Introduction
The role of the police is to enforce laws, protect property and reduce civil disorders in the society. In this essay, I wish to discuss the differences and similarities between the federal, state, and local levels of law enforcement and contributions of August Vollmer and other pioneers to the development of Criminal investigative techniques.
Differences and similarities between the federal, state and local levels of law enforcement
A local police officer has his/her own jurisdiction in a given town. The local law enforcers provides patrol of the communities within their jurisdictions, emergency services and conduct criminal investigations. On the other hand, state law enforcers share same responsibilities with the local state. State officers are assigned the duty of providing security to the country. They ensure that rural areas, highways of state are safe. In addition, they also conduct criminal investigations.
Federal law enforcers work in certain areas of crime. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigations is responsible for major criminal investigations and they include civil rights, cyber crime, major thefts, terrorism, and counter intelligence. However, these enforcers have differences in their operations, support, funding, jurisdictions and staffing (Adams, 2001, p. 138).
In terms of resources, it could be labor, funds and the state law enforcers have adequate resources compared to the local law enforcers and this is because their operations are countrywide.
Local law enforcers deal with a small portion of place while state law enforcers ensure that the whole country is safe. Local officers provide patrol services within their community but the state officials patrol the whole country.
Federal law enforcers specialize in issues of crime. They handle major crimes like terrorism, cyber crimes, counterintelligence while the local and state law enforcers perform the same duties.
Contributions of August Vollmer and other pioneers in law enforcement to the development of criminal investigative techniques
Vollmer insisted that police should attain college degrees. They were to attend school to acquire skills and knowledge. He encouraged his men to attend classes in police administration. Bicycles and squad cars were used by the police for patrolling (Vollmer, 1983, p. 23). They provided transport for the police and patrolling enhanced security in the country.
A scientific crime laboratory was set up and a full time forensic scientist was employed. A lie detector machine was bought to be used in criminal investigation. He condemned corruption and ineffectiveness that existed in the police institutions and urged them not to be influenced by politics.
According to Bayley (1998), the United States, just like other countries, has created a government institution for maintaining internal order. His study of police institutions contributed to positive changes in the administration. The police appointed were intellectuals who were smart and better informed.
Senior police managers were ambitious. They applied management skills to run their organizations. This symbolized how committed they were in their work because they did research on their own. The work of the police became more intellectually demanding, it required new specialized knowledge about technology, forensic analysis and crime.
Conclusion
In conclusion, all law enforcement agencies share same responsibilities but in today’s society, the roles assigned to this law enforcement will continue to change.
Reference List
Adams, T. (2001). Police Field Operations. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Bayley, D.H. (1998). Ideas in American Policing. Web.
Vollmer, A. Pioneer in police professionalism: Oral history transcript/ and related material, 1972-1983. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/augustvollmer02vollrich