The main difference between these officers and those at the state or federal level is they are the initial enforcement front for all criminal laws. Police Chiefs are usually appointed by the mayor but sometimes elected to office. They can be anywhere from a detective to a dispatcher to jailers that protect us as citizens and enforce laws passed at all levels of government. Their activities are generally limited to the jurisdiction they're assigned to, as opposed to officers at the state or federal level. State enforcement officials are normally elected by county voters in most states.
The federal government empowered agencies and the state government empowered agencies. Federal agencies consist of of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Border Patrol etc. These agencies have a nationwide jurisdiction and are tasked primarily with National security. Because federal agents have such a vast jurisdiction community policing isn’t their main concern because they don’t deal with the same people on a day to day basis like a local police department would. State police officers get their power from the state
Glanced At Life should be valued because we only get to live it once. However, what we do with our lives is at our own discretion. Many people in their youth decide to live a life of misdeeds and become juvenile criminals. North America does have a Juvenile Justice Department, but some of these young offenders are waivered into the adults’ courts where juveniles can be subjected to any punishment available. In most juvenile homicide cases, they are automatically put into the adult justice system for committing the adult-like crime.
They also deal with both way offences which can be tried in both magistrates and or crown court. Indictable offences are referred to crown court after the accused appear before the magistrates to confirm their name and charges. Magistrates’ courts also deal with family and youth courts which may include adoptions, maintenance payments and care proceedings. In youth courts the public are not allowed in apart from only those directly involved in the case. 95%of criminal offences are tried and dealt with in magistrates’ court.
City police officers are responsible for maintaining order, responding to emergency calls, and dealing with violence, and serious crime. Grant and Terry (2008), suggest that local agencies also take part in processing fingerprints, preventing and deterring crime, investigating violent crimes and property crimes and enforcing traffic laws. County Sheriffs have unique roles because they serve law enforcement (patrolling and investigating crimes), courts (Serving subpoenas and providing security for the courts), and corrections in that they maintain the county jails. The coroner or medical examiner’s roles vary as well because they investigate crime scenes; they conduct autopsies, and determine the
Criminal laws also have two written laws that are split up into two different categories. One is substantive criminal law, which explains different crimes and punishments. The other is procedural law, which employs orderliness as to what law to enforce based off of the substantive law. The purpose of criminal law is to create a standard protocol of demeanors. Courts exist only to prosecute the criminals to the full extent of the law.
“A formal justice system is one in which laws are set and enforced and punishments are administered by state institutions such as courts, police, judges and prisons” (Ask.) A justice system can possibly encourage deviance and crime because there are some people who do not like to follow the law. An example of this behavior can simply be driving under the influence of alcohol. In our society everyone knows that it is against the law to operate a motor vehicle in this condition but yet there are so many people still doing it. Crime will always be committed as police are not always looking over people’s shoulders to ensure people will not break the law.
Statistics are usually collected on based on three categories: Offenses, the breach of law; Offenders, those who commit the offenses; and the victims, the ones who are offended against. The United States has programs in which they collect this data; the first is the Uniform Crime Reports, which is compiled by the FBI and the Crime Victimization Survey, handled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Crime statistics for the same crime can vary based on not just between countries and jurisdictions, but also between individual law enforcement officers that have come across the same exact case. There are some crimes that are reported to law enforcement but are not reported because the law enforcement officer that takes the report has the power of discretion. They have the ability to affect how much crime is recorded, based on how they record their activities.
Along with those programs came the NCVS or National Crime Victimization Survey, this survey is a self-reporting survey which victims report their own incidents. Although each are used to record crime for the nation, they each have their own uses and are used differently. The UCR crime reports are used in many ways, they provide law enforcement with date for use in police operations and planning for the future. The news and media also utilize the reports as well to inform the public about crime. Data is recorded by cities, counties, colleges, and states and submitted to the UCR.
Police Powers Stop and question It’s one of the basic powers that police have. They can stop you at any time and ask you what you are doing here and why you are in this area or where you are going to. However you don’t have to answer any of those questions. Stop and search This is one of the most important powers of the police force and those include stopping persons and vehicles if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that you are carrying for example illegal drugs, a weapon or something that could be used in committing a crime. You can also be searched without ‘reasonable grounds’ if it has been approved by a senior officer and this can happen if you’re suspected of being in a specific location or area and if you’re carrying a weapon or have used one.