# Does the federal government need a police force? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 7, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-federal-government-need-a-police-force/383256 "2006-12-07T19:46:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-federal-government-need-a-police-force/383256/1 "2006-12-07T19:46:35Z")
Federal agents don’t operate like police. They don’t just write tickets for breaking laws, they make a federal case out of it, and all that implies. Say inforcing truth in advertising laws. They could then just writing up a ticket for each time something wrong is spotted, summoning the perp in front of a judge to explain himself. Whereas now they have to wait until a few hundred instances are observed, over an number of years, build a case with many lawyers, and file a bunch of paperwork. ---
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-federal-government-need-a-police-force/383256/2 "2006-12-07T19:51:50Z")
The feds have a police force. Or, to be more exact, they have many police forces. There’s the Park Police, Customs, the DEA, the FBI, etc., etc. The Department of Education even has a police force. If you get arrested by federal police, it’s the same as if it’s by state/local police. They come to your place, put handcuffs on you, take you before a judge, and all that. ---
**Author:** ![aclubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@aclubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aclubs)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-federal-government-need-a-police-force/383256/3 "2006-12-07T21:41:01Z")
What about the United States Marshals Service? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-federal-government-need-a-police-force/383256/4 "2006-12-07T22:21:25Z")
Really, the Feds have police forces up the wazoo. I lived for quite some time in Washington, DC and I remember reading a Post article listing, I think, 17 different law enforcement agencies operating in the District. I can only do a partial list, and it would be great if others can up up with names I miss. FBI DEA Federal Marshall Service National Park Police Federal Protective Service Army military Police Air Force MPs Marine MPs Navy? – IIRC, the navy uses marine cops Treasury Police Postal Police Secret Service Oh, never mind, I just found a wiki list of about [30 Federal police agencies.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_police#United_States) Do we need ANOTHER Federal police force? No, but I could see retasking one of these to do some more useful work. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-federal-government-need-a-police-force/383256/5 "2006-12-07T22:45:50Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Do we need ANOTHER Federal police force? No, but I could see retasking one of these to do some more useful work. [/QUOTE] Wouldn’t it make more sense to merge all the civilian law-enforcement agencies into one? Why the duplication? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-federal-government-need-a-police-force/383256/6 "2006-12-07T23:33:46Z")
Federal law enforcement agents make a federal case out of everything pretty much by definition. Truth in advertising laws are generally enforced by the FTC under the [Federal Trade Comission Act](http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode15/usc_sup_01_15_10_2_20_I.html), and penalities are generally civil in nature. Most (but not all) federal crimes are found in [Title 18](http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sup_01_18.html) of the U.S. Code. Those crimes are often investigated and prosecuted in much the same way that state crimes are. By way of example, here’s a recent article from a trial in the federal courthouse I used to clerk in, coincidentally also involving one of my old law school professors: [Trucker Convicted in Deaths of 19 Illegal Immigrants](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/us/05verdict.html?ex=1165986000&en=9b31260a86e36700&ei=5059&partner=AOL) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-federal-government-need-a-police-force/383256/7 "2006-12-07T23:43:49Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Navy? – IIRC, the navy uses marine cops [/QUOTE] You don’t RC. The US Navy has the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). They also have Masters-at-Arms who, when assigned ashore, are assigned to base security departments. The US Marine Corps also has the NCIS. In addition, they have Military Police. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-federal-government-need-a-police-force/383256/8 "2006-12-08T02:23:29Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Wouldn’t it make more sense to merge all the civilian law-enforcement agencies into one? Why the duplication? [/QUOTE] These agencies exist separately to guarantee a certain amount of law enforcement attention and investment to certain areas. Otherwise some uber agency might decide that they were wasting a lot of resources on say, the war on drugs, or who knows what? Not to say that an uber agency is too rational for the system. Remember the to-do around Homeland Security’s Threat list, and its rather bizarre allocation of block grants to local and state law enforcement? IIRC, there were such high-risk targets as a popcorn factory and a petting zoo that led to slashing the grants to DC and New York, the only two cities actually attacked.