Police Department Organization Paper
Kathee Kathee
CJA/214
November 17th, 2011
Todd Larson

The police department is important to community. There are several departments and agencies designed to keep the people safe from drugs, homicide, armed robbery, rape, and many other crimes. There are various acts of violence that take place in America but police are practicing safety precautions to keep our streets safe. In this paper, will be addressing the various types of police agencies at local, state, and federal levels. It will also address the roles and functions of police operations and their role as it applies to the law. Finally, I will identify the major organizational theories associated with policing.
There are just under 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States. This includes 12,656 local police, 3,061 sheriff’s departments, 49 state police agencies, 1,376 special police agencies, and 45 federal agencies. At the local level, they have municipal police, county police, and county sheriffs. Also there are the constables, coroners, special district police, and the tribal police.
Local Police Agencies
Municipal police: Municipal or city police are the most important component of American law enforcement. In 2000 they represented 71% of law enforcement agencies and employed 62% of all sworn officers. Municipal police play a more complex role than any other type of law enforcement agency. The external environment heavily influences all agencies. Cities, and big cities in particular, represent the most complex environments, particularly in terms of the diversity of the population. City police departments have the heaviest responsibility for dealing with serious crime, that is disproportionately concentrated in cities. They are also responsible for difficult order maintenance problems and are asked to provide a wide range of