Police Roles and Functions
Police Department Roles and Function
In this paper the principal roles and functions of police organizations and their roles as it applies to the law will be identified. Secondly, the description of various types of police agencies at the local, state, federal level, and the roles and functions of each will be discussed. In addition, the role and function of patrol will be explained. The principal roles and function of police organizations
The principal role of police organizations can be narrowed down to different services that they provide. Protecting and serving the local community and their civil rights, traffic control, to uphold and enforce the law, and to encourage respecting the law. As we identify the function of the police organization we can say that each organization function helps to prevent crime and keep communities safe. The municipal police deals with serious crimes in big and small cities and asked to provide a wide variety of emergency services.
Description of various types of police agencies at the Local, State and Federal Levels As previously discussed, there are three levels of law enforcement agencies being covered, Local, State and Federal. The Local level is made of three organization Municipal Police, County Police, County Sheriff, County Coroner/Medical Examiner and some states still use Constables today. Let’s briefly review each one. Municipal police play a more complex role than any other law enforcement agency due to serving in our cities. Big and small cities represent the most complex environments when it comes to diversity.
With that being said, city police carry the heaviest responsibility for dealing with serious crime, which is not concentrated evenly. They are also responsible for difficult order maintenance problems as well as asked and expected to provide a wide range of emergency services (Walker & Katz 2011). A County Police officer is essentially a municipal police officer that operates on a county-wide basis but do not have non-law enforcement roles of the county sheriff. There focus is on patrolling and criminal investigations.
On the other hand, County Sheriff has a unique role as they serve all three components to the criminal justice system: law enforcement, courts and corrections (Walker & Katz 2011). Under these components they patrol, investigate crimes, process and serve subpoenas, provide security in courtrooms and last but not lease maintain county jails. The County Coroner also called the Medical Examiner falls under the law enforcement because they investigate death scenes, conduct autopsies and determine cause of violent and unexpected deaths (Walker & Katz2011).
Constables were still used, are usually found in a County court system where they are responsible for serving warrants and subpoenas, transporting prisoners, and providing security for district judges. They also work with county commissioners to post delinquent tax notices and assist attorneys in serving divorce papers (Walker & Katz 2011). State police and Highway patrol fall under the State Level. They both provide a variety of law enforcement services. In terms of patrol, state police have concurrent or shared responsibility with local police agencies.
In about half of the states, the state police or highway patrol agency has the primary responsibility for enforcing traffic laws on the main highways (Walker & Katz2011). State police manage traffic and emergency incidents and minimize exposure of the public to unsafe conditions resulting from emergency incidents and highway impediments. Furthermore state police prevent loss of life, injuries, property damage, and protect public and state assets (CHP 2012). The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is one of several law enforcement organizations under the federal umbrella.
The DEA is to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States (DEA 2012), and primarily dedicated to reducing the supply of illegal drugs to residents in the United States (Walker & Katz 2011). One of the missions and responsibilities of the DEA is the management of national drug intelligence program that aids with federal, state, local, and foreign officials to collect various intelligence drug information (DEA 2012). The role and function of patrol With law enforcement officer the role and function of patrol can take on many descriptions.
At times while on patrol an officer can be called upon to be a service provider, a crime fighter or a social worker. Secondly, traffic flow and collision reduction can be one of the many functions that allow an officer to take up different roles while on duty (Heath & Karen, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are the key to protecting our country. From the municipal police officer who is responding to a 911 call or a federal agent making a major illegal drug bust, each duty is very different but essential to enforcing our laws.
Without law enforcement agencies in the United States and throughout the world, there’d be no one to “protect and serve” leading to total chaos.
Reference
- Walker, S. , & Katz, C. M. (2011). The Police in America. An introduction (7th ed. ). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix Collection database. CHP (2012)
- The California Highway Patrol, Retrieved from http://www. chp. ca. gov/html/mission. html Drug Enforcement Administration (2012) About Us, Our Mission Retrieved from http://www. justice. gov/dea/ HG Global Legal Resources (1999-2012)
- Control Substances Law Retrieved from http://www. hg. org/control. html
