Keith W. Porter
CJA/484 Criminal Justice Administration Capstone
Jamie Herring
May 6, 2012 As of 2008, there are approximately 765,000 personnel employed as sworn officers in local and state law enforcement agencies throughout the United States (BJS, 2011) with an additional 105,000 law enforcement personnel in approximately 65 federal agencies as of 2004 (BJS, 2006). Law Enforcement agencies function at all levels of the government: local, state, and federal with many similarities and differences in their day-to-day operations, each responsible for specific duties and functions. These agencies have the formidable task of protecting the United States from foreign threats at the federal agency level to preventing society from victimizing itself at the local and state level. Essentially local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies have the same mandates. The main difference of these agencies lies in their jurisdictions, staffing, funding, support, and operations. Regardless of the level, each sworn officer took an oath to enforce the laws of the United States and his or her local governments within his or her established jurisdictions. Fundamentally, each officer receives training in similar law enforcement skills irrespective of the level of government the he or she works at. Along with arrest powers, each officer risks his or her life daily in the performance of their sworn duties. Unlike local and state authorities, most federal agents are not in a direct position to have an impact on public safety. The majority of the law enforcement workforce in the United States is basically the initial enforcement personnel for all criminal laws. These officers are also the most visible law enforcement officials. Local law enforcement officials perform their sworn duties within cities, villages, and townships. Just like state and federal