CJ 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Drug Enforcement Administration, California Highway Patrol, Municipal Police
Police Systems
The 17,500 police agencies at national, state, county, and municipal levels employ more
than 800,000 people, sworn and unsworn. The agencies include
50 federal law enforcement agencies.
49 state police departments.
1,721 special police agencies (for example, transit police and school police).
3,086 sheriff's departments.
12,502 municipal police departments.
Federal police agencies
Federal law enforcement agencies are part of the executive branch of the national
government. The major federal law enforcement agencies are
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI):This Department of Justice (DOJ)
agency investigates over 200 categories of federal crimes. The FBI emphasizes
protecting the nation from terrorism, organized crime (which includes narcotics
trafficking), white collar crimes, civil rights crimes, and violent crimes (such as ‐ ‐
bank robbery and kidnapping). It assists other federal, state, and local agencies
through its crime statistics, crime lab, fingerprint files, and training academy. As
organized crime has become a bigger business, the FBI has gained additional
authority (including wiretapping authority) to combat it.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF): This Treasury
Department agency investigates the criminal use of explosives and firearms. ATF
also pursues outlaw motorcycle gangs who violate federal firearms, explosives,
and drug trafficking laws.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): This DOJ agency is responsible
for enforcing all federal drug control laws. Its agents investigate narcotics ‐
violators, seize drugs, and arrest drug traffickers.
The U.S. Marshals Service: Today's marshals provide security for all federal
courts. They also protect members of the federal judiciary, except for the U.S.
Supreme Court, which has its own police force. Marshals apprehend escaped
federal prisoners, supervise those arrested, and operate the federal witness
protection program (which gives new identities and security to some witnesses in
federal trials).
The Secret Service: The Secret Service is responsible for apprehending anyone
counterfeiting U.S. money and for protecting the president and other officials of
the federal government.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS): The INS polices the flow of
immigrants into the United States. INS agents patrol the U.S. border to stop
illegal immigrants from entering the country, and the agency deports aliens who
break U.S. naturalization laws. In the 1990s, INS agents focused on the Mexican‐
U.S. border, where large numbers of illegal immigrants and huge amounts of
illicit drugs entered the United States. INS agents arrested hundreds of
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The 17,500 police agencies at national, state, county, and municipal levels employ more than 800,000 people, sworn and unsworn. 1,721 special police agencies (for example, transit police and school police). Federal law enforcement agencies are part of the executive branch of the national government. The federal bureau of investigation (fbi):this department of justice (doj) agency investigates over 200 categories of federal crimes. The fbi emphasizes protecting the nation from terrorism, organized crime (which includes narcotics trafficking), white collar crimes, civil rights crimes, and violent crimes (such as bank robbery and kidnapping). It assists other federal, state, and local agencies through its crime statistics, crime lab, fingerprint files, and training academy. As organized crime has become a bigger business, the fbi has gained additional authority (including wiretapping authority) to combat it. The bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms (atf): this treasury. Department agency investigates the criminal use of explosives and firearms.
