NCJ Number
192738
Date Published
2002
Length
7 pages
Annotation
In this chapter the power and authority of law enforcement under the State constitutions and laws, as well as those limitations placed on police authority as mandated under the Constitution, specifically the 14th Amendment, are discussed.
Abstract
Historically, police power (providing secure peace, good order, health and prosperity of people, and regulating and protecting property rights) has resided in the States under State constitutions and laws. States may enact laws regarding the health, safety, and welfare of the people as long as they are not arbitrary or unreasonable. Police authority provides officers with the ability to carry out their duties, but with prudence and discretion. However, the State's police power is limited by specific rights guaranteed by the Constitution which include the necessity of a legitimate public purpose and reasonable exercise of their power. Priority is given to those protections under the Constitution. Guidelines were established for State officials through the due process clause and enforcement clause of the 14th Amendment, extending the power of the Federal Government. Many of the individual rights protected in the first 10 Amendments of the Bill of Rights now apply to the States under the 14th Amendment due process clause, as applied to search and seizure, self-incrimination, and right to counsel.