Police

Police

Special government unit empowered to enforce the law.

Industry: Government; Law enforcement

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Police

response time

Law enforcement; Police

The total amount of time between the commission of a crime and the moment a police officer arrives on the scene.

foot patrol

Law enforcement; Police

Officers within a department who make neighborhood rounds on foot. While extremely expensive and able to cover only limited ground, foot patrol allows for enhanced police-community relations.

abuse of authority

Law enforcement; Police

Actions by a police officer, under the guise of his or her authority, that tend to injure, insult, trespass on human dignity, and/or violate a citizen's inherent civil rights.

local political control

Law enforcement; Police

A tradition, inherited from England during the colonial period, that places primary responsibility for public protection with local governments, both city and county.

police-to-population ratio

Law enforcement; Police

The standard measure for the level of police protection in a community; usually expressed as the number of sworn officers per thousand population.

bureaucracy

Law enforcement; Police

A pyramidal model of government administration in which tasks are grouped into separate bureaus or departments and information flows up and down according to the hierarchical structure. Marked by ...

code of silence

Law enforcement; Police

Also known as the "blue curtain," a code of honor among police officers whereby officers refuse to testify against corrupt colleagues, creating a veil of secrecy around police actions.