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Police Roles and Functions

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Police Roles and Functions
Police agencies perform similar duties and responsibilities such as maintain law and order, investigate crimes and provide assistance to the community. There are various functions that each level of policing agencies handle and are broken into local, state and federal levels. In this paper I will discuss the various functions of a police agency, compare the functions on a local, state and federal level, explain what would happen if various functions and policing were limited in a community.
Law enforcement is one of the three major components of the criminal justice system. Communities are dependent on the law enforcement agencies to prevent crime and assist people when they are in need.
The local policing includes city, town and county. They protect citizens and maintain law and order within their assigned jurisdiction. Local police are responsible for maintaining order, enforcing criminal and traffic laws and investigating crimes. According to Walker & Katz municipal police are the most important component of American law enforcement. (Walker & Katz, 2011). Local police work closer with the community and provide a more direct service to the community they are assigned to.
The municipal police play a more complex role than any other level of law enforcement due to them being on the frontline on a daily basis. “Cities and big cities in particular represent the most complex environments, particularly (Walker & Katz, 2011)”. The city police have a serious responsibility when dealing with the community and the crime that comes along with it. Local law enforcement patrol communities to deter crime by their presence.
State law enforcement agencies provide a variety of services and according to Walker & Katz they fall into three categories: state police, highway patrol and state investigative agencies (Walker & Katz, 2011). The state’s

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