 2011 Cengage Learning
Learning Objective 5
Three factors of police discretion:
1. The nature of the criminal act.
2. Attitude of the wrongdoer.
3.
Departmental policy.
© 2011 Cengage Learning