Law Enforcement System

Introduction Law enforcement is an aspect of every society that started many centuries ago since it was a requirement for a society to have people and agencies that will ensure that people obey the laws. This was also the case in the United States of America whereby law enforcement in the early history of the United States was simply developed using the Common Law System that was used in the Ancient England. This was a system that primarily relied on its citizens to work as volunteers as well as watch groups and developed the conscription system that is also referred to as the posse comitatus (Krent, 1988). This is a system that is known to be similar to that of a militia system. The system was used till the mid of the Nineteenth Century when …show more content…
This is along with the corrections as well as the courts that are established in the United States (Johnson, 1981, January). Despite the fact that the three components often work different and independently, they also forma kind of collective chain that starts with the investigations into criminal matters, and finally to the process of punishment or justice administration after the final verdict is given by the courts (Roland, & Verdier, 2003). Furthermore, the courts have powers that allow them to make determinations on legal matters that relate to the kind of conduct that is displayed by people in the society and also the conduct of the remaining components of the law enforcement (Krent, …show more content…
The settlement of the colonies led to the appointment of constables who oversaw law enforcement during the year 1630 (Krent, 1988). However, later on, in the year 1631, the people decided to form a group of six people that kept watch over the town and did night patrols. This group was made of a constable and some other volunteers. Despite being run as a voluntary outfit, the group of watchmen helped the town a lot through reports of fire and always maintaining order in every corner of the street during the 17th Century (Johnson, 1981, January). They also raised alarms in form of cries as the pursued criminals and also arrested people that were found breaking the law. The role of the constables was also similar and they ensured that people observed healthy practices, hygiene, sanitation and also ensured that suspects were taken to court and produced witnesses (Krent, 1988). Some of the conducts that were found to be against the law and disorderly included working on a Sabbath and also found cursing in places that were considered as public as well as failure to pen the animals that pone possessed as required (Walker,