Criminology

Law enforcement is a terminology used to refer to the experts who are devoted to maintaining and enforcing the laws and edicts that are in effect in a given community. They are people given the authority to ensure that there is law and order in a given society. Law enforcement is a term that is commonly linked with police force of a state. The police service is a public force that is given the power by law to offer security by legitimate utilization of force.  Law enforcement officers are usually given the authority to act within a described jurisdiction. Law enforcement is however a part of policing services. Police services have been associated with a number of activities but the most important of all is maintaining law and order. Since the beginning of society, law enforcement has been in place to offer protection to the public from criminals, to maintain justice and order, and maintain the rulers in power. Even in the biblical times, there were militants specially trained to observe peace and order. There have been police forces set up since the ancient period until the contemporary world. The world has for a long time established police forces some organized, and others temporary. From the ancient time to the modern society, law enforcement has gone through a lot of transformation. There have also been various methods and procedures that have been used by the police to enforce law.

Most police forces all over the world are organized forces with most of them uniformed. Police forces functions differently depending on the country. In every country, the duties of law enforcement officers are clearly laid down and they all know what their responsibilities are. Police functions vary from country to country but most of the functions cut across territorial Bounderies. Most common of these functions include offering protection to people and their property, putting into effect the penal law, investigating, regulation of traffic, and other functions for ensuring that the people are safe. Since the establishment of police force in the world, there have been various factors that come into play in their effectiveness. They have been under a lot of influence from all perspectives, including political, social, cultural, and economical fronts. They operate in a community that is affected by the social and political structures. Since the start of establishing police forces, the characteristics of the community have come into play to determine the structures and functionability of the forces. This research is motivated by the need to establish law enforcement structures that have been established as a result of these characteristics of the society, and how they have influenced their functioning. In order to establish this, it is important to trace the history of law enforcement in the society.

In America, there are about 18,000 public law enforcement agencies. These agencies are limited by territorial jurisdictions that are stipulated by law. Law enforcement in the United States is also regulated by the procedural law for the deliberations of the supreme court in that country. Compared to most other democratic countries around the world, the United States has a significantly high number of law enforcement agencies. The authority of the United States police force is also more restricted than in most countries of the world. Like most of other criminal justice systems in the United States, this restricted law enforcement structure originated from Europe. This is because America was colonized by European countries and thus adapted most of its social and political structures from them. Most aspects of the law enforcement structure came from the United Kingdom. The United States law enforcement has two main units, the uniformed police and the detectives. This famous law enforcement structure where uniformed police act in response to calls for assistant and plainclothes carry out investigations, was established over very many decades in United Kingdom.

In the 12th century, the system of determining disagreements in private gave way to group security system referred to as tithing system. In vast areas, ten groups were brought together to form a hundred. A single or several of the hundreds made up a shire. The authority over a shire was given to the shire reeve. The constable-watch system of security was developed in 1285. This system was formalized by the Statute of Winchester. An individual from every parish was appointed a constable. Watchmen were derived from the public and were supposed to help the constable or a watchman whenever called upon to do so. These watchmen were not paid. The industrial revolution saw huge numbers of people come into London. These people brought in increased poverty, social unrest and criminal activities. This was the reason behind the formation of the first police force in London. This police force was referred to as the London Metropolitan Police and had 1,000 professional members. It was formed through an act of parliament in 1829. This force was structured around the Principles of Policing brought forward by Peel. This force was structured on the basis of military rank and structure. Their main function was crime prevention and patrol in the society. It is these ideas of law enforcement and structures that were adapted in the United States. Immigrants to the new United States colonies came in with the constable structure. This system, though not so effective, was adapted in the American cities. The United States took these ideas and built on them establishing the most organized law enforcement in the world. The country developed with two kinds of law enforcement systems.  

The first one was the municipal police forces. The first paid police force in the United States was established in New York City in 1844. This police force was also uniformed and very well structured. Other cities around the country followed this example, establishing their own law enforcement departments or organizing systems to keep watch over the cities day and night. It was after the Civil War that police began to put on uniforms. Political interference with police systems began in the 1920s. In many cities in the United States, regional political leaders assumed total power over police departments. The political and police structures in most of the cities became corrupt. Job opportunities, politics and law enforcement started to depend on giving cash to the right people. Even in the contemporary period, political interference and influence is still experienced in the law enforcement agencies, although it is not as rampant as it was during those days.

The second one was the Southern Slave Patrols. In the south, the pioneer form of police force was the plantation slave patrols. Regulations on slaves prevented them from gathering, getting out of the plantations without proper authorization, journeying without a pass, or learning and reading. This policing force was employed to terrorize them. This clearly proves that acts of force in the police force are not a new occurrence. This began mostly with the establishment of police forces to handle slaves. It was also attributed to social, political and social unrest. Even in the current period, police misconduct and use of force is still common, not only in the United States but also in other countries around the world. Police use of force and brutality is an irony because their duty is to make people feel safe and secure. Many communities have experienced unfair treatment from the police. During and even after the civil unrest, the minorities have been targeted by these unjust and brutal treatments by the police. Political interference has also influenced these situations where the political figures use the police force for their own benefits especially against their political opponents.    

In the United States, there was the concept of Frontier Law Enforcement. In the United States frontier, justice mainly meant vigilantism. Even today, self-protection remains common in the South and the West. America has more police units than any other country in the world. Almost every community has its own police force (Roth  Olson, 2001).This has created a big difference in the quality of police workforce and service. Increasing populations and the incapability of regional sheriffs and constables to handle crime forced the states to establish their own policing agencies. The state of Texas formed the rangers in 1835. The state of Pennsylvania created the initial contemporary state police agency in 1905. Every state had established some form of law enforcement agency by 1930s. Up to the end of the 19th century, there was no experience needed for law enforcement officers. Cincinnati was the initial city to need qualification for law enforcement officers. The two major qualifications required were high moral character and speed. In the beginning of the 20th century, reformers started advocating for training and education for law enforcement officials. They also started struggling to entangle law enforcement from political influence. This is the period where political influence in the police force declined. Though it did not end completely, it went down a great deal.  

The United States police agencies are tremendously diverse in authorities, duties and responsibilities, and employers. Many law enforcement departments (about 90) recruits less than 50 sworn in officials. Large police departments have smaller specialized departments while the smaller departments seldom have specialized departments of police officers prepared for complicated investigations.  

In the United States, a lot of law enforcement responsibilities are carried out by the sheriffs departments. The sheriffs and their workforce carry out many duties. They are responsible for investigations of criminal activities they are involved in the supervision of sentenced criminals they are responsible for the enforcements of criminal and traffic laws giving out summons, warrants and writs they offer security to court rooms during hearings they ferry prisoners to and from courts and they are responsible for the operation of county jail.

The most common federal law enforcement agencies in the United States are Federal Bureau of Investigations, United States Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Agency, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. There are others agencies that are not so commonly known, but also exist in the United States. They include Postal Inspectors and Federal Protective Services. All these agencies are entitled to different duties and responsibilities. There are also other differences that exist between federal law enforcement and local and state police. The federal agencies operate across the country. They are not as restricted as the local and state police. This means that federal law enforcement officers can be required to operate in any state, while the local and state law enforcement officers cannot operate outside their state or territory. Federal agencies unlike local and state agencies are not involved in the daily peacekeeping operations. Some federal law enforcement agencies usually have very narrow jurisdictions.  

The police are charged with some obligations to the society and thus expected to carry them effectively. Many responsibilities of the police have not changed much since the beginning of their establishment around the world. They are responsible for ensuring that order is maintained. This is an extensive responsibility to ensure that peace and tranquility is maintained and to prohibit behaviors that cause disturbance to others. They can carry out this responsibility from some things as minor as barking of dogs to fights. Police are called upon to handle such situations with careful judgments, instead of treating them as serious violations of law. This is despite the fact that their authority to handle such situations is founded on violations of law. The other responsibility is law enforcement. They have the power to enforce the law, but the powers are normally employed in situations where the law has been infringed. In this case, a suspect must be recognized and seized (Bolick, 2001). The most common situations include robbery, killings or burglary. This is the well-known idea of police function but the frequency of such situations is dependent on geographical location and time. The other responsibility of police to the public is service. Services by the police officers are diverse and might seem dismissive. They might include first-aid, providing information, directing the disoriented, and educating on things like substance abuse etc. A police service is usually operational for 24 hours and 7 days a week. Due to this fact, they are likely to be called upon, not only when a crime is committed but even when people experience inconveniences.

There is a broad mandate of police responsibilities, yet the resources available for them are limited. This is the reason why their administrators establish policies to prioritize and focus their operations (Zeidman, 2005). An example of the most controversial policies confines or even prohibits high-speed vehicular chases. These policies as all other responsibilities and functions of the police force are dependent on the social, political and economical factors.  

Three structures of policing come up as a result of jurisdictions socioeconomic status, political organization and selection of administrators. Every structure has different police functions that are associated to the characteristics of the community within which they operate. The first structure is the watchman. This puts emphasis on the maintenance of law and order. It is common in regions with decreasing industrial base. This kind of community has a blue-collar, mixed racial populace. In this community there is also diversity of culture. Different cultural activities take place here are they therefore influence the work of the police a lot. This structure of policing is absolutely less proactive than others (Gallo, 1998). In this structure, there are some kinds of crime that are likely to be assumed on various social, legal, political or cultural bases as long as there is maintenance of law and order. There is also a lot of discretion exercised by law enforcement officers under this structure. The critics of this kind of policing style argue that it is likely to result in charges of discrimination and prejudice. This is where due to rampant discretion and overlooking, some offences can lead to police officers treating some people better than others.

The second structure is legalistic. This style puts emphasis on enforcement of law and professionalism. It is common in reform-oriented cities, with mixed socioeconomic status. Law enforcement officers in this kind of arrangement are expected to carry out many arrests. They are expected to operate as if the standard for conducts is for one community instead of various standards for different communities. The critics of this style argue that the fact that some of the factions in the community might have better contact with law enforcement, there might seem to be harsh enforcement on some factions than others. There is more political interference in this style.  

The last style is service. This style puts emphasis on the service responsibilities of law enforcement officers. It is mostly based in suburban, middle-class communities. In such communities, residents support individual treatment. In such a community, law enforcement officers view their work as protection of the public against outsiders, with common but normally informal interferences against the members. In these kinds of communities, crimes are easily noticed and less frequent. This allows law enforcement officers to deal with service duties and control of the traffic. Critics of this style argue that police officers are likely to receive a lot of favors from the residents thus fail to carry out their functions fairly.  

Conclusion  
From this research, it is clear that political, social and economic structures have an influence on the duties and responsibilities of the police force. These are however not the only factors that affect their operation. There is the tradition of brutality and use of force. This seems to have its roots from the time of slave labor to the time of social and political unrest. This is usually made worse by the fact that police, in some situations are authorized to employ force. The criticisms against the three structures might be justified but they do not affect efficiency because the police forces always shift from style to style. Their responsibilities are always changing. To increase the effectiveness of law enforcement, it is important to look at the diverse factors that affect their functioning and come up with measures and policies to streamline their operations.