Law enforcement agencies are a separate group of state bodies that carry out activities to protect human rights and freedoms, the protection of law and order, and the rule of law in society and the state. The system and structure of the US prosecutor’s office, as well as the judicial system, depends on the principle of federalism. This principle indicates that there are autonomous prosecutorial bodies at three levels: local, state, federal. At the same time, local prosecutors do not depend on the state prosecutor’s office, and the latter is not connected with the federal prosecutor’s office. Law enforcement agencies perform the most critical functions in the state, the main of which are:
- Protection of the state and social order;
- Strengthening of law and order;
- Protection of human and civil rights and freedoms.
In addition, law enforcement agencies are obliged to protect organizations, enterprises, and institutions’ legal rights and interests and fight crime.
As for the US prosecutor’s office, the prosecutor’s office itself is included in the US Department of Justice in the form of US attorneys. At the same time, the United States Attorney General is simultaneously the Secretary of Justice of the United States, appointed by the President of the United States and approved by the Senate. In addition, the US Attorney General is accountable to the President for his activities and may be removed from office by the decision of the President. The House of Representatives has the right to present him for impeachment. In civil proceedings, attorneys exercise powers associated with the initiation of civil proceedings by bringing civil claims with requirements for judicial review of decisions or actions of the federal government and its officials. They also initiate judicial review of the legality of some administrative institutions and departments’ findings.
Since the United States belongs to the Anglo-Saxon legal family, the primary source of law is legal precedent. There is no normative legal act in the United States that would form the legal basis for the organization and activities of the United States Attorney’s Office. Federal officers are responsible for responding to wrongdoing, patrolling assigned areas, investigating crimes, and ensuring their sites’ security and protection and judicial functions; they are authorized to carry firearms and make arrests. Local police includes municipal, county, and regional police. The main goal of the local policemen is to control the observance of order, ensure patrolling and investigation of crimes in the controlled territories.
The state police or otherwise the road patrol perform the functions of the traffic police. The State Police assists the local authority in investigating emergencies that go beyond the resources and legal boundaries of the local police station. Special officers provide service in areas of other jurisdictions; these include parks, schools, vehicles, hospitals, and government buildings. Sheriff’s deputies, so-called sheriff’s offices, are empowered by the state to enforce the state’s laws in their district. These responsibilities include: supervising the county jail, sending subpoenas, conscriptions for military service in areas outside the jurisdiction of the local police.
The police organization is usually made up of sworn police officers and civilian police officers without any rank. There are no uniform conditions for admission to the police service. Still, among the many requirements, the most necessary are the following requirements for a candidate: no criminal record, secondary education. Among the measures used most often by the police are arrest, search, police interrogation, and others. It should be noted that for a person, the rule of law is primarily a means of protecting his rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests from the illegal actions of others (“Role of Police in America,” 2019). The police is the state body that maintains law and order in society.
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References
Role of Police in America. (2019). Charles Koch Institute.