police

Civil law-and-order force. In the US, law enforcement is the responsibility of municipal and state government except for violations of specific federal laws or cases in which state borders have been crossed. Unlike many countries, there is no national police force. The Federal Bureau of Investigation assists state and local law-enforcement authorities.

A total of 155 police officers died in the US in 1998 while on duty. Most of the officers, 63, were killed by gunfire; 44 died in car accidents. The death rate on duty is approximately 21 per 100,000 officers, compared with the national murder rate of less than 7 per 100,000 people. The 1998 total is five less than the previous year and continues a downward trend: 269 officers were killed in 1974.

The exercise of police power in the US is restricted and controlled in order to protect civil rights. Recent US Supreme Court decisions have relaxed some guidelines for searches. However, the US Supreme Court ruled in April 1999 that police may search the belongings of all passengers in a car without a court warrant if the officers are seeking criminal evidence. The court's verdict concerned a Wyoming case in which drug paraphernalia were found in a car stopped for speeding.

Women in the police force A report released in April 1999 by the National Center for Women and Policing Women highlighted gender inequalities in police departments. Only 14% of law enforcement positions were occupied by women, an increase of 3.2% since 1990. One-third of the departments had no women in the top ranks. An exception was the police department of Atlanta, Georgia, which had 26% of the highest positions filled by women.