Police Organizations

The local police agencies make up the majority of the law enforcement employment (Grant & Terry, 2008, pp. 13). The local authorities perform most of the grunt work throughout their jurisdictions. They are often in charge of preventing and investigating crimes that are committed in their jurisdiction/community (Grant & Terry, 2008, pp. 13). They would be the ones that collect the evidence. They do use state level labs for assistance, but they are in charge of the majority of cases unless they request help from the higher levels (Grant & Terry, 2008, pp. 13). City police officers patrol their community to observe and deter crime. They also perform simple task for the community, such as assisting those who have locked their keys in their car. They are the keepers of the cities and town across the United States. The sheriffs take care of the counties they were elected or employed in. Instead of patrolling the cities, they usually patrol the country-are found in-between the towns and cities (Grant & Terry, 2008, pp. 13). They also serve as a middle-man for all levels of the criminal justice system. They must manage the county jails, which can hold a variety of offenders (Grant & Terry, 2008, pp. 13). They hold these offenders while they await trail. Jails are also used to transfer prisoners to a different facility. Sheriffs also serve the courts, by carrying out court orders and other actions (Grant & Terry, 2008, pp. 13). The state highway patrol is obviously the agency provided by the state (Grant & Terry, 2008, pp. 14). They patrol the highways and can carry out a search warrant (Grant & Terry, 2008, pp. 14). They can also arrest for crimes committed in their presence, but since their jurisdiction is so large they do not investigate much more than traffic accidents (Grant & Terry, 2008, pp. 14). The federal agencies enforce the federal laws, and cannot intervene with lower levels unless requested or the crime crosses state lines. There is much more than law