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School

Rasmussen College, Florida *

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1000

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Law

Date

Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by UltraStingray2565

Law Enforcement Agencies Joshua Frates Rasmussen University J100/CCJ1OOO Introduction to Criminal Justice Professor Carlin January 21, 2023

The levels of law enforcement in the United States exist at three separate levels, local, state, and federal levels. While there are many others within these levels, these are the leading organizations. Law enforcement in the US didn’t get an actual start till the early 1800s. The first established municipal law enforcement agency in America was the Boston Police Department (1838), comprised of six men under the direction of a City Marshall (Rasmussen Learning, n.d.). These officers weren’t paid much, had to walk their own beat, and only carried with them a wooden club. Something the Boston police officers did early on was, participate in community service. This is something that has stood the test of time when it comes to police and community relationships. While the roles and technology have changed over the years, the service remains the same, to protect and serve. When we think about the lowest levels of law enforcement, we think about our local police force. It is typically located within our town or city, and that is where they have jurisdiction. Most of our local law enforcement is at the front lines and is responsible for protecting our neighborhoods and communities from crime and disorder. The majority of calls for service that local law enforcement officers respond to are considered “order maintenance” calls, such as loud noise, loud music, neighbor disputes, or other minor incidents (Rasmussen Learning, n.d.). We have county law enforcement agencies just a step up from local law enforcement. This is where you would find your sheriffs. The sheriffs have jurisdiction in the county for which they were deputized. They can often be used to patrol rural and unincorporated land areas. County law enforcement agencies exist in each state except Alaska and Connecticut (Rasmussen Learning, n.d.). The next level of law enforcement that needs to be discussed is the State law enforcement officers. These officers operate within the boundaries of the entire state and are often employed

as state troopers or investigators, or in the case of Texas, Texas Rangers. The Texas Rangers are considered the oldest state law enforcement agency in the country and were created in 1823 (Rasmussen Learning, n.d.). While the Rangers were the first, there have been many variations of them since their inception. At the state level, law enforcement agents primarily enforce and investigate state criminal laws. They are also known to help lower-level law enforcement agencies when they need assistance. All states have state-level law enforcement agencies that conduct criminal investigations, traffic enforcement on state highways, and assist municipal law enforcement agencies with major case investigations and officer-involved shootings (Rasmussen Learning, n.d.). Our country's highest level of law enforcement is the federal law enforcement agencies. The United States Marshals Services is the oldest federal law enforcement agency established by the Judiciary Act of September 24, 1789 (Rasmussen Learning, n.d.). Their role was and is to carry out court orders, which include protecting federal judges, transporting federal prisoners, and tracking and apprehending federal fugitives. Federal law enforcement agents have jurisdiction anywhere in the United States, and anywhere there are American citizens residing, which can include other countries and US Embassies. Another well-known federal agency is the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The official purpose of today’s FBI is succinctly stated in the agency’s mission statement: “The Mission of the FBI is to protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats, to uphold and enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and to provide leadership and criminal justice services to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies, and partners (Schmalleger, 2019). When it comes time to enforce the law, the use of force continuum gives guidance on the steps needed for an officer to handle a situation, including lethal or deadly force if necessary. The

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