Police

Police are special agents of a government, or inter-governmental body, who are legally authorized to ensure public safety and enforce constitutional and administrative law. The police force belongs to the executive branch of the United States government and federal police are under the control of the president.http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/164509.pdf

Police work involves many elements including catching criminals, collecting evidence, issue citations, testify in court, and prevent crime. Police officers typically get around in their cars also called cruisers, on foot, motorcycle or on by bicycle. In metropolitan areas, or during special events, officers will ride horses. Most officers wear uniforms however some detectives or special duty officers will wear plain clothes in order to conceal their vocational identity.http://www.bls.gov/k12/law01.htm

It' is widely recognized that the Roman vigiles were the first nonmilitary and non-mercenary police force. They were established around 27BC, following the assassination of Julius Caesar, as an attempt to reform Roman society. With time, class control became the predominant function of police - in other words, identifying and keeping an eye on outsiders. This approach led to lawlessness and corruption which caused citizens groups to mobilization as vigilantes and crime fighters.http://www.realpolice.net/articles/police-history/history-of-law-enforcement.html

The breadth of power and authority that the police can exert has occasionally transformed into excessive force and stirred controversy, leading to significant awareness around the subject of police brutality. With the advent of the internet, many instances of brutality have been captured on video and released to pubic media sources. In response, many states have enacted laws prohibiting the video taping of officers while on duty. The result has been a heated debate over the alleged abuse of authority.http://www.policebrutality.info/