Criminal and Police Law
What is Criminal Law?
Criminal law covers issues that arise from a police arrest and investigation based on the suspicion of criminal activity. Criminal law also addresses indictments, accusations, and criminal pleas and trials.
Criminal law also deals with problems associated with probation or parole, or requests for record sealing or expungement of records. Crimes can be broken into many general categories such as personal crimes, white-collar crimes, and nonviolent crimes. Personal crimes include homicide, assault and battery, domestic violence, and abuse. White-collar crimes usually refer to tax evasion, RICO (racketeering), securities fraud, and sometimes, environmental violations. Non-violent crimes include drug crimes, gun possession and burglary.
What is the Role of Police in Society?
The main role of police in society is to preserve order. Their aims include enforcing criminal laws, reducing civil disorder, and protecting property. The state may grant certain powers to the police so that they can fulfill their role in society. These powers may include including the legitimate use force in preventing crime and the power to impose fines for criminal behavior.
Police forces may also engage in a number of community functions, such as educational seminars, performing community service, and sponsoring community events and activities.
Who are Considered to be “Police”?
Police forces are defined as organizations that are separate from military forces involved in defending against foreign aggressors. In other words, police forces only perform domestic peace-keeping functions and are not involved in international matters. Every city usually maintains its own police force, with the organization being headquartered in what is known as a “precinct”.
People often informally call other groups “the police”, even though technically, they may not be a police force. Some figures that are associated with law enforcement include:
- Sheriffs
- Highway Patrol Officers
- Inspectors
- Detectives
- Marshals
These authority figures often perform similar tasks as police officers. They frequently work in cooperation with local police forces for the overall purpose of law enforcement.
How Can a Lawyer Help?
Sentencing and punishment for crimes are often harsh and can be brought against adults as well as juveniles. Being involved in the criminal or police process can be quite demanding, rigorous, and time consuming. It is often stressful on both the individual suspected of the crime, and that individual's friends and family. Hiring the right criminal defense attorney can often make a substantial difference in your case.
Vea esta página en español: Leyes de Criminal y la Policía o visita Abogados-Leyes.com para más información legal.
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Last Modified: 07-20-2011 02:08 PM PDT
