Whats the difference between the state troopers, county police (fairfax county, arlingtion etc..), and city police (alexandria city cops)?

edit by Cary: fixed ugly subject



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2007 04:06PM by Cary.

well, the state troopers work for the state, and the county cops work for the respective counties, and the city cops work for the respective cities.

And you apparntly work as a janitor.

RESton Peace wrote:
well, the state troopers work for the state, and the county cops work for the respective counties, and the city cops work for the respective cities.


And you apparntly work as a janitor.

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LOL....actually that was pretty funny.
I guess me question is who has more authority? To avoid confusion, why doesn't the state (commonwealth) just have one large law enforcement agency to handle all law enforcement duties within the commonwealth? This avoids jurisdiction confusion

DUMB....

Sorry for my last post...
After reading your questions more carefully, that is not such a bad idea. However, the thought is a waste of time. It will never happen...

There is no confusion. Proper cities like Fairfax, Herndon, Vienna and Alexandria have their own police forces with their own elected sheriffs and such. They work in city boundaries. County officers get the rest of the county not covered in a city boundary. State police generally cover rural areas with light police forces, highways, and inter-county crime.

An example is HOV enforcement... state cops will be the ones to pull you over in the lanes, and county/city cops are usually the ones manning the on/off ramps. Areas like Alexandria are a little more complicated because Fairfax County officers have responsibility for parts of it.

The reporting structure depends on the force. A city force is under the control of a mayor and the state police are ultimately answerable to the governor. I'm not sure who the ultimate County forces top-gun is. In the case of Fairfax I don't know if that is jointly shared by the council or if the chairman of the council has sole hire/fire/discipline authority.

And it wasn't a stupid question. Well, the wording was a little stupid but the intent wasn't.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2007 02:46PM by pgens.

Different levels of enforcement are in place basically because the Feds can't do everything themselves. Why should the FBI or State Police for that matter respond to a call because a neighbor's pet poodle took a massive sh!t in your yard? It's bureaucracy. Why would a surgeon waste his time drawing blood or checking someone's weight when he could be in the operating room? -§

Herndon and Vienna are towns, not cities.

Different levels of enforcement are in place basically because the Feds can't do everything themselves. Why should the FBI or State Police for that matter respond to a call because a neighbor's pet poodle took a massive sh!t in your yard? It's bureaucracy. Why would a surgeon waste his time drawing blood or checking someone's weight when he could be in the operating room?
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So are you saying federal and state law enforcement duties are more important then the local enforcement (county/city/town)?
I think the county law enforcement work harder and cover more of wider range of law enforcement responsibilities.

Generaly speaking, Incorporated cities or towns will have their own police force. I do not know what is involved in incorporating a city or town, but generally it means if you live there (and sometimes if you work there), you will get taxed.

HAT45 Wrote:
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> LOL....actually that was pretty funny.
> I guess me question is who has more authority? To
> avoid confusion, why doesn't the state
> (commonwealth) just have one large law enforcement
> agency to handle all law enforcement duties within
> the commonwealth? This avoids jurisdiction
> confusion


Different counties have different laws. Just like different towns/cities have different laws. It is the job of the police for each county/town/city/whatever to enforce those laws. For example, Alexandria might be imposing a smoking ban on indoor restraunts/bars. VA does not have a state-wide ban on smoking. So the Alexandria police will enforce that law bu the VA state troopers dont have to (at least thats my understanding, i could be wrong). Weather or not the VA state troopers have the authority/jurisdiction to arrest you for smoking in Alexandria, I do not know. Try checking the VA constitution or the Virginia Code for specifics.

Some say its better to have overlapping jurisdictions than none at all:

(an actual sign, not from our area)

So are you saying federal and state law enforcement duties are more important then the local enforcement (county/city/town)?
I think the county law enforcement work harder and cover more of wider range of law enforcement responsibilities.
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I agree.
Federal law enforcement only entails, allowing terrorist to blow up our buildings. Letting Mexicans in to our country and hang around our 7-11s.
While State, writes a shit load of tickets and handles accidents on the interstates.
Now, local law enforcement, will write you a ticket, arrest you for hitting your wife, handle accidents, help rape victims, beat up gang members (which is something Federal should do as they cross the boarders), settle disputes between people, etc.....
To me it doesn't even compare....

board out!!!!!!!

You all missed the point. Feds handle more big picture matters while others handle all the retail day-to-day matters. It's not about who works harder. It's about who works smarter.

This is why Barney Fife and Roscoe P. Coltrane never got laid. -§

u have no clue what you're talking about

"Retail day-to-day matters"... as opposed to wholesale matters? Non-Fed officers are now selling stuff all day?

When the citizens of a town are unsatisfied with police services provided by the county, they establish their own town police. This does not imply that town police are better (or worse) than county police -- they simply patrol exclusively within the town, so they are more narrowly tasked to the town's needs.

This is an interesting discussion because there is now a movement in some urban areas for the city PD to merge with the surrounding county law enforcement agency.

Virginia should consider giving statewide powers to all government employed law enforcement officers, as is the case in several states. This would reduce the need for officers to coordinate their investigations with every agency whose territory they enter. Plus it would simplify response to large scale emergencies, such as 9/11.

pgens Wrote:
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> "Retail day-to-day matters"... as opposed to
> wholesale matters? Non-Fed officers are now
> selling stuff all day?


AEvidently the police sell evidence in concluded trials. I'm sure they also sell other things...

Anyone can go to wal mart, get on a cash register and start working a check out line. I am sure some random cop has done this as part of inspecting the place.

>
> Anyone can go to wal mart, get on a cash register
> and start working a check out line. I am sure some
> random cop has done this as part of inspecting the
> place.


I'd type more of a response but im on my way to WAlmart to steal a blue vest and make some cash

Do a google on "Federalism".

There are reasons why powers are seperatd between federal, state, and local governments, and the police forces as well.

Some of the reasons are practical, like expecting an FBI agent to know the local laws about spitting on sidewalks in Culpepper.

And some of the reasons are ideological. The founders wanted decentralized authority to prevent the buildup of tyranny by a super-strong central government. Some would say that part's not working out so well these days.

I was a VSP trooper from '71 to '74. I grew up here (FFax Co) and per VSP policy, I was assigned to Accomac County (as far as possible from my high school buddies!). I mainly chased 18 wheelers up and down US 13.

In rural Virginia...VSP is the ONLY law there is....besides the corrupt Sheriff and his boys, a few of whom I had occasion to lock up.

VSP was and is a crack outfit!

What I meantby my walmart post is that, you can walk in to wal mart, and, not working for wal mart, walk up to a cash register and begin checking people out. You probably wont get notcied for at least 15 mins, and the worst they can do is kick you out right?

Any cop can tune me up. I get it now.

What I meant about retail has nothing to do with sales. Retail in the sense of petty, everyday matters on a lower level of importance and attention. -§

Sure, just make up words and your own terms. You are so file cabinet. You are so lampshade. Your profession is so coat hanger.

At least go here first http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=retail

board Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So are you saying federal and state law
> enforcement duties are more important then the
> local enforcement (county/city/town)?
> I think the county law enforcement work harder and
> cover more of wider range of law enforcement
> responsibilities.
> --------------------------------------------------
> ----------------
>
> I agree.
> Federal law enforcement only entails, allowing
> terrorist to blow up our buildings. Letting
> Mexicans in to our country and hang around our
> 7-11s.
> While State, writes a shit load of tickets and
> handles accidents on the interstates.
> Now, local law enforcement, will write you a
> ticket, arrest you for hitting your wife, handle
> accidents, help rape victims, beat up gang members
> (which is something Federal should do as they
> cross the boarders), settle disputes between
> people, etc.....
> To me it doesn't even compare....
>
> board out!!!!!!!

FBI handles matters of federal crimes and crimes that cross jurisdictional boundaries. Kidnapping cases are usually turned over to the feds despite what you see on Law and Order. So is bootleg dvds etc.

The Secret Service is a part of the Treasury Dept, so they handle cases like counterfeit money or money laundering as well guarding our fearless leader.

pgens - You obviously have no business background. If you did, you'd understand the difference between retail and institutional markets, along with the analogy I provided. -§

Institutional market: The market consisting of churches, museums, private hospitals, schools and colleges, clubs, and many other organizations that have objectives that differ basically from those of traditional business organizations.

Retail: Selling directly to consumers.

What does this have to do with thinking "retail" is a synonym for "menial"?

My analogy was not intended to call local law enforcement menial. I'm simply displaying the tier structure of investors as relates to their importance and priority on Wall Street. Pretend for a second that the FBI is Merrill Lynch and Mayberry Sheriff's Dept. is Joe Investor. Retail is often used in the business world to signify the masses who deal with less complex business matters. Same goes with local law enforcement as compared to federal.

I hope that's thorough enough for you, Quizzmaster Jay (Meeper - please insert Run DMC pic of Daryl and Ronald staring down Jam Master Jay - - don't forget the Kangol, Adidas jumpsuit and fat shoelaces). -§

The "retail analogy" is often used to describe mass politics these days.

If his use of that term is legit then I consent to not being in the loop.

To duh - Accomack county is a happenin' place now - I think they just got their third traffic signal. I spent a lifetime out there for a few years in the late '70s....

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