The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, which took the form of a heart made of purple cloth, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award still given to U.S. military members. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York.
A department of motor vehicles (DMV) is a government agency that administers motor vehicle registration and driver licensing. In countries with federal states such as in North America, these agencies are generally administered by subnational entities governments, while in unitary states such as many of those in Europe, DMVs are organized nationally by the central government.
Special police usually describes a police force or unit within a such an agency whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other personnel within the same agency, although there is no consistent international definition. Generally, special police personnel hold some level of police powers; sometimes they hold the same powers and authority of other law enforcement officers within their jurisdiction, but at a minimum they will typically possess detainment and arrest authority. 'Special police' is also occasionally used when referring to an 'elite' law enforcement agency or unit, such as special weapons and tactics (SWAT) units or other similar paramilitary forces who have some level of police power. 'Special police' may also be used to describe individuals who are granted police powers incidental to their primary duties, such as welfare fraud investigators, certain security guards, child welfare investigators, and agricultural inspectors. Special police personnel may be armed or unarmed.
United States law enforcement decorations are awarded by the police forces of the United States of America. Since the United States has a decentralized police force, with separate independent departments existing on the state and local level, there are thousands of law enforcement decorations in existence.
A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, and other public safety related duties. Law enforcement officers are designated certain powers & authority by law to allow them to carry out their responsibilities.
In the United States, vehicle registration plates, known as license plates, are issued by a department of motor vehicles, an agency of the state or territorial government, or in the case of the District of Columbia, the district government. Some Native American tribes also issue plates. The U.S. federal government issues plates only for its own vehicle fleet and for vehicles owned by foreign diplomats. Until the 1980s, diplomatic plates were issued by the state in which the consulate or embassy was located.
The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary municipal law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest municipal police department, serving the fourth-largest city in the United States. Its headquarters are at 1200 Travis in Downtown Houston.
The Canadian Police and Peace Officers' Memorial is a memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, commemorating approximately 900 Canadian law enforcement officers killed in the course of their duties. Dedicated in 1994, it is located at the northwest corner of the Parliament Hill grounds, overlooking the Ottawa River. The memorial consists of the Police Memorial Pavilion, a reconstruction of a 1877 gazebo by Thomas Seaton Scott, and a glass-and-steel perimeter wall etched with the names of the fallen officers, which was designed by landscape architectural firm Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg.
The Indiana State Police is the statewide law enforcement agency for the U.S. state of Indiana. Indiana was the 12th state to offer protection to its citizens with a state police force.
The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) is a United States federal law, enacted in 2004, that allows two classes of persons—the "qualified law enforcement officer" and the "qualified retired or separated law enforcement officer"—to carry a concealed firearm in any jurisdiction in the United States, regardless of state or local laws, with certain exceptions.
In the U.S. state of Texas, a constable is an elected law enforcement officer for a precinct of a county. Counties may have between one and eight precincts each depending on their population.
The St. Louis County Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency St. Louis County in the U.S. state.
In the United States, a sheriff is the chief of law enforcement of a county. Sheriffs are usually either elected by the populace or appointed by an elected body.
The New Brunswick Highway Patrol or NBHP was a police force active in New Brunswick, Canada between 1978 and 1989.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Department is the police agency charged with providing law enforcement to the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The 168-acre (68.0 ha) campus extends over 1 mile (1.6 km) along the northern bank of the Charles River basin.
In the United States, certification and licensure requirements for law enforcement officers vary significantly from state to state. Policing in the United States is highly fragmented, and there are no national minimum standards for licensing police officers in the U.S. Researchers say police are given far more training on use of firearms than on de-escalating provocative situations. On average, US officers spend around 21 weeks training before they are qualified to go on patrol, which is far less than in most other developed countries.
The Washington Law Enforcement Medal of Honor is the only state decoration issued by the state of Washington to law enforcement officers, and is established by the Revised Code of Washington.. Washington law does not describe an order of precedence for state decorations and the Washington Law Enforcement Medal of Honor is not customarily placed in relation to other state decorations.
The DEA Purple Heart Award is an award given by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration to honor individuals who had lost their lives or been seriously injured enforcing the drug laws of the United States.
Paul Douglas Lilly is an American judge who served as the 55th presiding judge for the State of Texas, County of Brown. He served from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2023. Lilly has over 35 years of experience in the public safety profession with more than 20 years as a Reform Police Chief. In this capacity Lilly aided troubled police agencies with their restructuring and revision efforts. Lilly also served for 8 years as a professor of criminal justice and government at Howard Payne University. He now serves as a professor in the doctoral leadership program at Carolina University.
The National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP) is a 501(c)(3) charity organization whose mission is to support American law enforcement, reserves, and security personnel; their families; and organizations through programs and services it offers to command structure leaders. The organization, based in Titusville, Florida, is active in all U.S. states and territories. In 2020, NACOP spending on its programs, awards, and educational materials totaled 45.5% of revenue.
