Duties and Divisions of Law Enforcement Personnel

As an important part of the criminal justice system of the U.S., the law enforcement departments work for prevention of crime as well as maintaining law and order. The law enforcement personnel work along with the courts and corrections departments of the U.S. to maintain order and render a number of services. Though the three are interrelated, the judiciary can impose rules with regard to the functioning of the law enforcement agencies as well as corrections divisions in the U.S.

Law Enforcement Personnel: Functions

There are numerous functions of law enforcement personnel; these are as follows:

* Maintenance of law and order
* Investigating suspected criminal activities
* Preventing criminal activities
* Referring results of investigations to the concerned court of law
* Stopping crimes in progress from being successfully completed
* Referring suspects to the court of law
* Warrants, writs and court orders service and enforcement, including arrests
* Public safety and handling emergency situations
* Protecting public officials
* Protecting public infrastructure and facilities

Hierarchy of Law Enforcement Agencies

The law enforcement personnel of the U.S. are divided into a clear hierarchy according to the local, county, state and federal levels. The municipal police departments and sheriff’s departments act as the local law enforcement agencies in U.S. The municipal police departments have a varied number of sub-divisions depending on the population and area. For example, the Hawaii Municipal Police Department has only one sub-division in Honolulu while the Florida Municipal Police Department has 14.

Sheriffs' Departments

A sheriff is usually the highest law enforcement personnel in a county. The number of sheriff’s departments in the U.S. is about 3500. However, the number of sheriffs assigned to each state is not uniform. For example, in Alaska the office of the sheriff is non-existent and the functions are performed by the Alaska State Troopers; in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, California, the number of personnel employed is more than 16,000.

County Police Departments

In most counties, the sheriff’s office handles the local law enforcement activities. However, in some of the counties it is the responsibility of the county police to do so. The jurisdiction of the county police departments varies from full service, i.e. all police services, to limited services, i.e. services to special districts and unincorporated areas within the county borders. There is also the option of restricted service which is related to the security of county public facilities.

State Police

State police departments, as a unit of the Department of Public Safety, have jurisdiction over the entire state and provide law enforcement services including state patrols, arrests, investigations, and so on. They may operate under different names. For example, the state of Illinois has the Illinois State Police Department whereas the state of Colorado has the Colorado State Patrol; the state of Missouri has the Missouri State Highway Patrol while the state of California has the California Highway Patrol.

Federal Policing Agencies

The federal police department operates on the basis of a number of law enforcement agencies. These agencies, each with a number of sub-divisions, employ law enforcement personnel specializing in particular tasks. For example, the Department of Justice includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the United States Marshals Service.