- published: 16 Jun 2016
- views: 14015
A law enforcement agency (LEA), in North American English, is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Outside North America, such organizations are usually called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police, others are known as sheriff's offices/departments, while investigative police services in the United States are often called bureaus, for example the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs will have some form of geographic restriction on their ability to apply their powers. The LEA might be able to apply its powers within a country, for example the United States of America's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, within a division of a country, for example the Australian state Queensland Police, or across a collection of countries, for example international organizations such as Interpol, or the European Union's Europol.
Law enforcement is any system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. Although the term may encompass entities such as courts and prisons, it is most frequently applied to those who directly engage in patrols or surveillance to dissuade and discover criminal activity, and those who investigate crimes and apprehend offenders, a task typically carried out by the police or another law enforcement agency. Furthermore, although law enforcement may be most concerned with the prevention and punishment of crimes, organizations exist to discourage a wide variety of non-criminal violations of rules and norms, effected through the imposition of less severe consequences.
Most law enforcement is conducted by some type of law enforcement agency, with the most typical agency fulfilling this role being the police. Societal investment in enforcement through such organizations can be massive, both in terms of the resources invested in the activity, and in the number of people professionally engaged to perform those functions.
Multiple Law Enforcement Agencies Responding Code 3 to Stolen Vehicle Call
Europol- European Law Enforcement Agency
Senate Bill 44 vs. the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency
U.S. Department of Defense Special Agents (documentary)
State officials say best to let law enforcement agencies police their use of in-car computers
Local law enforcement agencies given military weapons
Homeland security concerns come from Florida's top law enforcement agency
U.S. Marshals: Inside America's Most Storied Law Enforcement Agency
Habbo - Law Enforcement Agency
Law Enforcement Agency class Baldy View