Law enforcement is the means by which a community, state, or country keeps order. The enforcement of civil and criminal law by government agencies helps the members of a society to live together peaceably.
Civil law regulates many conflicts between people. Disputes about such matters as contracts, ownership of property, and payment for personal injury are settled in court through lawsuits. The enforcement of civil law takes up most of the time of most lawyers and courts, but it does not involve the police.
Criminal law covers actions harmful to society. Such crimes as murder, rape, and robbery threaten the order of a society. This article discusses the enforcement of criminal law. People who violate criminal law may be (1) arrested by the police and (2) put on trial by the local, state, or national government. If found guilty, they may be (3) imprisoned.
Arrest.
Police enforce criminal law by arresting anyone they reasonably believe has committed a crime. In some cases, a police officer must have a court order called a warrant before making an arrest. But an officer does not need a warrant to arrest a person he or she observes violating the law. Many people who go on trial were arrested without a warrant shortly after the crime of which they were accused.
Trial.
The evidence that a person committed a crime is given by the police to a government attorney called a prosecutor. At a preliminary hearing held before a judge, the prosecutor must show “probable cause” to justify holding the defendant for trial. The judge appoints a defense attorney to handle the person’s case if the accused cannot afford to hire one. The judge sets bail if he or she believes the defendant should go on trial. A defendant who does not have enough money to put up bail must stay in jail until the trial.
Formal charges against the defendant may be made in the form of an information by the prosecutor or as an indictment by a grand jury. In many cases, the accused agrees to plead guilty in exchange for being charged with a less serious crime or being promised a shorter prison sentence. This process is called plea bargaining. The judge takes the plea at a hearing called an arraignment. About 90 percent of all defendants plead guilty, most of them as a result of plea bargaining.
Defendants who plead not guilty may have a trial by jury, or the judge alone may decide the facts of the case. If the defendant is found guilty, the judge then sentences the individual.
Imprisonment.
Most criminal laws specify the longest and shortest prison term to which an offender may be sentenced. The judge frequently decides the exact length of the sentence, depending on what he or she feels will best serve both the offender and society. Prison terms are meant to punish offenders, reform criminals, remove dangerous offenders from society, and show possible future lawbreakers the penalties for crime.
If the judge believes a prison term would not help an offender, the individual may be sentenced to a period of probation. A lawbreaker who is on probation remains free, but a probation officer assigned by the court may check on the individual’s activities. An offender who violates the rules of the probation may be imprisoned.
