police, public and private agents concerned with the enforcement of law, order, and public protection. In modern cities their duties cover a wide range of activities, from criminal investigation and apprehension to crime prevention, traffic regulation, and maintenance of records. In many countries they also have a political function (see secret police secret police, policing organization operating in secrecy for the political purposes of its government, often with terroristic procedures.

The Nature of a Secret Police

..... Click the link for more information. ). The foundations of the present English metropolitan police system were formulated in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel Peel, Sir Robert, 1788–1850, British statesman. The son of a rich cotton manufacturer, whose baronetcy he inherited in 1830, Peel entered Parliament as a Tory in 1809.
..... Click the link for more information. (see Scotland Yard Scotland Yard, headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police. The term is often used, popularly, to refer to one branch, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Named after a short street in London, the site of a palace used in the 12th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. ). On the North American frontier, before the government was well organized, vigilance committees (see vigilantes vigilantes (vĭjĭlăn`tēz), members of a vigilance committee. Such committees were formed in U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. ) functioned as volunteer police. The Texas Rangers Texas Rangers, mounted fighting force organized (1835) during the Texas Revolution. During the republic they became established as the guardians of the Texas frontier, particularly against Native Americans.
..... Click the link for more information. and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Royal Canadian Mounted Police, constabulary organized (1873) as the Northwest Mounted Police to bring law and order to the Canadian west. In 1920 the name was changed to the present title.
..... Click the link for more information. are examples of organizations that function especially in large, sparsely populated areas. The colonies maintained constables, and this office survives in the rural sheriff. Regular police forces appeared in many states after the establishment (1844) of the New York City organization. Administration of the police system varies in different countries. In Europe, especially on the Continent, it tends to be centralized. In the United States there is decentralization: Metropolitan police have the widest functions, and state police are chiefly concerned with traffic control and rural protection. Police agents of the federal government include members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), division of the U.S. Dept. of Justice charged with investigating all violations of federal laws except those assigned to some other federal agency.
..... Click the link for more information. , agents of the Dept. of Homeland Security Homeland Security, United States Department of (DHS), executive department of the federal government charged with protecting the security of the American homeland as its main responsibility.
..... Click the link for more information. (including the members of the Secret Service Secret Service, United States, a law enforcement division (since 2003) of the Dept. of Homeland Security. It was established in 1865 in the the Dept. of the Treasury to investigate and prevent counterfeiting of currency, officially becoming a distinct organization
..... Click the link for more information. , who guard the president and certain other public figures), and agents of the Dept. of Justice Justice, United States Department of, federal executive department established in 1870 and charged with providing the means for enforcing federal laws, furnishing legal counsel in federal cases, and construing the laws under which other federal executive departments
..... Click the link for more information. . The fight against crime on the international level is coordinated by the International Criminal Police Commission, popularly known as Interpol Interpol, acronym for the International Criminal Police Organization, a worldwide clearinghouse for police information. Conceived in 1914, Interpol was formally established in 1923 with headquarters at Vienna.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See J. Cramer, The World's Police (1964); H. Hahn, ed., Police in Urban Society (1971); H. K. Becker, Police Systems of Europe (1973); D. H. Bayley, Patterns of Policing: A Comparative International Perspective (1985); J. Roach and J. Thomaneck, ed., The Police and Public Order in Europe (1985); J. D. Brewer et al., The Police, Public Order and the State (1988); D. J. Kenney, ed., Police and Policing (1988).

police

Body of agents organized to maintain civil order and public safety, enforce the law, and investigate crime. Characteristics common to most police forces include a quasi-military organization, a uniformed patrol and traffic-control force, plainclothes divisions for criminal investigations, and a set of enforcement priorities that reflects the community's way of life. Administration may be centralized at the national level downward, or decentralized, with local police forces largely autonomous. Recruits usually receive specialized training and take an exam. The modern metropolitan police force began with Sir Robert Peel in Britain c. 1829. Secret police are often separate, clandestine organizations established by national governments to maintain political and social orthodoxy, which typically operate with little or no restraint.

police

a. the organized civil force of a state, concerned with maintenance of law and order, the detection and prevention of crime, etc.

b. (as modifier): a police inquiry

2. the members of such a force collectively

3. Archaic

a. the regulation and control of a community, esp in regard to the enforcement of law, the prevention of crime, etc.

b. the department of government concerned with this
www.police.uk
www.ipa-iac.org/index2.htm

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The Nature of a Secret Police

Bibliography

police

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