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Re: Authority of local LEOs not in city where employed.
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:38 am
by Beiruty
FBI agents can practice their profession any where in US, any state or US territory.
Re: Authority of local LEOs not in city where employed.
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 8:03 am
by Teamless
Beiruty wrote:FBI agents can practice their profession any where in US, any state or US territory.
Yes, and as the anagram stands for "Federal Bureau of Investigation" so it should be anywhere that US has property.
But when I say "Houston Police Officer" if I were to use the FBI analogy, they should only be able to enforce in "Houston".
So there is a definite distinction there.
Re: Authority of local LEOs not in city where employed.
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 9:37 am
by jimlongley
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the "requirement" for the ticketing officer to show up in traffic court. If the officer writes a ticket in a jurisdiction too far from "home" it might cause all sorts of logistical problems for that officer to be in court on the appointed day.
Re: Authority of local LEOs not in city where employed.
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:58 am
by WildBill
Beiruty wrote:FBI agents can practice their profession any where in US, any state or US territory.
And on Indian Reservations.
Re: Authority of local LEOs not in city where employed.
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 12:10 pm
by gigag04
Teamless wrote:Beiruty wrote:FBI agents can practice their profession any where in US, any state or US territory.
Yes, and as the anagram stands for "Federal Bureau of Investigation" so it should be anywhere that US has property.
But when I say "Houston Police Officer" if I were to use the FBI analogy, they should only be able to enforce in "Houston".
So there is a definite distinction there.
If HPD is like our city's PD, the charging documents will say
"Affiant Officer So and So is a licensed peace officer, employed by the CITYNAME Police Department..." In the preamble. This establishes their status as an LEO, and the agency holding their commission.
The weird thing is, is a person can only be an LEO if an agency is holding their commission, but most often, their jurisdiction extends beyond the borders of just that agency.
Re: Authority of local LEOs not in city where employed.
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:22 pm
by srothstein
jimlongley wrote:One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the "requirement" for the ticketing officer to show up in traffic court. If the officer writes a ticket in a jurisdiction too far from "home" it might cause all sorts of logistical problems for that officer to be in court on the appointed day.
In the real world, what stops the officers from writing tickets outside their jurisdiction is not the logistics of testifying. After all, most tickets never go to trial. The real problem is they don't have the right form and paperwork. When I was with SAPD, the tickets had the municipal court address and fine schedule. If I wrote one in Castle Hills (which would be legal as it is the same county) I could not file it since the person would have the instructions only for the wrong court. In Luling, the tickets also had municipal court info, so I could not even send one to the local JP if I was just outside the city limit.
I would have no idea how a Houston cop could write a ticket and get the correct information to file it if he was in Dallas at the time.