Discuss the structure of the police system in America

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

One of the major principles of the American Constitution is that of federalism which means that citizens of the United States are affected by two main types of government, one being the national or federal government and the other being the state government. Federalism has resulted in the United States having a large number of different police agencies. For example, there are 100 different federal police agencies. The largest of the federal police agencies are formally located within the Justice Department and the Treasury Departments. Examples of federal agencies which relate to law enforcement are the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation which is primarily an investigative agency. The Department of Homeland Security is rather recent in coming on the scene being created in 2002, in an effort to better counter terrorism. In addition to federal agencies the states, counties, and cities have their own police forces. This is a result of the Tenth Amendment which reserves the police power to the states. Every state with the exception of Hawaii has a state police force of some type. Most counties in the United States have a sheriff's department. Sheriffs are usually elected to their position. However, the majority of law enforcement officers are employed by a city or municipality. Most of the municipal police departments are small having ten or fewer officers. Yet such departments are very important because citizens are more likely to have contact with them than any other type of law enforcement agency.