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Law enforcement has historically been a male-dominated profession. There are approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies at federal, state, and local level, with more than 1.1 million employees. [168] There are around 12,000 local law enforcement agencies, the most numerous of the three types. [168]
1. Local and State Law Enforcement: Prior to the late 19th century, law enforcement in the United States was primarily the responsibility of local and state governments. Policing and criminal justice functions were carried out by various local constabularies, sheriffs, and state-level agencies.
On May 7, 1844, the New York State passed the Municipal Police Act, a law which authorized creation of a police force and abolished the night watch system. [1] [2] At the request of the New York City Common Council, Peter Cooper drew up a proposal to create a police force of 1,200 officers.
The authority for use of police power under American Constitutional law has its roots in English and European common law traditions. [3] Even more fundamentally, use of police power draws on two Latin principles, sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas ("use that which is yours so as not to injure others"), and salus populi suprema lex esto ("the welfare of the people shall be the supreme law ...
In the ensuing years, Vollmer's reputation as the "father of modern law enforcement" grew. [4] He was the first chief to require that police officers attain college degrees, and persuaded the University of California to teach criminal justice. In 1916, UC Berkeley established a criminal justice program, headed by Vollmer. [5]
The United States Park Police (USPP) is the oldest uniformed federal law enforcement agency in the United States. It functions as a full-service law enforcement agency with responsibilities and jurisdiction in those National Park Service areas primarily located in the Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and New York City areas and certain other government lands.
When the British set up the American colonies, they established law enforcement along British lines. Population growth was slow and the law enforcement system worked. One important exception came in North Carolina, where rapid migration to the frontier established a new western region without a strong local government.
People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States (5 C, 247 P) Police misconduct in the United States (7 C, 78 P) Pages in category "History of law enforcement in the United States"