ABSTRACT
The development of police forces as an integral part of the American justice system traces its roots to English tradition, dating to the Norman Conquest in 1066. Police functions include law enforcement, maintenance of order, and services, ranging from traffic accident investigation, transporting injured civilians to medical facilities, providing first aid to crime or accident victims, to finding missing persons. In the law enforcement aspect of the police process, police are clothed with wide latitude, face a range of choices, and make sequential discretionary decisions in the process of crime detection, investigation, and arrest. One of the most confusing restrictions on police is the legal requirement of having "probable cause" to arrest. Many police departments possess manuals that provide guidelines to police officers in connection with media interviews and appearances. Eyewitness identification is one of the most critical tools police officials use as a basis for establishing probable cause.
