Introduction to Criminal Justice

1
Introduction to Criminal Justice

• HISTORY AND STRUCTURE OF
• AMERICAN LAW ENFORCEMENT
• Chapter Five
• Bohm and Haley

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The Limited Authority of American Law Enforcement

• The United States has almost
• 18,000 public law enforcement agencies. The
  jurisdiction of each agency
• is carefully limited by law.

Law enforcement is also limited by the
procedural law derived from U.S. Supreme Court
decisions.
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Jurisdiction

• The right or authority of
• a justice agency
• to act in regard to a
• particular subject matter,
• territory, or person.

4
The Limited Authority of American Law Enforcement

• In comparison with
• other democratic nations of the world,
• the United States has remarkably
• more police agencies that operate under
• far more restrictions on their authority.

Like much of the criminal justice system, this
limited law enforcement model came from England.
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The Development of American Law Enforcement

• Key Issues to Know
• Tithing system
• Shire reeve / posses
• Constable-watch system
• Constable
• Peels Principles of Policing
• Slave patrols
• Frontier law enforcement

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Community Policing

• A desire to actually improve neighborhoods
• led to the modern concept of
• community policing, which involves
• A problem-oriented approach aimed at handling a
  broad range of troublesome situations.
• Greater emphasis on foot patrols.
• Building a relationship with citizens, so they
  would be more willing to help the police.

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Community Policing

• A contemporary approach to policing
• that actively involves the community
• in a working partnership
• to control and reduce crime.

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Public Law Enforcement Agencies in the United
States
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Characteristics of Local Full-Time Police Officers
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Local Police Duties

• Four categories of local police duties are
• Law enforcement investigating crime and
  arresting suspects.
• Order maintenance or peacekeeping controlling
  crowds, intervening in domestic disputes.
• Service escorting funeral processions, taking
  people to the hospital.
• Information gathering determining neighborhood
  reactions to a proposed liquor license,
  investigating a missing child.

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Organizational Structure

• How a police agency is structured depends on
• The size of the agency.
• The degree of specialization.
• The philosophy the leadership has chosen.
• The political context of the department.
• The history and preferences of a particular
  community.

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Characteristics of Sheriffs Personnel
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County Law Enforcement Functions

• County sheriff and department personnel
• perform many functions such as
• Investigating crimes.
• Supervising sentenced offenders.
• Enforcing criminal and traffic laws.
• Serving summons, warrants, and writs.
• Providing courtroom security.
• Transporting prisoners.
• Operating a county jail.

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Politics and County Law Enforcement

• Most sheriffs are directly elected
• and depend on an elected board of county
  commissioners or supervisors for funding.

Sheriffs generally have a freer hand in running
their agencies than do police chiefs.
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State Law Enforcement

• State law enforcement agencies provide
• criminal and traffic law enforcement,
• and other services particular to the needs
• of that state government.

In 2000, the 49 primary state law enforcement
agencies (Hawaii has no state police agency) had
87,028 employees
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State Police Model and the Highway Patrol Model

• State Police Model

A model of state law enforcement services in
which the agency and its officers have the
same law enforcement powers as local police, but
can exercise them anywhere within the state.
Highway Patrol Model
A model of state law enforcement services in
which officers focus on highway traffic safety,
enforcement of the states traffic laws, and the
investigation of accidents on the states roads,
highways, and on state property.
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State Law Enforcement

• Both state police and highway patrol
• agencies perform the following services

• Help regulate commercial traffic.
• Conduct bomb investigations.
• Protect the governor and the capitol grounds
  and buildings.
• Administer computerized information networks
  for the state, which link up with the National
  Crime Information Center (NCIC) run by the FBI.

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Federal Law Enforcement

• Among the best-known
• federal law enforcement agencies are
• FBI
• U.S. Secret Service
• Treasury Department
• Drug Enforcement Agency

As of June 2002, federal agencies employed
nationwide more than 93,000 full-time personnel
authorized to make arrests and carry firearms.
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Federal Law Enforcement

• Major differences between federal law
• enforcement and local and state police are
• Federal agencies operate across the nation.
• Federal agencies usually do not have peacekeeping
  duties.
• Some federal agencies have very narrow
  jurisdictions.

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The Department of Homeland Security

• The United States Congress responded to the
  terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, by
  enacting the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
• The act established the Department of Homeland
  Security (DHS). According to the legislation,
  this new executive department was created to

continued on next slide
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The Department of Homeland Security

• Prevent terrorist attacks within the United
  States.
• Reduce the vulnerability of the United States to
  terrorism.
• Minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery,
  from terrorist attacks that do occur within the
  United States.
• Carry out all functions of entities transferred
  to the department, including by acting as a focal
  point regarding natural and manmade crises and
  emergency planning.

continue on next slide
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The Department of Homeland Security

• Ensure that the functions of the agencies and
  subdivisions within the department that are not
  related directly to securing the homeland are not
  diminished or neglected except by an explicit act
  of Congress.
• Ensure the overall economic security of the
  United States is not diminished by efforts,
  activities, and programs aimed at securing the
  homeland.

continued on next slide
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The Department of Homeland Security

• Monitor connections between illegal drug
  trafficking and terrorism, coordinate efforts to
  sever such connections, and otherwise contribute
  to efforts to interdict illegal drug trafficking.

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American Private Security

• Private security in the United States
• is a huge enterprise.
• It has been estimated that twice as many
• people work in private security
• as in public law enforcement.

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Contract Security amdProprietary Security
Contract Security
Protective services that a private security firm
provides to people, agencies, and companies that
do not employ their own security personnel or
that need extra protection. Contract security
employees are not peace officers.
Proprietary Security
In-house protective services that a security
staff, which is not classified as sworn peace
officers, provide for the entity that employs
them.
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Issues Involving Private Security

• A number of unresolved problems and issues
• hamper the private security industry
• Legal status and authority derive from the rights
  of the employer. Private security has few
  constitutional limitations and can be held
  civilly liable.
• Public policing in a private capacity. Sworn
  officers often work for private companies,
  blurring the lines of responsibility and
  liability.