Intro to policing unit 4

Law enforcement officer

An employee of A law enforcement agency or section who is authorized to carry out law enforcement duties and responsibilities

Entities include

Sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, chiefs, and city and county police officers, and law enforcement officers of port and transit authoritie

Sworn officers

Authorized to make arrests within the confines of their authority while enforcing local, state, and federal rules and regulations 

Police population ratio

• Usually the number officers to 1,000 community residents 

• Nationally-Average number of law enforcement officers per thousand citizens is 2.1

Local police departments are comprised of

Municipal, county police, and county sheriff agencies 

Municipal police

• represent 71 percent of all law enforcement agencies, handle serious crime, and provide emergency services

• Municipal police are primarily city police.

  • Most complex to operate? 

County Police

• Police force that operate on a county wide basis and constitute less than one percent

• Main tasks:

  • Investigate crimes 

  • Patrols

  • Arrests

  • Prevention 

  • ETC.

Sheriffs

• Elected 

• Serve the courts, enforcement and corrections components of criminal system. ]

• Duties are outlined in state constitution

State Police

• States have highway patrol, state police, and investigative services 

  • Share responsibility with local police

  • State laws vary regarding responsibility for criminal investigation

Highway Patrol

Enforce traffic laws on main highways

Mutual aid system

This mutual aid system is an agreement between two or more agencies enabling them to utilize each other’s resources in case of an emergency or other necessary situations

Ex: FEMA

Department of Homeland Security

• Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

  • ***one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the world with over 60,000 employees***

• Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

• Transportation Security Administration (TSA) 

• U.S. Coast Guard (U.S.C.G.) 

• U.S. Secret Service (U.S. S.S.S.) (Walker & Katz, 2018)

Department of Justice agencies

• Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

• Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)

• U.S. Marshals Service (Walker & Katz, 2018)

Additional Policing Forces

• Park rangers

• *Transit police*

  • Airports 

  • Ports 

  • railroads

• College/ university police 

• Native American tribal police

• *Private security firms and personnel*

Rank and Structure

1. Officer

2. Corporal

3. Detective 

4. Sergeant (first line supervisor) 

5. First Sergeant (In Some Jurisdictions) 

6. Lieutenant (First And Second In Some Jurisdictions) 

7. Captain

8. Major 

9. Deputy Chief Or Deputy Head 

10. Assistant Chief

11. Chief/Commissioner/Colonel/Sheriff

Rank structure

• the command rank structure of American police organizations, which is also called the chain of command. 

  • Can move vertical (five major sectors) or horizontal (number and size of agency)

• Each position has its own separate duties and span of control 

• Span of control is the supervisor’s assigned authority allowing him or her to supervise A limited number of subordinates. 

  • About ten to twenty officers depending on the size of the agency 

officer, corporal, detective, sergeant, first sergeant (in some jurisdictions), lieutenant (first and second in some jurisdictions), captain, major, deputy chief or deputy head, assistant chief, and chief/commissioner/colonel/sheriff.

Leadership in policing

• Executive staff wearing white shirts

• All officers wearing the same color uniforms, important?? 

• Education

• Experience

• Mentorship

Divisions and Bureaus within a police agency

• Office of the chief

• Criminal Investigations

• Patrol division

• Support services (explained further on next slide) 

• Traffic administration

• Animal control bureau

Support Services

• Civilian employees span over the following units:

  • Police personnel, employee health, public safety communications, justice academy, records, evidence and support, fleet management, and the forensics. 

• Essential to law enforcement organizations, they perform a number of  tasks, bring a new set of expertise, and resources which police officers cannot do or do not possess.