1. What is meant by the phrase “the rule of law,” as used in a democratic society?
The rule of law and democracy go hand in hand. The rule of law states that law should govern a nation and that the nation should not be governed by individual government officials. A key feature of democracy is the constitutional limits on power. “Fundamentally, constitutional limits on power, a key feature of democracy, requires adherence to the rule of law.” ("Rule of Law: Essential Principles | Democracy Web", 2016) The rule of law ensures protection for the majority from tyrants and arbitrary powers. It also serves to protect the minority from the majority. If the rule of law would fail to exist the result could end up with mob rule. In a mob rule …show more content…
In the watchmen style the primary concern is to achieve the goal of “order maintenance”. The watchmen’s main objective is to control illegal and disruptive behaviors. Some of the ways that the watchmen achieve their goals is to use informal police intervention, which often includes persuasion and threats and sometimes to even get physically violent with criminals. This style of policing is not popular with some because they say it only exists in poor communities. The watchmen style is a good representative of crime control method. A very different style of policing is the legalistic style. In the legalistic style every inch of the law is followed and enforced. This is very different from the watchmen style. In the legalistic approach law enforcement do not get involved in community disputes that are not breaking the law and are simply disrupting the social norm. Police expert Gary Sykes calls the enforcement style “laissez-faire policing” because it is a hands off policing approach. In the service style of policing law enforcement tries its best to meet the needs of the community. Police officer’s prefer to provide assistance rather than be warriors against crime. Minor infractions of the law are dealt with by treatment rather than prosecution. This style of policing is more common in wealthy and small town areas but can also work in any area if the community is …show more content…
The federal law enforcement system has fourteen different agencies and 28 total entities in these departments. The federal bureau of investigations (FBI) is the most famous of these agencies. The main purpose of the FBI in today’s society is to protect America from terrorist and foreign intelligence threats. Other examples of federal law agencies are the department of agriculture. This department enforces laws dealing with farming, agriculture, forestry and food. Another agency in the federal law enforcement bracket is the Department of Justice. The department of justice has many entities in it including the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms and explosive. This agency enforces federal laws against illegal use of firearms and explosives and enforces laws against illegal smuggling of tobacco and alcohol. The next level of law enforcement is the state level. The state level area of jurisdiction is confined to the state. Each state has their own form of law enforcement and different agencies within it, including the fish and wildlife agency and highway patrol among others. The general function of these agencies is to patrol the state’s highways, maintain a centralized criminal records repository and assist various law enforcement agencies when asked to do so. The lowest level of law enforcement is the local agencies. The local authority can be divided into many sub categories such as
The rule of law and democracy go hand in hand. The rule of law states that law should govern a nation and that the nation should not be governed by individual government officials. A key feature of democracy is the constitutional limits on power. “Fundamentally, constitutional limits on power, a key feature of democracy, requires adherence to the rule of law.” ("Rule of Law: Essential Principles | Democracy Web", 2016) The rule of law ensures protection for the majority from tyrants and arbitrary powers. It also serves to protect the minority from the majority. If the rule of law would fail to exist the result could end up with mob rule. In a mob rule …show more content…
In the watchmen style the primary concern is to achieve the goal of “order maintenance”. The watchmen’s main objective is to control illegal and disruptive behaviors. Some of the ways that the watchmen achieve their goals is to use informal police intervention, which often includes persuasion and threats and sometimes to even get physically violent with criminals. This style of policing is not popular with some because they say it only exists in poor communities. The watchmen style is a good representative of crime control method. A very different style of policing is the legalistic style. In the legalistic style every inch of the law is followed and enforced. This is very different from the watchmen style. In the legalistic approach law enforcement do not get involved in community disputes that are not breaking the law and are simply disrupting the social norm. Police expert Gary Sykes calls the enforcement style “laissez-faire policing” because it is a hands off policing approach. In the service style of policing law enforcement tries its best to meet the needs of the community. Police officer’s prefer to provide assistance rather than be warriors against crime. Minor infractions of the law are dealt with by treatment rather than prosecution. This style of policing is more common in wealthy and small town areas but can also work in any area if the community is …show more content…
The federal law enforcement system has fourteen different agencies and 28 total entities in these departments. The federal bureau of investigations (FBI) is the most famous of these agencies. The main purpose of the FBI in today’s society is to protect America from terrorist and foreign intelligence threats. Other examples of federal law agencies are the department of agriculture. This department enforces laws dealing with farming, agriculture, forestry and food. Another agency in the federal law enforcement bracket is the Department of Justice. The department of justice has many entities in it including the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms and explosive. This agency enforces federal laws against illegal use of firearms and explosives and enforces laws against illegal smuggling of tobacco and alcohol. The next level of law enforcement is the state level. The state level area of jurisdiction is confined to the state. Each state has their own form of law enforcement and different agencies within it, including the fish and wildlife agency and highway patrol among others. The general function of these agencies is to patrol the state’s highways, maintain a centralized criminal records repository and assist various law enforcement agencies when asked to do so. The lowest level of law enforcement is the local agencies. The local authority can be divided into many sub categories such as