Ex. 4. Read the text and summarise it in Russian.

 

Organization of the Police in the United States

The United States has a federal system of government with separate national and state structures, each with authority over certain functions. Most of the 17,500 police agencies at the national, state, county, and municipal levels are responsible for carrying out three functions: (1) law enforcement, (2) order maintenance, and (3) service to the community. They employ a total of more than 800,000 people, sworn and unsworn. The agencies include the following:

• 12,502 municipal police departments

• 3,086 sheriffs' departments

• 1,721 special police agencies (jurisdictions limited to transit systems, parks, schools, and so on)

• 49 state police departments (all states except Hawaii)

• 50 federal law enforcement agencies'

This list shows both the fragmentation and the local orientation of American police. The local nature of law enforcement is also revealed by the fact that only 12 percent of funds for police work are spent by the national government, and only IS percent by state governments. The other 73 percent are spent by municipal and county governments. Each level of the system has different responsibilities, either for different kinds of crimes, such as the federal over counterfeiting, or for different geographic areas, such as state police authority over major highways. The broadest authority tends to lie with local units.

Federal Agencies.

Federal law enforcement agencies are part of the executive branch of the national government. They investigate a specific set of crimes defined by Congress. Recent federal efforts against drug trafficking, organized crime, insider stock trading, and environmental pollution have attracted attention to these agencies even though they employ few agents and handle relatively few crimes.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is an investigative agency within the U.S. Justice Department with the power to investigate all federal crimes not placed under the jurisdiction of other agencies. Established as the Bureau of Investigation in 1908, it came to national prominence under J. Edgar Hoover, its director from 1924 until his death in 1972. Hoover made major changes in the Bureau (renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935) in order to increase its professionalism. He established the national fingerprint filing system, and oversaw the development of the Uniform Crime Reporting System.

Specialization in Federal Law Enforcement.

Other federal agencies are concerned with specific kinds of crimes. Within the FBI is the semiautonomous Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). As part of the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) pursues violations of tax laws; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms deals with alcohol, tobacco, and gun control; and the Customs Service enforces customs regulations. Other federal law enforcement agencies include the Secret Service Division of the Treasury Department (counterfeiting, forgery, and protection of the president), the Bureau of Postal Inspection of the Postal Service (mail offenses), and the Border Patrol of the Department of Justice's Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Some other departments of the executive branch, such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Parks Service, have police powers related to their specific duties.

Bureau of Postal Inspection of the Postal Service (mail offenses), and the Border Patrol of the Department of Justice's Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Some other departments of the executive branch, such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Parks Service, have police powers related to their specific duties.

State Agencies.

Every state except Hawaii has its own police force with statewide jurisdiction. Most of these agencies are small and do not handle the bulk of the police work. All state forces regulate traffic on main highways, and two-thirds of the states have also given them general police powers. In only about a dozen populous states are these forces able to fulfill law enforcement needs outside the cities. Where the state police are well established - as in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Michigan - they also enforce the law in rural areas. For the most part, however, they operate only in areas where no other form of police protection exists or where local officers ask for their help. In many states, for example, the crime lab is run by the state police as a means of assisting local law enforcement agencies.

County Agencies.

Sheriffs are found in almost every one of the 3,100 counties in the United States. They' are responsible for policing rural areas, but over time, especially in the Northeast, many of their criminal justice functions have been assumed by the state -or local police. In parts of the South and West, however, the sheriff's department is a well-organized force. In thirty-three states sheriffs are elected and hold the position of chief law enforcement officer in the county. Even when the sheriff's office is well organized, however, it may lack jurisdiction over cities and towns. In these situations, the sheriff and his or her deputies patrol unincorporated parts of the county or small towns that do not have police forces of their own.

In addition to performing law enforcement tasks, the sheriff is often an officer of the court; sheriffs may operate jails, serve court orders, and provide the bailiffs who maintain order in courtrooms, in many counties, politics mixes with law enforcement: sheriffs may be able to appoint their political supporters as deputies and bailiffs. In other places, such as Los Angeles County and Oregon's Multnomah County, the sheriff's department is staffed by civil service professionals.

Municipal Agencies.

The police departments of cities and towns have general law enforcement authority. City police forces range in size from more than 35,000 employees in the New' York City Police Department to only one sworn officer in 1,602 small towns. Nearly 90 percent of local police agencies serve populations of 25,000 or less, but half of' all sworn officers are employed in cities of at least 100,000.

In a metropolitan area composed of a central city and a number of suburbs, policing is usually divided among agencies at all levels of government, giving rise to conflicts between jurisdictions that may interfere with efficient use of police resources. The city and each suburb buys its own equipment and deploys its officers without coordinating with those of nearby jurisdictions. In some areas with large populations, agreements have been made to enhance cooperation between jurisdictions.

Because of the fragmentation of police agencies in the United States, each jurisdiction develops its own enforcement goals and policies. Each agency must make choices about how to organize itself and use its resources to achieve its goals.