Law Enforcement: Sections of the Constitution Limiting Police Powers

Law Enforcement
(Author’s name)
(Institutional Affiliation)
Law Enforcement
The criminal justice system in America consists of three main elements namely law enforcement, criminal judicial system, and corrections. This paper deliberates on law enforcement, which operates via governmental police agencies.
Sections of the constitution limiting police powers
Law enforcement agencies have three primary obligations, which are investigation of criminal activity, referring the findings of the investigations to the courts and holding or detaining suspected criminal suspects. They are also tasked with maintaining peace and order hence ensuring that everybody is safe. Given all this authority, their powers are also restricted by the constitution. They are supposed to fulfill their duties under the law as nobody is above the law. There are sections of the law that limit police powers, for example, the third amendment that denies them the authority to search a person’s house without a warrant or the owner’s consent. James Madison introduced the third amendment to Congress in 1789. It was as a response to anti-federalists who opposed the new constitution (Parpworth, 2014). This bill now protects people from cruel home invasions by the police and has ensured that every citizen’s right to privacy has been respected. The law plays an essential part in making sure that the right to privacy has been awarded to citizens in that they can enjoy the privacy of their homes.
Another example a section of the United States Constitution that limits the powers of law enforcement is section 1983. It is a civil rights law that victims of police misconduct rely on. It was part of the civil rights act, which was passed on 1871. It was meant to curb those participating in criminal injustices against other people for instance the Ku Klux Klan who operated as a vigilante group (Parpworth, 2014). It explicitly forbids police officers from denying anybody their constitutional rights. This provides a form of equality in that it shows that nobody is special. The Ku Klux Klan persecuted black people because of their colour. With the introduction of this law, they could no longer participate in the criminal activities and failure to adhere to the law is punishable by law. The law now states that every individual is entitled to his/her rights. If a law enforcement officer was to deny an individual their rights then it can lead to prosecution. Many people in the country have filed complaints and actually gone to court because of police injustices. Were it not for this law complainants could not have their justice. The bill is also important for citizens in that it ensures that nobody should be discriminated because of the color of the skin, ethnicity or religious beliefs.
Law enforcement upholds the constitution in a couple of ways for instance making sure that anyone who wants to join any police agencies has gone through training and given primary education entailing police work. This is crucial because recruits need to be taught the working ethics of the industry and how to perform their duties without breaking the law. Even when on the job the law enforcement officers are provided with the opportunity of enhancing their ...