ABSTRACT
The American police fulfill their various responsibilities within the confines of a unique environment. This environment is constantly evolving and is composed of social, legal, economic, political, and intellectual forces that combine to create a unique climate. This environment substantially influences the behavior of American police officers and, to some degree, determines where and when they will enforce the law, how they will go about enforcing the law, and even which laws will be enforced and which ones will be ignored. Although the police can be distinguished from other social institutions and are a distinct
n Informal social control
n Judicial branch
n Judiciary Act of 1789
n Jurisdiction
n Law
n Law and order
n Law enforcement role
n Legalistic style
n Legislative branch
n Convenience norm enforcement
n Order maintenance role
n Police functions
n Police power
n Procedural law
n Role
n Separation of powers
n Service role
n Service style
n Social contract
n Social control
n Society
n State
n State police
n Substantive law
governmental entity, their actions are largely controlled by forces within the environment that are external to police organizations. This is not to say that police are merely passive actors who respond to their environment. Police, in fact, are active in both responding to these forces and shaping their working and social environments. To really understand the policing and police behavior requires us to consider both the internal and external working environments of the police institution. In this chapter, however, we will focus on the external environment of American policing and how the police institution is structured.
