A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement agency is the police, but various other forms exist as well, including agencies that focus on specific legal violation, or are organized and overseen by certain authorities. They typically have various powers and legal rights to allow them to perform their duties, such as the power of arrest and the use of force.
Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the law enforcement agency of London, England
The exterior of the Los Angeles Police Department's West Valley Area Police Station. The LAPD operates approximately 21 such stations divided across Los Angeles; this one covers policing in the San Fernando Valley.
Bundespolizei officers with their police car
American federal law enforcement agents working together. Each federal LEA in the U.S. has a different focus and jurisdiction; for example, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (agent in center) investigates crimes involving alcohol, tobacco, and weaponry.
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term encompasses police, courts, and corrections. These three components of the criminal Justice system may operate independently of each other or collectively through the use of record sharing and cooperation. Throughout the world, law enforcement are also associated with protecting the public, life, property, and keeping the peace in society.
New York City Police Department lieutenant debriefing police officers at Times Square
Toronto Police Service officers in 1883
Indonesian National Police officers conducting a foot patrol
Municipal police officers, county sheriff's deputies, and state highway patrol officers at the scene of a pursuit termination in Scotts Valley, California