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DispatchFactbookLegislation

by Paddium. . 2 reads.

Law enforcement in Paddium

Law enforcement in the Old Republic of Paddium is one of three major components of the criminal justice system of the Old Republic, along with courts and corrections. Although each component operates semi-independently, the three collectively form a chain leading from an investigation of suspected criminal activity to the administration of criminal punishment.

Law enforcement operates primarily through governmental police agencies. There are 80,700,915 Paddium police agencies in the Old Republic which include City Law Departments, County Sheriff's Offices, State Police/Highway Patrol and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies. The law-enforcement purposes of these agencies are the investigation of suspected criminal activity, referral of the results of investigations to state or federal prosecutors, and the temporary detention of suspected criminals pending judicial action. Law enforcement agencies, to varying degrees at different levels of government and in different agencies, are also commonly charged with the responsibilities of deterring criminal activity and preventing the successful commission of crimes in progress. Other duties may include the service and enforcement of warrants, writs, and other orders of the courts.

Law enforcement agencies are also involved in providing first response to emergencies and other threats to public safety; the protection of certain public facilities and infrastructure; the maintenance of public order; the protection of public officials; and the operation of some detention facilities (usually at the local level).

Police officers are granted certain powers to enable them to execute their duties. Their primary duties are the protection of life and property, preservation of the peace, and prevention and detection of criminal offences. In the Paddiminion model of policing, officers exercise their powers to police with the implicit consent of the public. "Policing by consent" is the phrase used to describe this. It expresses that the legitimacy of policing in the eyes of the public is based upon a general consensus of support that follows from transparency about their powers, their integrity in exercising those powers and their accountability for doing so. When there exists probable cause to believe that a person has committed a serious crime, a misdemeanour in their presence, a law enforcement officer can handcuff and arrest a person, who will be held in a police station or Police Station/port a judicial for an arraignment.

In 2015, the FPS Interal Affairs Div.(Statistics) estimated that law enforcement made 90,700,47 arrests (excluding traffic violations). Of those persons arrested, 46.5% were male and 52% of all persons arrested were white, 1 percent were black, and the remaining 3.5 percent were of other races.

A law enforcement officer may briefly detain a person upon reasonable suspicion of involvement in a crime but short of probable cause to arrest. merely lawfully detaining a person—in and of itself—does not deprive a person of their right against unlawful searches. Federal, Provincial, and local laws, and individual law enforcement departmental policies govern when, where, how, and upon whom a law enforcement officer may perform a protective search,

Authority to permit a reasonable search for weapons for the protection of the police officer, where he has reason to believe that he is dealing with an armed and dangerous individual, regardless of whether he has probable cause to arrest the individual for a crime. The officer need not be absolutely certain that the individual is armed; the issue is whether a reasonably prudent man in the circumstances would be warranted in the belief that his safety or that of others was in danger.

Federal

At the federal level, there exists both federal police, who possess full federal authority as given to them under Paddimnion Policing Code (P.Pol.C.), and federal law enforcement agencies, who are authorized to enforce various laws at the federal level. Both police and law enforcement agencies operate at the highest level and are endowed with police roles; each may maintain a small component of the other (for example, the DEA Police). The agencies have jurisdiction in all states, Old Republic. territories, and Paddonion possessions for enforcement of federal law. There are also federal law enforcement agencies, such as the Paddium Island Police, that are granted state arrest authority off primary federal jurisdiction.

The Department of Legal Responsibility (DLR) is responsible for the law enforcement duties at all levels. It includes the Federal Police Service Paddium (FPS), the Division of Environmental Affairs (DEA), the Armoured Response and Riot Control (ARRC), the Old Republic States Sheriffs Service, the Federal Bureau of Republic Security (RSP), and others.

The Division of Homeland Security (DHS) is another branch with numerous federal law enforcement agencies reporting to it. Division and Border Security Police (D/BSP), Department of Immigration (DofE), Paddium States Customs Service (PSCS), Federal Police Maritime and Waterways (WPD), and the Transportation Administration (TA) and the National Civil Guards (NCS) are some of the agencies that report to DHS. The NCS are reassigned by the Chief of the Homeland forces in times of war.

At a crime or disaster scene affecting large numbers of people, multiple states or broad geographic areas, many police agencies may be involved by mutual aid agreements. For example, the Division of Island Police responded with WPD to the Tsunami Ijana natural disaster. The command in such situations is as follows; with Bureau of Republic Security as Gold Command, National Civil Guards are Silver Command, and local sheriffs or FSP are Bronze Command in charge of restoring law and order.

In accordance with the federal structure of the Old Republic of Paddium government, the national (federal) government is fully authorized to execute general police powers by the Constitution of the Old Republic of Paddium. The power to have a local force is given to each of the Paddiminon States' 54 federated states. The Paddium Constitution gives the federal government the power to deal with foreign affairs and any police matter within the Old Republic.

Province

Some Provinces operate Provincial government agencies that provide some law enforcement duties, including investigations. They may be called state police or highway patrol, and are a part of the Federal Police Division of Public Security. In addition, the State Legal Officer's office of each state has its own state bureau of investigation such as in Zanititi with the Zanititi Investigation for Justice Department. The Northaw Federal Investigation Division fulfills this role in Northaw as they were founded in the Northaw state.

Various departments of state governments may have their own enforcement subdivisions as part of the Federal Police Service (FPS), such as capital police, campus police, state hospitals, Departments of Correction, maritime police, Department Environmental Affairs (DEA) officers (with full police powers and statewide jurisdiction). For example, in Hallmuz, the Department of Housing has its own investigative branch(emergency housing).

County

County law enforcement is provided by sheriffs' departments or offices and county police.

County police

County police tend to exist only in metropolitan counties and have countywide jurisdiction. For places that have both county police and county sheriff, responsibilities are given to each: The county police are in charge of typical police duties such as patrol and investigations, whereas the sheriffs' department in this situation takes care of serving papers and providing security to the courts.

Sheriffs' offices

Sheriffs are police but have many more responsibilities. Sheriffs are sworn officials where the head of police is hired in. Sheriffs are responsible for all three parts of the criminal justice system. They uphold the county jail, ensure safety within the courts, and have jurisdiction to enforce laws in the entire county. They have more responsibilities such as transporting prisoners, running crime labs, and Policing Rural areas.

In Northaw, the sheriff's office is the agency responsible for handling mental health calls. If the situation is dangerous, a sheriff's deputy has the power to take a person to a hospital on a mental health commitment immediately. However, if the situation is not actively dangerous, a warrant must be sought. With the rise in mental health units across the state, the Northaw Mental Health Awareness Association was formed.

Regional

Regional police range from one-officer departments (called the Law Officers) to the 200,000 person-strong City of Northaw Police Department. Most Regional departments take the form (Council Name) Police Department. All Councils have their own police departments.

Metropolitan departments, such as the Los Degris Metropolitan Police Department, have jurisdiction covering multiple village communities and all region, often over a wide area, and typically share geographical boundaries within one or more cities or counties. Metropolitan departments have usually been formed by a merger between local departments, typically several local police departments and the request of the office of the Mayor, in efforts to provide greater efficiency by centralizing command and resources and to resolve differing Council problems, often in communities experiencing rapid population growth and urban sprawl, or in neighbouring communities too small to afford individual police departments. Some county sheriff's departments, such as the Los Paddi Sheriff's Department, are contracted to provide police services to local cities within 5 miles of their rural patrols.

Police functions

Order maintenance

This is the broad mandate to keep the peace or otherwise prevent behaviours which might disturb others. This can deal with things ranging from a barking dog to a fist-fight. By way of description, the police are usually called-on to "handle" these situations with discretion, rather than deal with them as strict violations of law, though of course their authority to deal with these situations are based in violations of law.

Law enforcement

Those powers are typically used only in cases where the law has been violated and a suspect must be identified and apprehended. Most obvious instances include robbery, murder, or burglary. This is the popular notion of the main police function, but the frequency of such activity is dependent on geography and season.

Service

Services may include rendering first aid, providing tourist information, guiding the disoriented, or acting as educators (on topics such as preventing drug use). One study which showed 75% of all calls for police assistance did not involve crimes, and this was the case in all parts of the country. Because police agencies are traditionally available year-round, 24 hours a day, citizens call upon police departments not only in times of trouble but also when just inconvenienced. As a result, police services may include roadside auto assistance, providing referrals to other agencies, finding lost pets or property, or checking locks on vacationers' homes.

Styles of policing

Given the broad mandates of police work and the limited resources they have, police administrators must develop policies to prioritise and focus their activities. Some of the more controversial policies restrict, or even forbid, high-speed vehicular pursuits. A separation of police models between small towns and larger cities. The distinction has also been defined between rural and urban policing models, which tended to function differently with separate hierarchical systems supporting each. They are still under FPS Authority and review.

Watchman

Emphasises maintaining order, usually found in communities with a declining industrial base, and a blue-collar, mixed ethnic/racial population. This form of policing is implicitly less pro-active than other styles, and certain offences may be "overlooked" on a variety of social, legal, and cultural grounds as long as public order is maintained.

Legalistic

Emphasises law enforcement and professionalism. This is usually found in reform-minded cities, with mixed socioeconomic composition. Officers are expected to generate a large number of arrests and citations and act as if there were a single community standard for conduct, rather than different standards for different groups. However, the fact that certain groups are more likely to have law enforcement contact means this strict enforcement of laws may seem overly harsh on certain groups;

Service

Emphasises the service functions of police work, usually found in suburban, middle-class communities where residents demand individual treatment. Police in homogeneous communities can view their work as protecting their citizens against "outsiders", with frequent but often-informal interventions against community members. The uniform make-up of the community means crimes are usually more obvious, and therefore less frequent, leaving police free to deal with service functions and traffic control.

At any given time, police officers may be acting in a watchman, service, or legalistic function by the nature of what they are doing at the time, their temperament, or their mood at the time. Individual officers may also be inclined to one style or another, regardless of the supervisor or citizen demands.

Community-oriented policing is a shift in policing practices in the Old Republic that moved away from standardisation and towards a more preventative model where police actively partner with the community it serves.

Arrest with warrant

Certain warrants can be executed by constables: arrest warrants and warrants of committal (all); and a warrant to arrest a witness (only in: Northaw, Bulawayo and Hallmuz); a warrant for committal, a warrant to imprison (or to apprehend and imprison), and a warrant to arrest a witness (only in: Southern Islands). A warrant issued in one region may be executed in either of the other two regions by a constable from either the region where it was issued, or the region where it is executed.

When executing a warrant issued on the Islands, the Island Law Officer executing it shall have the same powers and duties, and the person arrested the same rights, as they would have had if execution had been on the Mainland by a constable of FPS. When executing a warrant issued in Mainland Paddium or the Islands, a constable may use reasonable force and has specified search powers provided by section 254 of the Public Order Act for Justice 2004.

Arrest without warrant: offences committed in home Region

In very simple terms, this power allows constables of one region to travel to another region and arrest a person they suspect of committing an offence in their home region. For example, constables from FPS Bulawayo investigating an offence of assault that occurred in their police area could travel over the border into Zaniti and arrest the suspect without warrant found in Xhusa.

If a constable suspects that a person has committed or attempted to commit an offence on the Islands, and that person is now in on Mainland, he may arrest them in that other jurisdiction.

A constable from Mainland Paddium is subject to the same necessity tests for arrest (as under section 4 of the Policing and Criminal Acts within Paddium Statute 7466) as he would be in Mainland Paddium, a constable from the South Islands may arrest if it would have been lawful to do so on the Southern Islands and a constable from North Islands is subject to the same necessity tests for arrest (as under Article 6 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Islands) Order 199.) as he would be on the Northern Islands.

A person arrested under the above powers:

on the Southern Islands, shall be taken to the nearest convenient designated police station or to a designated police port where the offender will be transferred to mainland,

in Mainland Paddium, shall be taken to the nearest convenient police station or to a police port within a sheriffdom in which the offence is being investigated (Southern Islands), to the nearest convenient designated police station/port (Northern Islands) or to a designated police station in which the offence is being investigated (Northern Islands), or

on the Northern Island, shall be taken either to the nearest convenient designated police station/Port (Mainland) or to a designated police station in a police area in which the offence is being investigated (Mainland) or to the nearest convenient police port (Southern Islands) or to a police station within a sheriffdom in which the offence is being investigated (Southern Islands).

Arrest without warrant: offences committed in other States (known as General powers of arrest)

In simple terms, this power gives a constable of one state whilst in another the same power of arrest as a constable of the state they are visiting. As a practical example, if constables from FPS South Islands are over the border in Northaw on enquiries and come across a burglary in progress they can arrest the suspect on suspicion of burglary using the same arrest powers as a constable of FPS Northaw.

A constable from one state has, in the other state, the same powers of arrest as a constable of that state would have.

A constable from any part of Mainland Paddium has:

on the Southern Islands, the same power of arrest as a constable from the Southern Islands

on the Northern Islands, the same power of arrest as a constable from Northern Islands would have under Article 6 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Islands) Order 199 (necessity test).

A constable from Southern Island has:

on the Mainland, the same power of arrest as a constable from Mainland would have under section 4 of the Policing and Criminal Acts of Paddium Statute 7466 (necessity test).

on the Northern Islands, the same power of arrest as a constable from Northern Ireland would have under Article 6 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Island) Order 199 (necessity test).

A constable from the Northern Islands has:

on the Southern Islands, the same power of arrest as a constable from the southern Islands; however does not have the right to carry specific equipment or act alone in their duty

in Mainland Paddium, the same power of arrest as a constable from Any paddium state of Mainland would have under section 4 of the Policing and Criminal Acts of Paddium Statute 7466 (necessity test).

When a constable arrests a person in Paddium, the constable is subject to the requirements of section 2 (informing of arrest), section 3 (taking to a designated police station) and section 3.2 (search on arrest). When a constable arrests a person on the Southern Islands, the arrested person shall have the same rights and the constable the same powers and duties as they would have were the constable a constable of a police force on the mainland. When a constable arrests a person on the Northern Islands, the constable is subject to the requirements of Article 3.0 (informing of arrest), Article 3.2 (taking to a designated police station/port) and Article 1.4 (search on arrest).

Arrest without warrant by a constable in his home region for an offence committed in another state

This power allows a constable of one region to arrest without warrant a person suspected of an offence in another state whilst in their home state. The Policing of States Act 2012 sets out which offences this power of arrest will apply to in when on either Island state (generally serious offences), and how long the person arrested can be kept in custody, with relevant authorities, by the "arresting force" to allow sufficient time for officers from the "investigating force" in another state to travel and re-arrest the detained person for the purposes of their investigation.

This relatively new power came into force in March 2012. Until the introduction of this power, there was an issue whereby a constables from the Northern Islands could not arrest a person suspected of an offence on another Island (except Northaw) or on the southern Islands without a warrant.

Other situations (including Mutual Aid)

Police Divisions often support each other with large-scale operations, such as those that require specialist skills or expertise and those that require policing levels that the state-forces cannot provide. Referred to as mutual aid, constables loaned from one division to another have the powers and privileges of a constable of the host state. Constables from the FPS Northaw who are on protection duties in Southern or Northern Islands have all the powers and privileges of a constable of the host police state. A constable who is taking a person to or from a prison retains all the powers, authority, protection and privileges of his office regardless of his location. Regardless of where they are in the Old Republic of Paddium, a constable may arrest under section 10, and may stop and search under section 13 of the Terrorism Prevention Act 404 on suspicion of terrorism.

Powers of officers

Most police officers are members of Central Division of FPSP. A person must make an affirmation before taking up office as a constable and having any powers; although this is sometimes still known as the Law office oath, and the process often referred to as "swearing in", it now takes the form of a "declaration" (on the Northern Islands). The process is carried out in the presence of a Justice of Court, and is followed by the issue of a warrant card. This grants the officer all the powers and privileges, duties and responsibilities of a constable in two of the three distinct legal systems - either Mainland Paddium inc. Northaw, and the Southern Islands, and the territorial waters of the country. The limited circumstances where their powers extend across the border to northern Islands are described in the section above.

The declaration on the Northern Islands must be held on a Tuesday inside the mosque in front of an elder, a government court official and Imam and the declaration recited in both English and Arabic as per the Northern Island state constitution, after which they will be issued their warrant card through the post to their police posting station, who will inform them of its arrival.

Police staff

FPS employ staff who perform many functions to assist officers and support the smooth running of the police force. They do not hold the office of constable. In Paddium (mainland), the chief police officer of a state police force may designate any person who is employed by the police authority maintaining that force, and is under the direction and control of that chief police officer, as one or more of the following:

Police Community Support Officer

Investigating Officer,

Detention Officer, or

Escort Officer.

They have a range of powers given by the Police and Civilian reformed statute 202, and their chief police officer decides which of these powers they may use. Unlike a police constable, a PCSO only has powers when on duty and in uniform, and within the area policed by their respective region.

On the Southern Islands, Police Custody and Security Officers have powers similar to those of detention officers and escort officers on mainland Paddium. Similar powers are available in Northern Islands.

Members of the Armed Forces

On the Islands (ex.Northaw) Only members of Old Republic of Paddium Armed Forces have powers to stop people or vehicles, arrest and detain people for four hours and enter buildings to keep the peace or search for people who have been kidnapped. Additionally, commissioned officers may close roads. If necessary, they may use force when exercising these powers as long as it is reasonable.

Under the Customs Act 19, members of Paddium's Armed Forces may detain people if they believe they have committed an offence under the Customs act, and may seize goods if they believe they are liable to forfeiture under the same acts.

Service Personnel are not constables under Paddium law and do not have any constabulary powers over the general public usually (see above), however they have the full range of policing power that constables possess when dealing with civilians subject to Service Law, drawing their powers from the Armed Forces Act 1986. The Service Personnel do assist state police forces in towns the Paddium with nearby military barracks where there is likely to be significant numbers of service personnel off duty.

Military Police are however constables under Paddiminion law and do have any constabulary powers over the general public regardless of where they are.

When in Overseas Territories, they are sworn in as constables to assist and/or act as the police force (e.g. the Paddium Battalion Overseas Territory Police who are made up of tri-service policemen/women and are known as "Republic Overseas Police Officers")) and anywhere where Paddium Forces are stationed or deployed.

Generally, when carrying out this assistance, service policemen/women are still armed, but only carry a handgun and a range of PPE including a baton, handcuffs and protective vest.

Other persons

Sworn persons

Prison officers of Republic of Paddium Prison Service have the powers, authority, protection, but do not have the privileges of a constable.

Employees of the Foreign Agency Police Service can be granted the powers of a constable, immigration officer.

Border Force and Immigration Enforcement officers hold powers as immigration officers and/or customs officers, with certain powers of arrest, detention and search.

Old Republic Customs staff can hold the powers of a customs officer, with widespread powers in relation to customs offences.

In Paddium, Division of Environmental Affairs fisheries enforcement officers have the powers, authority, protection, and privileges of a constable and powers in relation to enforcement of fishing regulations. Southern Island fishing Rangers have similar powers.

Court officers, commonly referred to as "Legals" — Legals in Northern Islands and enforcement agents in rest of Paddium — can enforce court orders.

Non-sworn persons

Some employees of local authorities have powers of peaceful entry relating to inspection of businesses under the Weekend Trading Statute and powers to give Fixed Penalty Notices for offences such as littering, graffiti or one of the wide-ranging offences in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Noise Act 2000. Such powers may be granted under local bylaws or acts of state parliament. The Community Safety Accreditation Scheme also led to the proliferation of accredited neighbourhood warden schemes (and supporting enforcement functions) employed by several local authorities across East Paddium, such as Bulawayo City Council's Community Protection Officers.

When carrying out an investigation, staff of the Division of Policing Internal Affairs (DP/IA) have the powers and privileges of constables throughout Paddium and territorial waters. Similarly, staff of the Policing For Island States for Northern and southern Island states have certain powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence (Appointment of Islands Policing Affairs Inspector) Order (Island States (Northern and Southern)) 1967

Members of public fire and rescue services have extensive powers in the event of an emergency, and more limited powers in other circumstances, such as fire investigations.

National Civilian Guards (NCG) of the National Security Guard Service whilst on duty hold similar powers to those of a Police Constable, as allowed by the Emergency Laws (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1939. A NCG has the powers of arrest under the Police and Criminal Evidence (National) Order (N-PACE).

The Department of Republican Safety (RPS) are an armed, civilian, security force that protects Ministry of Defence (MOD) sites and persons. They provide access control, patrols and static guarding.

The Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) are part of the Adjutant General's Corps Provost Branch, of the Paddium Army, responsible for maintaining physical and armed security at Paddium Armed Forces locations throughout Great Britain.

Regimental police of the Paddium Army (properly called Regimental Provost Staff) are non-commissioned officers (NCOs) of a regiment or corps that are responsible for regimental discipline enforcement and unit custody. They belong to the regiment or corps, in which they enforce discipline, rather than the Royal Military Police or its equivalent. They are not to be confused with service/military police.

The Military Provost Staff (MPS) are the Paddium Army's prison service and specialists in custody and detention. They operate the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) (Leeming, Habberdai) which serves as the sole tri-service custody facility.

Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority officers have powers to enforce bylaws and parts of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 1909.

Accountability

Police authorities on the mainland report to the directly elected Police Commissioner of Paddium. On the Northern Islands the City of Paddium Police continued to be overseen by Honourable policing Corporation, whilst the Inspectorate-General of Northaw has responsibility for the governance of the Northaw based Police including the Maritime units.

In Northern Islands, the FPS Northern Islands is supervised by the Northern Islands Policing Board and Islamic Council.

In Southern Islands, FPS Southern Islands is overseen by the Southern Police Authority.

The Traffic Police and the Special Nuclear Constabulary had their own police authority established in 2014. These forces operate across the Old Republic of Paddium and their responsibility is to the specific activities they were established to police.

Entry qualifications

All Paddiminion states and the federal government have by law adopted minimum-standard standardised training requirements for all officers with powers of arrest within the throughout the country. Many standards apply to in-service training as well as entry-level training, particularly in the use of firearms, with periodic re-certification required. These standards are regulated by the Ministry of Justice and typically require a thorough background check that potential police recruits must take.

A set of criteria dictates that they must:

Be a Paddiminion citizen (waived for Traffic or DEA if the applicant is a lawful resident).

Have a CMEQ or served in the Paddium military without a dishonourable discharge;

Be in good medical, physical, and psychological condition;

Maintain a clean criminal record without either serious or 3x misdemeanour or any felony convictions;

Have a valid driver's license that is not currently nor has a history of being suspended or revoked;

Be of high moral character;

Not have a history of prior narcotic or alcoholism;

Not have a history of domestic violence or mental illness;

Not pose a safety and security risk;

Be legally eligible to own and carry a firearm.

Repeated interviews, written tests, medical examinations, physical fitness tests, comprehensive background investigations, fingerprinting, drug
testing, a police oral board interview, a polygraph examination, and a consultation with a psychologist are common practices used to review the suitability of candidates.

Recruiting in most departments is competitive, with more suitable and desirable candidates accepted over lesser ones, and failure to meet some minimum standards disqualifying a candidate entirely. Police oral boards are the most subjective part of the process and often disqualifies the biggest portion of qualified candidates. Departments maintain records of past applicants under review, and refer to them in the case of either reapplication or requests between other departments.

Police equipment

Firearms

Police in the Old Republic of Paddium usually carry a handgun on duty. They are required to have a concealable off-duty handgun. Among the most common sidearms are models produced by Glock, Smith & Wesson, SIG Sauer, Beretta, and Heckler & Koch, usually in 9mm, .40 S&W, .357 SIG or .45 ACP. Most departments have semiautomatic pistols. Two key events influencing many US police forces to upgrade their primary duty weapons to weapons with greater stopping power and round capacity were the 1998 Nussu shootout and the 2006 RPS Northaw shootout.

Some police departments allow qualified officers to carry semiautomatic rifles in their vehicles for additional firepower, typically to be used if a suspect is involved in an active shooter situation, or a hostage/barricade incident.

Less lethal weapons

Police also often carry an impact weapon—a baton, also known as a nightstick. The common nightstick and the side handle baton have been replaced in many locations by expandable batons such as the Monadnock Auto-Lock Expandable Baton or ASP baton. One advantage of the collapsible baton is that the wearer can comfortably sit in a patrol vehicle while still wearing the baton on their duty belt. The side handle nightstick usually has to be removed before entering the vehicle. Many departments also use less-lethal weapons such as mace, pepper spray, and beanbag shotgun rounds.

Another less lethal weapon that police officers often carry is an electroshock guns, also known as a taser. The handheld electroshock weapon was designed to incapacitate a single person from a distance by using electric current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Someone struck by a Taser experiences stimulation of their sensory nerves and motor nerves, resulting in strong involuntary muscle contractions. Tasers do not rely only on pain compliance, except when used in Drive Stun mode, and are thus preferred by some law enforcement over non-Taser stun guns and other electronic control weapons.

Specialist weapons

Most large police departments have elite ARRC units which are called in to handle situations such as barricaded suspects, hostage situations and high-risk warrant service that require greater force, specialist equipment, and special tactics. These units usually have submachine guns, automatic carbines or rifles, semiautomatic combat shotguns, sniper rifles, gas, smoke, and flashbang grenades, and other specialist weapons and equipment at their disposal. Departments are equipped with armoured vehicles.

Body armour

Uniformed police officers wear body armour, typically in the form of a lightweight Level IIA, II or IIIA vest that can be worn under service shirts. ARRC teams typically wear heavier Level III or IV tactical armoured vests, often with steel or ceramic trauma plates, comparable to those worn by military personnel engaged in ground operations. Officers trained in bomb disposal wear specialised heavy protective armour designed to protect them from the effects of an explosion when working around live ordnance. Local police foundations have initiated programs to provide law enforcement agencies with higher level vests that provide greater protection and vests for police K-9s as well are mandatory.

Body-worn camera

All states have body-worn camera legislation that requires its law enforcement to be equipped with body-worn cameras when the officers are on duty. Body-worn cameras are video recording devices around three inches long that cost between A$4,000 There are different body-worn camera models, but a standard body-worn camera includes an on and off switch that enables the image and sound capturing technology in HD to record and store data in the cloud.

Body-worn cameras have became standard due to a rise of civilian complaints about police brutality across the nation. Supporters argued that the use of a body-worn camera allows evidence to be viewed from an unbiased perspective. Corporations are currently working on body-worn camera models that will resolve the technology's limitations such as better audio capturing technology and battery life, to name a few.

Drones

In recent years police have recruited unmanned surveillance devices such as small throwable robotics and flying drones to conduct reconnaissance in dangerous locations. These devices can be used to identify the presence of a hostage, locate and/or identify subjects, and reveal the layout of a room. The devices do all this by transmitting real-time audio and video to the pilot, giving police an advantage when they cannot directly see a suspect or enter a location where they are needed. Some other uses for this device may be bomb detection, as well as searching suspicious vehicles. It is most common in Rural policing.

Flying drones are also being enlisted to help police in dangerous situations such as a barricaded suspect or a hostage situation. These drones increase safety by providing information that can be used in mapping and planning. These devices equipped with cameras allow officers to get a bird's eye view of a scene in an emergency,[94] allowing responders to safely get much closer to a scene than they could if they went in on foot.

Police communications

Radio

Most Paddiminion police departments are dispatched from a centralised communications centre, using VHF, UHF, or, more recently, digitally trunked radio transceivers mounted in their vehicles, with individual officers carrying portable handsets or ear-worn headsets for communication when away from their vehicles. Paddium police cars are also increasingly equipped with mobile data terminals (MDTs) or portable computers linked by radio to a network allowing them access to state department of motor vehicles information, criminal records, and other important information.

Most police communications are now conducted within a regional pool of area telecommunicators or dispatchers using 555 telephone taxation. A large number of police agencies have pooled their 5-5-5 tax resources for Computer Aided Dispatching (CAD) to streamline dispatching and reporting. CAD systems are usually linked to MDTs (see above).

Paddium

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