Law Enforcement Jurisdiction & Authority Law Enforcement Jurisdiction and Authority

As with many governmental agencies, law enforcement is partitioned by agency type, organizational mission, overall size, and jurisdiction. The law enforcement agency spectrum is broad, spanning a range from small town police departments to extensive federal agencies. The brief descriptions below correspond to the categorical jurisdictions and authority of U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Federal Law Enforcement Agencies

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the largest employers of Federal officers are as follows: Federal Bureau of Prisons, the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Each of these agencies has over 10,000 officers authorized to carry firearms and make arrests ("Discover Policing," 2015). The duties and responsibilities of Federal officers include corrections, court operations, criminal investigation and enforcement, inspections, police response and patrol, security and protection ("Discover Policing," 2015).

State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies

Several types of law enforcement agencies make up the more than 17,000 U.S. state and local law enforcement agencies, including municipal police departments, state police and highway patrol, special jurisdiction police, and deputy sheriffs ("Discover Policing," 2015). Agencies at the state and local law enforcement level range in size...

A fairly large proportion of agencies at this level are local police departments, with divisions that include municipal, county, tribal, and regional police -- each of which derives authority from the local governing entity through which it was established. Local police are dedicated to upholding jurisdictional laws, providing patrol, and investigating local crimes. State police and highway patrol extend police duties to wide-scale emergencies, highways, and statewide investigations, all beyond the resources and jurisdictional boundaries of the local agencies. Special jurisdiction police exhibits considerable variety as police services are provided for discrete entities or jurisdictions, such as airports, hospitals, government buildings, housing authorities, parks, schools, and subways. Special jurisdiction police are fundamentally indistinguishable from local police and are staffed as full-service departments. Deputy sheriffs enforce state law at the county level. Their duties generally are to provide service in areas outside local police jurisdictions, run the local county jail and serve warrants and court summons.
Select U.S. Supreme Court Cases That Changed Law Enforcement Protocol

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