Constables

[ConstableChuck]

I agree that any Constable who goes out patrolling for criminal activity is poorly equipped for such a task, however there is no doubt that we have the authority to arrest for crimes committed in our presence and as I stated before we would have to turn defendant over to the local or state police for processing because we lack the resources you mentioned above, however we do conduct investigations when searching for fugitives and some Counties do authorize Constables to have Police Radios so they can communicate with the PD and dispatch.

This post was intended to be informational rather than confrontational, I do not advocate Constables taking over the duties of Police Officers, however I do think that in certain circumstances when in the interest of public safety, such as a crime being committed in our presence or when we work peace keeping details we should exercise our authority to arrest offenders and initiate new criminal charges and that the Police should support us when we do.

Police and Constables are both sworn Law Enforcement Officers, Constables certainly do not provide the full range of Law Enforcement Services that the Police do, however we do "real law enforcement work" and serving arrest warrants can be dangerous, I know that we don't have as much training or resources as you but were all in this together so I'm just asking that we respect eachother as professional LEO's with different duties.

[Manxman]

With respect to you mcsap I don't think the Constables here are suggesting that they go out and start doing police work and actively looking for violations (although I suspect that some Constables do). I think rather that they're suggesting that when they do "stumble upon" a crime in progress that they can and should arrest for it.

It's a bit like citizen's arrest powers. Whilst they have them, they should only use them when strictly necessary.

[peoplesearch25]

:mad:

What's the primary duty and function of a Constable's office? Are they like a Sheriff's office? What about in counties where there is both a Constable's and Sheriff's office?

in the state of pa.

[Meuckenmad]

Im a Police Constable in New Zealand.

A Constable is a LEO, we have no Sheriff etc A bailiff sounds similar to what Constables do in the USA.

For what its worth our ranks are as follows
1. Recruit
2. Constable
3. Sergeant
4. Senior Sergeant
5. Inspector
6. Superintendent
7. Assistant Commisioner
8. Deputy Commisioner
9. Commisioner

[tgis81]

I don't know of ANY constable in my area that even begins to use his limited arrest powers as though he were a police officer.

You guys perform a great service to us in handling warrants but you do not have an emergency vehicle, can't have lights or sirens on your cars, can't claim to be an emergency vehicle in order to exceed the speed limits, go through red lights etc.

You have no police communications ( beyond a cell) , you are not PA Act 120 certified , can't make a traffic stop, can't arrest for DUI , have no ORI number, have no police station, no holding facility, do not have any official means of writing and preserving an official report, do not handle 911 dispatched calls, do not handle an accident investigation, do not handle investigations at all etc. etc. etc.

Your training is extremely limitited compared to what a Real Police officer in PA must do.

A PA state constable that goes out and even begins to initiate arrests for new criminal offenses will soon find himself in a world of hurt when he realizes that he is not trained or able to do actual POLICE work.

I will agree with you on almost everything.

We don't have emergency vehicles or lighting, etc, because we are not primary responders. We don't do accident investigations because we are not trained to do them, nor are we the agency with the responsibility to carry out such activities. That's what the police do & that's what they have the proper equipment and training for.

I think that by "Real Police Officer" you mean municipal, county, or state police officer... That's who I am referring to when I use the general term "Police."

What I don't agree on is that we have no communications. All constables in my county are assigned radio numbers with county 911 dispatch. While we do have to purchase our own radios, we are given access to the 911 system. The only times when we normally use our radios (other than in car to car mode and on private frequencies) is in emergencies (ex. transporting a prisoner who suddenly decides he is having chest pains - just before we get to the county jail...) We have used them when we come upon accidents in our travels (to get police, fire, ems to respond). We have used them when the local police have called for our help when they are undermanned and/or outnumbered. Maybe constables in your area do not have access to the 911 communications system, but statewide there are several constables who do.

Every county handles their constables differently. Sort of like how every county's Sheriff's office has different duties (Ex. Fayette county sheriff mostly does prisoner transports and civil, while Allegheny County Sheriff is, as far as I know, basically a full service law enforcement agency).

While some constables in some parts of the state do not do certain things, constables in other parts of the state may not have the same duties.
An example of this is: In Eastern PA, many constables do a lot of civil service... while in Western PA, the constables mainly do warrants.

Thanks for a good discussion everyone who posted

Tony

[troysig]

Down here in Alabama the constables hold full arrest powers. The Chief for the department I work for is a former constable. He did his POST training and everything.

[BlueKnight901]

I do not agree with the statement that constable should not be given verified status on this forum. Like the above post, I live in Alabama and here the sheriff's and constables are the highest ranking law enforcement officers in the state. This is the reason why; The Sheriff & Constable are constitutionally elected while municipal/city are not. Therefore since they were elected by the people, they are granted the ultimate authority, much like the president of the United States is elected. The sheriff’s in our state can even limit the activity of the state troopers and municipalities in the county. An example of this, in our county a long time ago the sheriff at the time told the governors office that if he wanted troopers to work in his county, they would be forced to take all motor vehicle accidents within the county. And that still stands today. Neat little fact! Anyway I do believe that some constable’s should be allowed to verify and be given the respect as they are one of the highest ranking law enforcement officers in the state (at least in Alabama). Now I will say this, while sheriffs are in every county constables are rare, generally only larger counties have them. :cool:

[BlueKnight901]

I think all moderators of this site should look at this link prior to not verifying certain constables.


http://www.angelfire.com/al4/mcco/construct.html



tgis81, steelcityk9cop, mcsap you might want to do a little more reading before you generalize the position of "Constable" as they are the top dog around here.

:cool:

[CTDL92]

tgis81, steelcityk9cop, mcsap you might want to do a little more reading before you generalize the position of "Constable" as they are the top dog around here.:cool:

I believe that if you look specifically at the posts made in this thread by
tgis81, steelcityk9cop and mcsap, they are specifically relating to the duties/powers of constables in PA. If the term constable was the only factor for denying verification then some of the LE officers from the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand would not be verifed.

[MP_Steve]

Down here in Alabama the constables hold full arrest powers. The Chief for the department I work for is a former constable. He did his POST training and everything.

If a Texas Constable were to come on here, I guarantee you they would be verified, because at least in Texas they seem to do what ever they want relating to police duties in addition to their civil process.

In Maine, the specific town/city has the right to appoint a Constable, and within that certificate of appointment the city/town has the right to limit a Constable's powers. For instance: right to carry firearms, make arrests, enforce speed limits, authorize blue lights/sirens on POV, ect.

It MUST specifically state in the appointment what a Constable can or can not do, or the Officer is SOL. If a form of government were to authorize a Constable to to all of the above, which many in Maine do, the Constable would have to attend or already hold Maine Criminal Justice Academy Certificate stating that they atleast have completed approved Part-Time Officer training.

It states in Maine Revised Statutes that any Constable, Harbor Master, Shellfish Warden, Municipal Conservation Officer, or Animal Control Officer wishing to have full powers of a police officer, one must attend this training.

I think Constables who are authorized to perform at the scope of a full police officer should be verified on this board.

[steelcityk9cop]

Please let this thread die before I have to get put on hypertension drugs!

[Drew27k9]

Please let this thread die before I have to get put on hypertension drugs!

Yeah I agree. It has been discussed over and over.