Fulfilling a Vital Need
Mannes and Associates is here to provide expert, inside knowledge into the public safety sector; representing those who need insight in law enforcement, homeland security, fire & rescue service, emergency management, and the military.
Whether you need:
- Expert security consultants to perform a threat and vulnerability-based needs assessment to make educated decisions on physical or personnel security policy or technology upgrades,
- Expert commentary or expert insight on breaking news stories
- Specialized, regional technical advisors for film, television, stage, and literary projects
- Evaluation of public safety-focused products from marketing, customer, manufacturer, and end-user perspectives
- And a variety of other applicable consulting services
There are approximately 18,760 separate law enforcement agencies in the U.S. with approximately 940,275 employees and a combined annual budget of about $51 billion, of which the federal contribution is only about 15% and with part-time or reserve employees counted as half an employee. Given the fact that most money to support the police establishment is raised locally, and the fact that two out of every three small towns in America have no police agency at all, the United States is far from a police state, making every agency unique and distinct. The 10th Amendment of the Constitution reserves police powers to the states, and both federalism and tradition have resulted in a fragmented police structure at lower levels of government; this fragmentation exemplified by the separation of local into two levels: municipal and county. States also have special agencies or task forces separate from their state police or highway patrol. Counties may have railroad or tribal police. Metropolitan cities may have special port, transit, causeway, housing, school, and/or capitol police.
Distinguishing the unique cultures, subsets, procedures, and differences of the various police agencies is a fine art, with some reporting agencies reporting a total of well over 20,000 agencies, and some counting around 23,170 and others much higher. Certain states have a state police barracks in almost every county where they perform. Other states, such as Florida, have a vast amount of special purpose state police agencies, such as those devoted to wildlife, fire, and alcoholic beverage control (427 at last count). In other locations (Texas, for example), constables and county marshals are counted as separate agencies from local governments. Regional special purpose task forces (as for drug, gang, violent crime, or terrorist enforcement) exist at all levels of government, are constantly being created, and few are decommissioned after they have completed their work.
Understanding the intricacies of the law enforcement community is further compounded by problems of agency classification at the local level. Some local governments are true municipalities, while others are classified as townships or villages that may or may not have true law enforcement agencies, contracting services to state, county, or a consortium of agencies (such as Pennsylvania and Washington state). There is a surprisingly large number of housing and transit authorities in the United States where in larger metropolitan areas have their own police agencies. A large number of independent school districts also exist (13,726) which are independent of any other government authority, where some have their own law enforcement agency. Many colleges and universities, both public and private, have their own police departments, although there is a tendency on the part of the state and city where the university is located to not recognize the private college agencies since they often don't meet the DLEA (Directory of Law Enforcement Agencies) definition of a law enforcement agency. In regard to multi-branch campuses, the problem becomes whether one counts the police agency at every academic site as a separate police agency (University of California, for example), or if these statewide university systems are recognized as one agency. Freight and Amtrak Railroad Police are quasi-federal in jurisdiction, while passenger/commuter railway police agencies are generally counted at the county or regional level. Municipal transit authority, hospital, port, airport, and tunnel police agencies, however, are often counted at the local level. Tribal police agencies also exist at many of the nation's 567 federally-recognized reservations. It is unclear whether they should be considered state, county, or local police (as they are federally subsidized by the U.S. Department of the Interior).
State, county, and local governments are frequently involved in consolidating or creating new police departments. Massachusetts, for example, has abolished several county governments and assigned their police function to state agencies. New York City, in 1995, merged their formidable transit and housing police departments into the New York City police department. In Michigan and Delaware and other states, a state police agency may be assigned to a single city or county, and for all practical purposes, is a local law agency. Consolidation occurs when two or more departments are combined, and typically occurs in places where twin cities have come together or a city has grown so large it takes over the whole county.