# Difference in law enforcement divisions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 2, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715 "2009-07-02T16:50:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/1 "2009-07-02T16:50:16Z")
I need some education about the various law enforcement divisions. Why the differences as opposed to just having one agency in a given area, that can do it all? Why do we have city police, county police, highway patrol, Sheriff’s office, county Marshals, state bureau of investigations, etc. Also, sheriffs are elected, but police chiefs are not, correct? Why? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/2 "2009-07-02T16:57:05Z")
> [@Daddypants](#): > > I need some education about the various law enforcement divisions. Why the differences as opposed to just having one agency in a given area, that can do it all? Why do we have city police, county police, highway patrol, Sheriff’s office, county Marshals, state bureau of investigations, etc. Also, sheriffs are elected, but police chiefs are not, correct? Why? So, say, a statewide police force capable of keeping straight in their heads every variation of every law for every town, city, unincorporated area, and county in the state? And the boundary of each so each officer knows instantaneously whether a car they see turning right on red is in the town which permits it or the unincorporated county area which doesn’t? Or dollars being pulled from rural, relatively low-crime areas to pay for police officers to control crime in urban, relatively high-crime areas hundreds of miles away? ---
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/3 "2009-07-02T17:23:08Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > So, say, a statewide police force capable of keeping straight in their heads every variation of every law for every town, city, unincorporated area, and county in the state? And the boundary of each so each officer knows instantaneously whether a car they see turning right on red is in the town which permits it or the unincorporated county area which doesn’t? Well … that works in Australia and New Zealand. Police work for the state, not for a town or city. In NZ, state really means country. I would think that parts of an Australian state where there are multiple towns close together are not hugely different to the US. It’s probably a cultural difference more than anything. I think towns and counties etc in the US all like to be their own little self contained empire. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/4 "2009-07-02T17:30:35Z")
> [@tetranz](#): > > I think towns and counties etc in the US all like to be their own little self contained empire. To the extent that “like to be their own little self contained empire” = “are obliged to enforce the laws their citizens have enacted,” yes, I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/5 "2009-07-02T17:52:15Z")
The U.S. has historically had a highly decentralized law-enforcement (“LE”) establishment, drawing heavily upon pre-Revolutionary War British practice and later codified by law on a state-by-state basis. Each has a particular jurisdiction, scope of authority and chain of command, and often an expertise or specialization. In a (highly overgeneralized) nutshell… City police are responsible for LE within a particular city, although in some states their LE powers extend statewide, in whole or in part, even if they only customarily work in that single city. I don’t know of any American “county police;” in Ohio, where I live, the sheriff is the countywide LE official. The highway patrol (called “state police” in some states; in the Lone Star State the Texas Rangers serve this and other functions) is responsible for LE on the state highways, which pass through multiple jurisdictions and might not otherwise get the uniform LE attention they need; the highway patrol/state police/Rangers are also usually responsible for security in state buildings, conduct some investigations, and guard the governor and other top state officials. Lemme see. I already mentioned county sheriffs. There are several different kinds of marshals in the U.S. - here’s what Wiki has to say about them: [Marshal - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshal). State bureaus of investigation are often limited to actual forensic or scientific lab work; in other states they function as mini-FBIs. A police chief is typically appointed by the mayor of her or his city, although in some places there may be some form of civil-service appointment, supervision or protection. Sheriffs are elected in some states (such as Ohio) but not in others, depending on the law. Connecticut has no sheriffs at all, IIRC, as the state abolished all county governments due its dense urbanization. Of course the Federal Government has an entirely different LE establishment (FBI, Marshals Service, Secret Service, TSA, DEA, ATF, Customs and Border Protection, Federal Protective Service, Park Service, etc.) beyond what the states do. For more on this, see: [Federal law enforcement in the United States - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_law_enforcement_in_the_United_States) Whew. It all seems like an impossibly complicated mess, I’ll admit, but from day to day it works remarkably well. Any greater degree of consolidation or uniformity would mean abolishing some proud, turf-conscious, long-established department, which would most likely fight tooth and nail to remain in existence, causing a huge political stink. So you can see why that doesn’t happen all that often. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/6 "2009-07-02T20:38:25Z")
Many counties in New York have county police departments as opposed to sheriff’s offices. The Westchester County Police, for instance, provide local law enforcement to the various towns and villages that aren’t big enough to establish their own local police departments. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/7 "2009-07-02T22:15:36Z")
Los Angeles County, California has a very large [Sheriff’s Department](http://www.lasd.org/) that does the usual sheriff-y things, including running the jails, serving as bailiffs in the courts, providing basic law enforcement in the unincorporated areas of the county (which includes some densely populated places), as well as providing basic law enforcement to “contract cities” - incorporated cities which pay the county for the service rather than establish their own police departments (_e.g._, Lakewood). In addition, there exists a [Los Angeles County Police](http://ops.co.la.ca.us/), which is far smaller (580 officers vs. 8,000+ deputies in the Sheriff’s Office) and appears - as best I can tell - to police county-owned facilities. Their website is, frankly, rather vague about just what it is that these guys _do_: “LACP provides law enforcement services to the patrons, employees, and properties of County departments that contract for such services, and provides a safe environment for those who use these facilities.” Apparently (from the webpage) they were created in 1998 from a consolidation of the Parks and Recreation Department’s Park Police and the Safety Police that served the Health and Internal Services Departments; perhaps this gives some clue as to their function. I very rarely see County Police personnel or vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/8 "2009-07-02T22:40:58Z")
**Elendil’s Heir** , you forgot to mention Township police. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/9 "2009-07-02T22:42:37Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > **Elendil’s Heir** , you forgot to mention Township police. 😃 Good point. :smack: We have those here in Ohio, of course. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources also has rangers with limited LE powers. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/10 "2009-07-02T22:43:38Z")
I don’t believe the Texas Rangers spend much of their time enforcing traffic laws even though they are no doubt empowered to do so. Enforcing traffic laws on Interstates outside of municipalities is usually done by the Highway Patrol, often in conjunction with the appropriate county sheriff and/or a local municipality whose city limits include a section of Interstate. You also have, in Texas, constables who enforce laws within a specific precinct but who are authorized to make arrests anywhere in the county. People arrested by constables are usually taken directly to a Justice of the Peace court where fines and/or jail time maybe levied. In other words, Texas has a plethora of LEOs who can nail your butt for pretty near anything. Here in Florida, the various Indian reservations have their own LEOs and those guys are not to be messed with. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/11 "2009-07-02T23:13:54Z")
Here in Mecklenburg County, the city and county governments are almost entirely combined, and the Police Department is the Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD, serving all areas which do not employ their own municipal police departments (Mecklenburg County has 7 municipalities). Consequently, almost the only work left for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Department is protecting government office buildings (like the county courthouse) and serving warrants. This means that if you see a county mountie in your neighborhood, chances are almost 100% that someone’s getting either divorced or picked up on a bench warrant for failure to obey a summons. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/12 "2009-07-03T02:43:32Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > The highway patrol (called “state police” in some states; in the Lone Star State the Texas Rangers serve this and other functions) is responsible for LE on the state highways, which pass through multiple jurisdictions and might not otherwise get the uniform LE attention they need; the highway patrol/state police/Rangers are also usually responsible for security in state buildings, conduct some investigations, and guard the governor and other top state officials. Slight correction. In Texas, the state police agency is the Department of Public Safety. The DPS is responsible for issuance of driver licenses as well as providing state police services, such as crime lab, etc. The two major law enforcement divisions of the DPS are the Highway Patrol (the state troopers) and the Texas Rangers. The Rangers serve primarily as the state’s Investigative Bureau. > **[Texas Department of Public Safety](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Department_of_Public_Safety)** > > The Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas, commonly known as the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), is a department of the state government of Texas. The DPS is responsible for statewide law enforcement and driver license administration. > The Public Safety Commission oversees the DPS. However, under state law, the Governor of Texas may assume command of the department during a public disaster, riot, insurrection, formation of a dangerous resistance to enforcement of law, or t... > **[Texas Ranger Division](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Ranger_Division)** > > The Texas Ranger Division, also known as the Texas Rangers and nicknamed the Diablos Tejanos (Spanish for 'Texan Devils'), is an investigative law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in the U.S. state of Texas, based in the capital city Austin. The Texas Rangers have investigated crimes ranging from murder to political corruption, acted in riot control and as detectives, protected the governor of Texas, tracked down fugitives, served as a security force at important state locations,... ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/13 "2009-07-03T03:05:29Z")
Around me in suburban Austin, I often see county _constables_ out on patrol. What do they do that is so much different than a county sheriff’s officer? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/14 "2009-07-03T08:59:56Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > So, say, a statewide police force capable of keeping straight in their heads every variation of every law for every town, city, unincorporated area, and county in the state? And the boundary of each so each officer knows instantaneously whether a car they see turning right on red is in the town which permits it or the unincorporated county area which doesn’t? If drivers can be expected to know this, why not police officers? There’s no reason in principle why the US couldn’t have a much simpler law enforcement procedure, e.g. a unitary polic force for each state, and a federal police force. Other countries have this, and it evidently isn’t unworkable. The US doesn’t have this, partly for historical reasons as **Elendil’s heir** points out, and partly because of a political culture which has been mistrustful of the concentration of coercive power. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/15 "2009-07-03T14:26:59Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Around me in suburban Austin, I often see county _constables_ out on patrol. What do they do that is so much different than a county sheriff’s officer? In my area, constables serve warrants. We also have “game wardens” who wield considerable power. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/16 "2009-07-03T14:44:51Z")
Well one of the things we saw in 9-11 is how ineffective police are at sharing data. And it’s not just federal -vs- local. It’s even within the various groups of federal agencies or state agencies and it’s doesn’t even stop there. Even local police departments have issues of “turf” when it comes to sharing data. NYC Police has a history of turf issues not only from bourough to bourough but even within divisions of the same bourough. So while I agree with the poster that says it works on a day to day basis, there is much duplication and turf issues that need to be resolved for efficency ---
**Author:** ![kirk1168](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@kirk1168](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk1168)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/17 "2009-07-04T02:10:37Z")
Here in Pennsylvania, the county sheriffs departments do not have any law-enforcement duties. They escort prisoners from county prisons to county courthouses for trial. That’s about it. They may serve warrants and summons, too, I’m not sure, though I think constables (also no L-E powers) do that. The PA State Police functions as highway patrol (there is no PA Highway Patrol; many movies and TV shows get this wrong) and they also provide L-E for towns, boroughs and townships that don’t have their own departments. There are also county police, separate from the sheriffs, who have jurisdiction only in county parks and buildings (basically security guards with guns). Most out-of-staters can’t get over the “sheriffs are not the police” thing…:dubious: ETA: we have the game wardens, too, and yes, they have considerable L-E powers. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/18 "2009-07-04T04:24:32Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Around me in suburban Austin, I often see county _constables_ out on patrol. What do they do that is so much different than a county sheriff’s officer? They taser little old ladies. The officer that recently created such a stink about using a taser on a senior citizen was a Travis County Constable. He is elected by his precinct and does not answer to the county sheriff. You should have seen how quickly the sheriff pointed out that he had nothing to do with that constable. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/19 "2009-07-04T14:39:22Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Around me in suburban Austin, I often see county _constables_ out on patrol. What do they do that is so much different than a county sheriff’s officer? The office of the constable is a full law-enforcement agency. Constables for quite a while were predominantly the warrant-serving arm of the justice courts and some of the lower county courts. There’s been a shift over the last 30 years or so where the constables are taking a much more active role in law enforcement. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715/20 "2009-07-04T15:36:35Z")
I work in D.C. and am amazed that the US Bureau of Prininting needs its own police force. As does the DC Housing Authority. And I don’t even know what DC Protective Services does. In my neighborhood we constantly see police cars with generic federal markings that seem to be associated with the CIA. The list goes on. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-in-law-enforcement-divisions/501715.md?page=2)