Organizational Management and Operations Essay

Organizational Management and Operations The subject to describe is policing organizations at various levels. The author will identify, compare, and contrast the policing function at the local, state, and federal organizational levels (CJA/484 – Criminal Justice Administration Capstone). The author will analyze how the organizational, management, administration, and operational functions at the local, state, and federal levels are similar or different and why (CJA/484 – Criminal Justice Administration Capstone). The leadership characteristics and responsibilities pertaining to each organizational level will be identified (CJA – Criminal Justice Administration Capstone). According to Walker & Katz (2008) â€Å"American policing is a highly fragmented organization. Law enforcement in the United States is a large and extremely complex enterprise. Almost 18,000 federal, state, and local agencies exist along with a private security industry that employs over a million additional people. Currently there is no formal centralized system that exists for coordinating or regulating all the different agencies at the local, state, and federal levels.† The government agencies at the local level of law enforcement include the Municipal police, County police, and County sheriffs. The state levels of law enforcement include the state police, and the Bureau of criminal investigations. The federal levels of law enforcement include federal law enforcement agencies and the Military law enforcement, such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. These two departments have several branches, such as the Bureau of Customs and Border Protec tion, Drug Enforcement Agency, Bureau of Immigration, and Customs Enforcements, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Secret Service, the United States Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and  Explosives, which fall under the respected departments. Included under law enforcement agencies are also special district police, which includes public schools, transit police, college, university police, and private security firms (Walker & Katz, 2008). The municipal police departments are also referred to as city police. City police departments play a major role within the community. Municipal police department’s police officers are sworn in and have the heaviest responsibilities when dealing with serious crimes and the citizens in the neighborhoods in which the officers patrol. Municipal police officers are responsible for various maintenance problems and emergency services such as responding to minor disturbances, noncriminal events, public disturbances, traffic enforcement, routine patrol, and other miscellaneous calls (Walker& Katz, 2008). County police departments have police officers who serve as municipal police officers but they operate on a countywide basis; however, these officers do not have the non-law enforcement roles of the county sheriff. County sheriffs are elected in office except for in two states Rhode Island and Hawaii. County sheriffs have a unique role because they serve the three components of the criminal justice system: courts, law enforcement, and corrections. County sheriff department personnel roles and responsibilities include routine patrol, crime investigation, enforcement of traffic laws, process serving, court security, jail operations, and search and rescue (Walker & Katz, 2008). According to Walker & Katz (2008) â€Å"Special district police agencies such as some university campus and college police officers serve government agencies however the special district police agencies have their own police force. Most of the officers who are part of the special district agency are state certified law enforcement agents. Officers of the special district police agencies are sworn officers that are certified by the state, have the right to make general arrest, and participate in the Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report Systems. Many universities and college campuses opt out of government agency officers and choose to have private  security of their choice.† Private security firms include private agencies security personnel, which is privately employed by the firm as part or full-time employees. The roles and responsibilities of these officers are patrolling and providing protection at public and private housing complexes, office complexes, ma lls, gaming officers and investigators, loss prevention specialists, patrol services, and armored patrol services. Different from police agencies the private security agencies focus on more than crime they deal with property, consumer satisfaction, and personal assets. The private police organizations can ban people from establishments, fire employees, and pursue prosecution in criminal courts. Also included in private security is the red light and speed enforced cameras designed to ticket people caught speeding and running red lights Walker & Katz, (2008). State law enforcement agencies consist of three categories: state investigative agencies, highway patrols, and state police. State police have statewide police powers for criminal investigations and traffic regulation. Highway patrol officers have the right to arrest non-traffic violators within their jurisdiction and enforce traffic regulations statewide. State law enforcement agencies have the primary responsibility for enforcing traffic laws throughout the state on the highways; however, the state law enforcement agencies patrol concurrently with local police. The responsibilities of state law enforcement agencies vary in different states; some state law enforcement agencies have the responsi bility of training recruits and operating training academies Walker & Katz, (2008). The federal law enforcement agency is more complex and smaller than the local level agencies and differs in the roles and responsibilities of the personnel. The employees at the federal law enforcement level do not respond to 911 calls or local disturbances. The Customs and Border Protections are responsible for ensuring that cargo entering the United States is legal. It works to prevent weapons of mass destruction, illegal immigrants, diseased plants, and animals, and the smuggling of drugs across the border. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is responsible for enforcing custom and immigration laws, along with protecting federal buildings, Marines, and air enforcement (Walker & Katz, (2008). The Federal Emergency Management Agency shares the responsibility of coordinating with private, government, and nonprofit organizations to manage emergency preparedness. The Transportation  Security Administration has the responsibility for protecting the nation’s transportation systems. The United States Coast Guard is responsible for security missions that may be related to security. Some roles responsible by the Coast Guard are the waterways, ports, and coastal security. The United States Secret Service is responsible for providing protection for the former and current presidents, vice presidents, and their immediate family members. The Secret Service also deals with money laundering and computer fraud (Walker & Katz, (2008). Under the Department of Justice the Drug Enforcement Administration sector is responsible for enforcing federal regulations and laws concerning controlled substances. The Federal Bureau of Investigations focuses on preventing terrorist attacks. The United States Marshall Office is responsible for housing federal detainees, providing security to federal courts, and conducting fugitive investigations and placing eligib le people in the witness protection program. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are responsible for investigating firearm trafficking, enforcing federal firearm laws, preventing criminals and terrorists from possessing explosives, ensuring that individuals who possess explosives are properly licensed, and enforcing federal laws in the collection of federal taxes on alcohol and tobacco products (Walker & Katz, (2008). The author has identified, compared, and contrasted policing functions at the local, state, and federal organizational levels. The organizational, management, administration, and operational functions at the local, state, and federal levels have been analyzed to find the similarities and differences in the three organizational levels. The leadership characteristics of any criminal justice professional should References Grant, H. B., & Terry, K. J. (2008). Law Enforcement in the 21st Century (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Walker, S., & Katz, C. M. (2008). The Police in America (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.