Law Enforcement Agency

In North American English, a law enforcement agency (LEA) is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.

Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names (e.g. sheriff's department; investigative police services in the USA are often called bureaus (e.g. FBI, USMS, ICE, CBP, ATF, DEA, USSS etc.)).

Other terms defined in this article
local police
international law enforcement agency
multinational law enforcement agency
federal law enforcement agency
federal police
national law enforcement agency
national police
religious police
police
military police
provost
gendarmerie
civilian police
secret police


Read more about Law Enforcement Agency:  Law Enforcement Agency Jurisdiction, Types of Law Enforcement Agency and Responsibility, Establishment and Constitution of Law Enforcement Agencies, Powers and Law Exemptions of A Law Enforcement Agency, Law Enforcement Agencies and Society

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