![5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/5.29.10NYPDByLuigiNovi6.jpg)
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
who act in an organized manner to enforce the
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
by
discovering,
deterring,
rehabilitating, or
punishing people who violate the
rules
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Education
* Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia
Human activity
* The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power
* Business rule, a rule pert ...
and
norm
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) consist of materials, usually industrial wastes or by-products enriched with radioactive elements found in the envi ...
s governing that society. The term encompasses
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
,
courts
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...
, and
corrections
In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and s ...
. These three components may operate independently of each other or
collectively
A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...
, through the use of
record sharing and mutual cooperation.
The concept of law enforcement dates back to ancient times, and forms of law enforcement and police have existed in various forms across many human societies. Modern state legal codes use the term peace officer, or
law enforcement officer
A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, local police officers, ...
, to include every person vested by the legislating state with police power or authority; traditionally, anyone sworn or badged, who can arrest any person for a violation of criminal law, is included under the umbrella term of law enforcement.
Although law enforcement may be most concerned with the prevention and punishment of
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
s, organizations exist to discourage a wide variety of non-criminal violations of rules and norms, effected through the imposition of less severe consequences such as
probation
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration.
In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
.
History
![TorontoPolice19thCentury](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/TorontoPolice19thCentury.jpg)
Law enforcement originates in the primate notions of fairness, authority, and punishment. Throughout history, numerous societies have organized their own law enforcement systems with varying powers, roles, and capabilities.
Law enforcement organizations existed in ancient times, such as prefects in
ancient China, ''paqūdus'' in
Babylonia, ''curaca'' in the
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...
, ''
vigiles
The ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the City") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' ("cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome.
History
The ''Triumviri Nocturni'' (meaning ''three men of th ...
'' in the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
, and
Medjay
Medjay (also ''Medjai'', ''Mazoi'', ''Madjai'', ''Mejay'', Egyptian ''mḏꜣ.j'', a nisba of ''mḏꜣ'',) was a demonym used in various ways throughout ancient Egyptian history to refer initially to a nomadic group from Nubia and later as a ge ...
in
ancient Egypt. Who law enforcers were and reported to depended on the civilization and often changed over time, but they were typically
slaves,
soldiers, officers of a
judge, or hired by settlements and households. Aside from their duties to enforce laws, many ancient law enforcers also served as
slave catchers
In the United States a slave catcher was a person employed to track down and return escaped slaves to their enslavers. The first slave catchers in the Americas were active in European colonies in the West Indies during the sixteenth century. I ...
,
firefighters,
watchmen
''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...
,
city guards, and
bodyguards.
By the
post-classical period and the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, forces such as the
Santa Hermandades, the
s''hurta'', and the ''
Maréchaussée
The () were corps of soldiers in the armies of France initially put in charge of military policing and justice in the Middle Ages, and later extended to civilian responsibilities. They gradually coalesced into a police force with jurisdicti ...
'' provided services ranging from law enforcement and personal protection to customs enforcement and waste collection. In
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, a complex law enforcement system emerged, where
tithings
A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or s ...
, groups of ten families, were responsible for ensuring good behavior and apprehending criminals; groups of ten tithings ("hundreds") were overseen by a
reeve; hundreds were governed by administrative divisions known as
shires
Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begi ...
; and shires were overseen by
shire-reeves. In
feudal Japan
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inve ...
,
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
were responsible for enforcing laws.
The concept of police as the primary law enforcement organization originated in Europe in the
early modern period; the first statutory police force was the
High Constables of Edinburgh
The High Constables of Edinburgh are a prestigious body of constables, founded in 1611 and located in Edinburgh, Scotland. Historically, the High Constables were charged with policing the streets of Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, howev ...
in 1611, while the first organized police force was the
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
''lieutenant général de police'' in 1667. Until the 18th century, law enforcement in England was mostly the responsibility of private citizens and
thief-takers
In English legal history, a thief-taker was a private individual hired to capture criminals. The widespread establishment of professional police in England did not occur until the 19th century. With the rising crime rate and newspapers to bring th ...
, a system that gradually shifted to government control following the 1749 establishment of the
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
Bow Street Runners
The Bow Street Runners were the law enforcement officers of the Bow Street Magistrates' Court in the City of Westminster. They have been called London's first professional police force. The force originally numbered six men and was founded in ...
, the first formal police force in Britain. In 1800,
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
reorganized French law enforcement to form the
Paris Police Prefecture
The police prefecture (french: préfecture de police) is the unit of the French Ministry of the Interior that provides police, emergency services, and various administrative services to the population of the city of Paris and the surrounding t ...
; the British government passed the
Glasgow Police Act, establishing the
City of Glasgow Police
The City of Glasgow Police or Glasgow City Police was the police of the City of Glasgow, Scotland. In the 17th century, Scottish cities used to hire watchmen to guard the streets at night, augmenting a force of unpaid citizen constables. On 3 ...
; and the
Thames River Police
The Thames River Police was formed in 1800 to tackle theft and looting from ships anchored in the Pool of London and in the lower reaches and docks of the Thames. It replaced the Marine Police, a police force established in 1798 by magistrate ...
were formed in England to combat theft on the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
. In September 1829,
Robert Peel merged the Bow Street Runners and the Thames River Police to form the
Metropolitan Police. The title of the "first modern police force" has still been claimed by the modern successors to these organizations.
Following
European colonization of the Americas
During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short t ...
, the first law enforcement agencies in the
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...
were the
New York Sheriff's Office and the
Albany County Sheriff's Department, both formed in the 1660s in the
Province of New York
The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the U ...
. The
Province of Carolina established slave-catcher patrols in the 1700s, and by 1785, the
Charleston Guard and Watch was reported to have the duties and organization of a modern police force. The first
municipal police
Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive funding ...
department in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
was the
Philadelphia Police Department
The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD or Philly PD) is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police agencies, fourth largest ...
, while the first American
state highway patrol,
federal law enforcement agency was the
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforc ...
, both formed in 1789. In the
American frontier, law enforcement was the responsibility of
county sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
s,
rangers,
constables
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
, and
marshals
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
. The first law enforcement agency in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
was the
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) is the provincial police service for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is one of three provincial police forces in Canada, alongside the Ontario Provincial ...
, established in 1729, while the first Canadian national law enforcement agency was the
Dominion Police
The Dominion Police Force was the federal police force of Canada between 1868 and 1920, and was one of the predecessors of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It was the first federal police force in Canada, formed the year following the Canadian ...
, established in 1868.
![Polisi patroli](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Polisi_patroli.jpg)
By the
late modern period, improvements in technology, greater global connections, and changes in the sociopolitical order led to the establishment of police forces worldwide. National, regional, and municipal civilian law enforcement agencies exist in practically all countries; to promote their international cooperation, the
International Criminal Police Organization
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
, also known as Interpol, was formed in September 1923. Technology has made an immense impact on law enforcement, leading to the development and regular use of
police cars,
police radio
Police radio is a radio system used by police and other law enforcement agencies to communicate with one another. Police radio systems almost always use two-way radio systems to allow for communications between police officers and dispatchers.
...
systems,
police aviation
Police aviation is the use of aircraft in police operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events ...
,
paramilitary police tactical units
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...
, and
police body cameras.
Law enforcement agencies
![2009-04-06 Scotts Valley Chase 07](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/2009-04-06_Scotts_Valley_Chase_07.jpg)
Most law enforcement is conducted by some type of
law enforcement agency. The most typical agency that fulfills this role is a
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
force. Police are generally staffed by civilians, in that they are not a branch of the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
, though some militaries do have branches that enforce laws among the civilian populace, often called
gendarmerie,
security forces
Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several nations, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of military and paramilitary forces (su ...
, or
internal troops
The Internal Troops, full name Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs (MVD) (russian: Внутренние войска Министерства внутренних дел, Vnutrenniye Voiska Ministerstva Vnutrennikh Del; abbreviat ...
. Social investment in enforcement through such organizations can be massive, both in terms of the resources invested in the activity, and in the number of people professionally engaged to perform those functions.
[Kären M. Hess, Christine Hess Orthmann, ''Introduction to Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice'' (2008), p. 1.]
Law enforcement agencies are limited to operating within a specified
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
J ...
. These are typically organized in three basic levels: national, regional, and municipal. However, depending on certain factors, there may be more or less levels, or they may be merged: in the U.S., there are federal, state, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies; in Canada, some territories may only have national-level law enforcement, while some provinces have national, provincial, and municipal; in
Japan, there is a national police agency, which supervises all prefectural police departments; and in
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languages[Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...](_blank)
and the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are both national-level federal law enforcement agencies, but the DEA focuses on
narcotics crimes, while the ATF focuses on
weapon regulation violations.
Various segments of society may have their own
specialist law enforcement agency A specialist law enforcement agency is a law enforcement agency which specialises in the types of laws it enforces, or types of activities it undertakes, or geography it enforces laws in, or these in combination.
The specialisation may be imposed v ...
, such as the military having
military police
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...
or
airports having their own
airport police
Airport police units are a security police agency assigned to perform law enforcement functions at airports. They provide a wide range of law enforcement duties and responsibilities including patrol, investigation, traffic flow management, and cont ...
.
Private police
Private police or special police are Law enforcement agency, law enforcement bodies that are owned or controlled (or owned and controlled) by Non-governmental organization, non-governmental entities. Additionally, the term can refer to an off-dut ...
may exist in some jurisdictions, often to provide dedicated law enforcement for infrastructure, such as
railroad police
Railroad police or railway police are people responsible for the protection of railroad (or railway) properties, facilities, revenue, equipment (train cars and locomotives), and personnel, as well as carried passengers and cargo. Railroad police ...
.
Depending on a variety of factors, such as whether an agency is autonomous or dependent on other organizations for its operations, the governing body that funds and oversees the agency may decide to dissolve or consolidate its operations. Dissolution of an agency may occur when the governing body or the department itself decides to end operations. This can occur due to multiple reasons, including police reform, a lack of population in the jurisdiction, mass
resignations, efforts to deter corruption, or the agency's jurisdiction contracting with a different agency. According to the
International Association of Chiefs of Police
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia (United States). It is the world's largest professional association for police
The police are a Law enforcement organization, c ...
, agency consolidation can occur to improve efficiency, consolidate resources, or when forming a new type of government.
See also
*
Outline of law enforcement – structured list of topics related to law enforcement, organized by subject area
*
Law enforcement by country
In many countries, particularly those with a federal system of government, there may be several law enforcement agencies, police or police-like organizations, each serving different levels of government and enforcing different subsets of the appli ...
*
Vigilantism
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority.
A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...
*
Criminal law
*
References
External links
{{Authority control