Besides the traditional police officers (of local, state, and federal agencies) and peace officers?
Can any governement agency be considered law enforcement if it oversees the execution of laws?
For example, the parks department for carrying out conservation laws, or a licensing agency that’s responsible for fulfilling its statutory duty of licensing?
It depends. Every state has a different legal definition of a law enforcement (or peace) officer. So there are 50 different answers to the OP. Here in the Majikal Land O’ Cheeze the State Department of Administration is not a law enforcement agency, but the Capitol Police which are a division of the DOA, is.
Also, in Wisconsin to be considered a law enforcement officer one must be sworn by an official agency and have powers of arrest. So a corrections officer who works for the sheriff in a jail is not considered a law enforcement officer because they have no power of arrest. Unless, of course, they are also sworn deputies (some CO’s are, most are civilian employees).
A parking checker, though they have authority to issue citations, has no power of arrest, and therefore is not technically a law enforcement officer (even though they are enforcing laws). So the Bureau of Parking Enforcement, though they are enforcing laws, is not a law enforcement agency because nobody there has any powers of arrest. They are enforcing laws yet are not really considered a law enforcement agency.:smack:
YMMV depending on which state you’re in.
Clear as mud, huh?
I worked for the California State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and we had agents who were badge- and gun-carrying enforcement agents.
Within the enforcement division, they would set up stings operations, arrest under-aged drinkers, close down unlawfully-licensed facilities, and more. And, yes, occasionally they needed their guns but usually not.
I think all states have Game Wardens. They are law enforcement officers with broad powers even the regular police don’t have due to the nature of their job. I have never met a nice Game Warden.
What are the “broad powers?”
Well, it many states they are immune from most trespass laws and can go on property without a warrant, court order, or probable cause.
Also, they can stop vehicles like boats, ATV’s, & snowmobiles without any PC just to do equipment checks. As a police officer if I pulled a car over just so I could measure the rubber on it’s windshield wipers I’d get in serious trouble. But a warden can detain a boater just to check if the battery is properly covered.
These are just 2 of the many powers they have.
I know when I worked at a bail bond agency, the bond enforcement agent (AKA Bounty Hunter) has the power to arrest the person named on the bond, but that is his ONLY power. He has no authority to act to arrest anyone else.
It’s actually very interesting to see how detailed it is. The papers lay out exactly who he can arrest and how he can go about arresting that person. For instance, if the person has asthma the “bounty hunter” isn’t allowed to use pepper spray. Or if they have a pacemaker they aren’t allowed to use a taser.
It’s very narrowly defined. You can arrest THAT person and you can only use THESE ways to do it.
BTW I also never met a nice game warden. 
Bounty hunting is a unique subject when it comes to law enforcement. I’m looking for a cite but I believe it’s only legal in like 2 or 3 countrys. In the United States it’s legality goes all the way back to an 1872 SCOTUS ruling, and AFAIK it’s never been reversed.
I don’t know anyone who does it here in Wisconsin, but I know 2 guys that did it in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. They tell me how incredible stupid that Dog the bounty hunter show is, and how insane it would be to do the work without any kind of firearm. I had already suspected that both were true even before they told me.
So from what pkbites tells me, law enforcement can only be public sector (i.e., there are no corporate law enforcement officers, not even the CEO position
)?
Furthermore, would the Governor of a state be considered law enforcement as a peace officer or a member of another category like Game Warden?
Going by pkbites’s definition, the governor of Wisconsin would not be considered law enforcement since he does not have personal powers of arrest, but he is sworn in. Right?
It depends. Wisconsin, generally, uses the term “Peace Officer” and not law enforcement officer as the official term. By statute the definition “Peace Officer” means *any person vested by law with a duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for crime, whether that duty extends to all crimes or is limited to specific crimes. *Notice the word “or”. If the position is vested by law to maintain order, I suppose the position could be considered a peace officer even if no powers of arrest were granted. Alderman used to use this as a loophole to allow themselves to carry concealed guns. Sometime back in the 80’s most localities removed the phrase “maintain public order” from an aldermans oath. Also notice the phrase “to make arrests for crime”. While parking checkers are enforcing laws, they have no powers of arrest, and parking violations are not crimes.
So there’s the legal definition; and any given state may or may not have laws or regulations that treat Law Enforcement officers differently than others and therefore require a definition of what one is.
In common usage, however, I think a general member of the population would equate ‘Law Enforcement’ with being able to make arrests (and probably carrying a weapon). So armed Game Wardens, Secret Service Agents, and gun-and-badge carrying Immigration Agents would qualify, but not, say Health Inspectors (even though the Health Inspector is in fact enforcing laws).
Basically keeping Yogi and Boo Boo out of the pick-a-nic baskets.
Lets not forget about the several sub sections of many federal agencies, the post office for example. They have their own security force who are responsible for all mail crime/fraud. They carry weapons and can make arrests. They also [IRRC] get jurisdiction over any violent crime involving a postman.
I worked as a wildland firefighter for the Washington Dept of Natural Resources and was trained and given “limited police powers” as part of a class I took. Basically it gave me the power to issue citations dealing with wildfires (illegal burning, spark arresters, enforcing hoot owls on logging operations). It also gave me what they considered a limited power to arrest, I could not physically detain anyone but I could stop someone to ask them questions, which I guess under WA law was considered a limited version of arresting someone.
I really think it comes down to the wording of the laws and when and how they were passed, every state and every government entity will be different
So the security forces of these federal agencies such as the USPS, the IRS, the INS, and US Customs are considered law enforcement but not the commissioner of such a department, right? Just wanted to make sure. Can the commissioner or a person appoint a new commissioner ever cite that special circumstances would place the commissioner under law enforcement?
Do any of you know if a national security clearance is required to become a commissioner of a federal agency? For example, I know federal agents must undergo extensive background checks, but as you have pointed out, gun-and-badge security forces are very different from say, the Health Department.