Chapter 829 Characteristics of Backcountry
In the United States, the Sheriff is a relatively unique police system. This point must start with the administrative planning of this country.
As everyone knows, the United States was originally a colony rather than a country. The so-called thirteen states in North America when this country was first founded were the thirteen states that were built or robbed by the British colonists (mainly). block colony.
Each colony exists independently, so the so-called North American War of Independence is not a revolution or a change of dynasty in the traditional Chinese concept.
If I have to make an analogy, it is somewhat similar to the Military Extermination Alliance in the Spring and Autumn Period of China. Thirteen vassal states met together and, after agreeing on the distribution of power, made an agreement that everyone could talk about. The place where things happen - Washington, District of Columbia (Washington DC) as the capital.
Then the thirteen princes formed a United Nations, called the Federation. Therefore, the relationship between the governors of each state and the president is not actually a superior-subordinate relationship. It is for this reason that we often see governors bickering with the president in the news.
As the colonists killed the original indigenous people on this land, that is, the Indians, like the North American bison, the remaining ones were driven into the reservation as if they were protecting animals. , one after another new vassal states were established and joined the federation one after another.
This is also the reason why the original thirteen states of North America are called the foundation of the founding of the old United States.
To put it simply, it is easy to understand if we regard the 50 states of the United States as 50 independent princely states. This can be seen from the state flag of California, which still says the Republic of California. (CaliforniaRepublic) these two words.
This is because California was originally part of Mexico. After the Mexican-American War in 1846, immigrants in California staged an independent drama and established the Republic of California.
This country only existed for a total of 25 days. After the United States defeated Mexico, Mexico was forced to sign the "Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo" and renounced this territory. Then California joined the United States as a republic and became California today.
Going back to the process of establishing various colonies, you must know that a city (City) is not built in a day, but develops from small to large. Racing to enclose land is a very simple matter. However, gathering population and developing infrastructure cannot be achieved overnight.
Before the emergence of cities, the most common ones in a new colony or a state were towns. These towns gathered together were the second-level administration of each state. Unit - County.
With the gradual development, some towns (Towns) developed into cities (Cities) due to various favorable conditions, places and people, while some remained the same or even gradually died out, but in any case, both were Collectively called municipalities, they are the third-level administrative units below counties and counties.
This is something that is difficult for Chinese people who have been accustomed to the concept of grand unity to understand and confuse. If each state is regarded as a province in China, then in this country, counties (counties) The scope of County and City are usually not consistent.
In most cases, a county is larger than a city. There may be multiple cities in a county, and in the country of the United States, there is no administrative unit at the rural level.
Still taking California as an example, Los Angeles County, the largest county in California and the largest in the United States, has a total of 88 cities (Cities) or incorporated areas (Municipality) of varying sizes, including Los Angeles. .
On the contrary, New York City is where Jack is now. Due to early development and other factors, the entire New York City is composed of 5 different counties, namely New York County (Manhattan), Kings County (Brooklyn), Bronx County (Bronx), Richmond County (Staten Island), and Queens County (Queens).
Then let’s get to the point. Before the emergence of various states, when there were still settlements, no matter how big or small, someone still needed to maintain order. At this time, the unique so-called Sheriff The elected police showed up.
Because we are all colonists, outlaws who grabbed the land after killing the Indians, but the outlaws also want to live a peaceful life after washing their hands in the golden basin, so naturally they have a desire for order. Basic requirements.
In some places, people are busy making money and find it troublesome, so they set up a council, elect a town leader or mayor, and then leave it alone. They discuss how much (tax) everyone should pay together every year.
Every year, the city council or town council allocates funds to the mayor or town chief, who appoints a police chief and recruits several junior officers (police officers) to maintain public order.
This kind of police chief appointed by the mayor or town mayor is a serious local police department, such as LAPD or NYPD, or the Margrave Town Police Department where Jack once caused trouble. .
In some places, people are not afraid of trouble, especially those remote areas that are not very developed. We have managed to form a county, but no one has developed particularly well, and some friends have grown up on their own. I didn’t want to see those poor friends anymore and went to play by myself.
Then the counties in these places will collectively elect a strongman who is recognized as having a relatively high force value to be the Sheriff. The council at the same level will grant him law enforcement powers and issue him a multi-pointed star badge. , hired him to maintain law and order. Of course, sometimes the Sheriff is too busy, so he will find some strong young men to help, and give them a police badge, called Sheriff Deputies. Sometimes it is just temporary help, and he is busy. The badge will be taken back when you're done (stingy).
But no matter whether the Sheriff has help or not, there must be a place to work, so at this time the police station is not called the police station, but the Sheriff's Office.
After the states merged into the federation, this grass-roots team-style regional autonomy method was still retained, forming today's unique security system in the United States.
If you have to compare it with China, it is a bit similar to the village chiefs created in the Han Dynasty in China. Anyway, the imperial power (federal power) does not go to the countryside. You can find a few rural sages and village hegemons and take care of yourselves. .
Since it is a grassroots team, the powers of the sheriffs in various states and even counties also have greater or lesser powers. In addition to arresting criminals, serving court documents, executing court arrest warrants, issuing fines and other general public security duties, , also includes tasks such as defending courts, judges and juries, and even guarding prisons and jails.
In some places, transportation, environmental protection, accident investigation, prisoner transportation, and even drug detection and autopsy are also the tasks of the sheriff.
According to the size of the county, the scale of the Sheriff's Office is also different. In a small place, one Sheriff can handle it all with a few Sheriff's assistants, while in a large county, even a K9 (police dog unit), There are mounted police and even police helicopters.
In short, in areas where the state police and local police departments are not covered by the responsibilities, the local law enforcement agency is usually the Sheriff's Office, especially the more remote the country.
To be honest, Jack is not too happy to deal with the Sheriff's Office, because usually the cases thrown out by the other party basically mean a complete transfer of blame, and there is no need to expect much cooperation.
It’s not necessarily because of attitude, but because they are simply too busy.
For example, St. Francis County, where Forrest is located, has less than 30,000 people in nearly 2,000 square kilometers of land. The entire District Attorney's Office only has one prosecutor and three assistants, so the corresponding Sheriff's Office can have You can imagine how many people there are.
This also led to the fact that when Jack and others rushed to the billiards bar where the crime occurred, except for a large closed iron door, not even a sheriff's assistant was seen.
Hannah made a phone call for a long time, and an old man with a red neck, smelling of alcohol and claiming to be the bar owner, arrived belatedly. After opening the fence door with a rusty key, the old guy pointed out that Pointing to the corner of the bar, he continued to sleep on the table until he was unconscious.
Alice was immediately dumbfounded because what appeared in front of her was an old videotape surveillance camera produced in the 1990s.
“Should I go prepare some popcorn?” Aubrey said jokingly, looking gloating at his misfortune.
The video cassette recorder (VCR) rental business in the United States was still very prosperous even in the early 21st century. The whole family gathering together on the sofa to watch VCRs on weekends has always been one of the beautiful childhood memories of most Americans.
Of course, this industry has gradually died out and been replaced by streaming media businesses including Netflix.
Even so, the surveillance system using tape recorders was really an antique, until Jubal and Jiejie sent a message saying that the absence of prosecutor Skip Hardy had been confirmed. It proves that Alice just barely managed this thing.
Aubrey actually got a bucket of popcorn from somewhere, while Hannah solemnly brought some chairs, and everyone sat down in front of the TV together.
"Let's get started. I hope this old antique, which is older than me, really captured something." Jack poured a few glasses of Coke and put them on the table in front of everyone.
Alice glared at these miserable guys angrily, found the box with the corresponding time from a pile of video tapes, and stuffed it into the player. After a burst of snowflakes and streaks, the picture appeared. Including Clay, these FBI He actually let out a burst of cheers like a child.
(End of this chapter)