text:
Law enforcement in the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Law enforcement in the United States is one of three major components of the criminal justice system of the United States, along with courts and corrections. Although each component operates semi-independently, the three collectively form a chain leading from investigation of suspected criminal activity to administration of criminal punishment.
Law enforcement operates primarily through governmental police agencies. The law-enforcement purposes of these agencies are the investigation of suspected criminal activity, referral of the results of investigations to the courts, 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 correctional facilities (usually at the local level).
Contents
1 Types of police
1.1 Federal
1.2 State
1.3 County
1.3.1 County police
1.3.2 Sheriffs' offices
1.4 Municipal
1.5 Other
2 Police functions
3 History
3.1 Police reform
3.2 Militarization of police
3.3 Styles of policing
4 Powers of officers
4.1 General powers
4.2 Civil asset forfeiture
4.3 Deadly force
4.4 Accountability
4.5 Misconduct
5 Entry qualifications
5.1 Requirements
5.2 Issues with recruitment
6 Police equipment
6.1 Firearms
6.2 Less lethal weapons
6.3 Specialized weapons
6.4 Body armor
6.5 Body-worn camera
7 Police communications
7.1 Radio
7.2 National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System
7.3 Dissemination
8 Number of police
8.1 Changes in personnel numbers
8.2 Salary
9 Gallery
10 See also
11 References
Types of police[edit]
Policing in the United States is conducted by "close to 18,001 federal, state, local and city departments".[1] Every state has its own nomenclature for agencies, and their powers, responsibilities and funding vary from state to state.[1]
Federal[edit]
Main article: Federal law enforcement in the United States
See also: Law enforcement agency § Federal responsibilities
U.S. Park Police officers standing by during the 2005 Inauguration Day
At the federal level, there exists both federal police, who possess full federal authority as given to them under United States Code (U.S.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 FBI Police). The agencies have nationwide jurisdiction for enforcement of federal law. Most federal agencies are limited by the U.S. Code to investigating only matters that are explicitly within the power of the federal government. However, federal investigative powers have become very broad in practice, especially since the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. There are also federal law enforcement agencies, such as the United States Park Police, that are granted state arrest authority off primary federal jurisdiction.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is responsible for most law enforcement duties at the federal level.[2] It includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and others.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is another branch with numerous federal law enforcement agencies reporting to it. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), United States Secret Service (USSS), United States Coast Guard (USCG), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are some of the agencies that report to DHS. It should be noted that the United States Coast Guard is assigned to the United States Department of Defense in the event of war.
At a crime or disaster scene affecting large numbers of people, multiple jurisdictions, or broad geographic areas, many police agencies may be involved by mutual aid agreements, for example the United States Federal Protective Service responded to the Hurricane Katrina natural disaster. Command in such situations remains a complex and flexible issue.
In accordance with the federal, as opposed to unitary or confederal, structure of the United States government, the national (federal) government is not authorized to execute general police powers by the Constitution of the United States of America. Each of the United States' 50 federated states (referred to simply as 'states' in the United States despite their lack of full sovereignty[citation needed]) retain their own police, military and domestic law-making powers. The US Constitution gives the federal government the power to deal with foreign affairs and interstate affairs (affairs between the states). For policing, this means that if a non-federal crime is committed in a US state and the fugitive does not flee the state, the federal government has no jurisdiction. However, once the fugitive crosses a state line he violates the federal law of interstate flight and is subject to federal jurisdiction, at which time federal law enforcement agencies may become involved.
State[edit]
Main article: State police
Massachusetts State Police Troopers
Most states operate statewide government agencies that provide law enforcement duties, including investigations and state patrols. They may be called state police or highway patrol, and are normally part of the state Department of Public Safety. In addition, the Attorney General's office of each state has its own state bureau of investigation. In Texas, the Texas Ranger Division fulfill this role though they have their history in the period before Texas became a state.
Various departments of state governments may have their own enforcement divisions, such as capitol police, campus police, state hospitals, Departments of Correction, water police, environmental (fish and game/wildlife) game wardens or conservation officers (who have full police powers and statewide jurisdiction). In Colorado, for instance, the Department of Revenue has its own investigative branch, as do many of the state-funded universities.
County[edit]
Also known as parishes and boroughs, county law enforcement is provided by sheriffs' departments or offices and county police.
County police[edit]
Main article: County police
County police tend to exist only in metropolitan counties and have countywide jurisdiction. In some areas, there is a sheriff's department which only handles minor issues such as service of papers and security for the local courthouse. In other areas, there are no county police and the local sheriff is the exclusive law enforcement agency and acts as both sheriff and county police, which is more common than there being a separate county police force. County police tend to fall into three broad categories:
Full service - provide the full spectrum of police services to the entire county, irrespective of local communities, and may provide contractual security police services to special districts within the county.
Limited service - provide services to unincorporated areas of the county (and may provide services to some incorporated areas by contract), and usually provide contractual security police services to special districts within the county.
Restricted service - provide security police to county owned and operated facilities and parks. Some may also perform some road patrol duties on county built and maintained roads, and provide support to municipal police departments in the county. Some northeastern states maintain county detectives in their county attorneys' offices.
For example, the Commonwealth of Virginia does not have overlapping County and City jurisdictions, whereas in the other 49 states most municipalities fall within (and share jurisdiction and many other governmental responsibilities with) a County. In Virginia, governmental power flows down from the State (or in Virginia's case, Commonwealth) directly to either a County or an Independent City. Thus, policing in Virginia is more streamlined: the County Sheriff's Office/Department or County Police Department does not overlap with an Independent City Police Department. Unincorporated Townships remain part of their parent County, but may have Town Police Departments to augment their County law enforcement. Town Police Departments are often small, and may deploy a combination of paid and nonpaid, full and part-time law enforcement officers, including auxiliary officers who typically serve as part-time, unpaid volunteers. If present, Independent City Sheriff's Offices usually follow the Restrictive model shown below for Sheriff's Departments, with limited law enforcement authority including warrant service, jail bailiff, etc. Mutual assistance compacts may exist where neighboring law enforcement agencies will assist each other, however, in addition to State (Commonwealth) law enforcement resources.[3][4]
Sheriffs' offices[edit]
Main article: Sheriffs in the United States
Full service - The most common type, provide all traditional law-enforcement functions, including countywide patrol and investigations irrespective of municipal boundaries.
Limited service - along with the above, perform some type of traditional law-enforcement function such as investigations and patrol. This may be limited to security police duties on county properties (and others by contract) to the performance of these duties in unincorporated areas of the county, and some incorporated areas by contract.
Restricted service - provide basic court related services such as keeping the county jail, transporting prisoners, providing courthouse security and other duties with regard to service of process and summonses that are issued by county and state courts. The sheriff also often conducts auction sales of real property in foreclosure in many jurisdictions, and is often also empowered to conduct seizures of chattel property to satisfy a judgment. In other jurisdictions, these civil process duties are performed by other officers, such as a marshal or constable.
In Texas, the sheriff's office is normally 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 Texas CIT Association was formed.
Municipal[edit]
A Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor of the New York City Police Department
SeeMunicipal police departments of the United States for a list
Municipal police range from one-officer agencies (sometimes still called the town marshal) to the 40,000 person-strong New York City Police Department. Most municipal agencies take the form (Municipality Name) Police Department. Most municipalities have their own police departments.
Metropolitan departments, such as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, have jurisdiction covering multiple communities and municipalities, often over a wide area typically share geographical boundaries within one or more cities or counties. Metropolitan departments have usually been formed by a merger between local agencies, typically several local police departments and often the local sheriff's department or office, in efforts to provide greater efficiency by centralizing command and resources and to resolve jurisdictional problems, often in communities experiencing rapid population growth and urban sprawl, or in neighboring communities too small to afford individual police departments. Some county sheriff's departments, such as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, are contracted to provide full police services to local cities within their counties.
Other[edit]
SeeSpecialist police departments of the United States for a list
There are other types of specialist police departments with varying jurisdictions. Most of these serve special-purpose districts and are known as special district police. In some states, they serve as little more than security police, but in states such as California, special district forces are composed of fully sworn peace officers with statewide authority.
These agencies can be transit police, school district police, campus police, airport police, railroad police, park police or police departments responsible for protecting government property, such as the former Los Angeles General Services Police. Some agencies, such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, have multi-state powers. There are also some Private Police agencies, such as the Parkchester Department of Public Safety and Co-op City Department of Public Safety
Puerto Rico Police
Main article: Puerto Rico Police
The Puerto Rico Police traces back to 1837, when Spanish governor Francisco Javier de Moreda y Prieto created La Guardia Civil de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Civil Guard) to protect the lives and property of Puerto Ricans who at the time were Spanish subjects, and provide police services to the entire island, even though many municipalities maintain their own police force. The United States invaded and took possession of Puerto Rico in July 1898 as a result of the Spanish–American War and has controlled the island as a US territory since then. The Insular Police of Puerto Rico was created on February 21, 1899, under the command of Col. Frank Thacher (US Marine officer during the Spanish–American War), with an authorized strength of 313 sworn officers. As of 2009, the PRPD had over 17,292 officers.
Police functions[edit]
A Florida Highway Patrol state trooper at the scene of a motor vehicle accident
FBI Evidence Response Team
Textbooks and scholars have identified three primary police agency functions. The following is cited from The American System of Criminal Justice, by George F. Cole and Christopher E. Smith, 2004, 10th edition, Wadsworth/Thomson Learning:
Order maintenance. This is the broad mandate to keep the peace or otherwise prevent behaviors which might disturb others. This can deal with things ranging from a barking dog to a fist-fight. By way of description, Cole and Smith note that 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). Cole and Smith cited one study which showed 80% of all calls for police assistance did not involve crimes, but this may not be 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 autoassistance, providing referrals to other agencies, finding lost pets or property, or checking locks on vacationers' homes.
History[edit]
Early policing in American history was based on the ancient English common law system which relied heavily on citizen volunteers, watch groups, and a conscription system known as posse comitatus similar to the militia system, which continued until the mid-Nineteenth century.[5]
Police reform[edit]
Main article: Police reform in the United States
There have been many initiatives to reform policing, notably since the 1960s, under President Lyndon Johnson, and several more recent efforts. Police departments across the country continue to be scandalized by instances of corruption and brutality. Reforms based on community dialogue, legal requirements and updating of police training is growing.
Militarization of police[edit]
Main article: Militarization of police § United States
The militarization of both rural and urban law enforcement has been attributed to the United States' involvement in wars during the 20th century, although some attribute the militarization to the more recent campaigns on drugs and terror.[6][7] Historian Charles Beard argues that cultural change during the Great Depression encouraged the militarization of law enforcement,[8] whereas Harwood argues that the creation of SWAT teams and tactical units within law enforcement during the 1960s began such trend.
In recent years, the use of military equipment and tactics for community policing and for public order policing has become more widespread under the 1033 program.[9][10] The program prompted discussion among lawmakers in 2014 after unrest in Ferguson, Missouri.[11][12] President Obama introduced restrictions in 2015 on the transfer of surplus military equipment to police. In 2017, the Trump administration announced it will reinstate the program.[13]
Styles of policing[edit]
Given the broad mandates of police work, and yet having limited resources, police administrators must develop policies to prioritize and focus their activities. Some of the more controversial policies restrict, or even forbid, high-speed vehicular pursuits. Researchers Falcone, Wells, & Weisheit's describe a historical 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.[14]
Three styles of policing develop from a jurisdiction's socioeconomic characteristics, government organization, and choice of police administrators. According to a study by James Q. Wilson ("Varieties of Police Behavior", 1968, 1978, Harvard University Press), there were three distinct types of policing developed in his study of eight communities. Each style emphasized different police functions, and were linked to specific characteristics of the community the department served. (Wilson's field of study was in the United States, and it is not clear if similar studies have been done for other countries with different governmental organization and laws).
Watchman. Emphasizes 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 offenses may be "overlooked" on a variety of social, legal, and cultural grounds, as long as the public order is maintained. Cole and Smith comment the broad discretion exercised in this style of policing can result in charges of discrimination, when it appears police treatment of different groups results in the perception that some groups get better treatment than others;
Legalistic. Emphasizes 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. Emphasizes 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.
Wilson's study applies to police behavior for the entire department, over time. At any given time, police officers may be acting in a watchman, service, or legalistic function by nature of what they're doing at the time, or temperament, or mood. Individual officers may also be inclined to one style or another, regardless of supervisor or citizen demands.
Community-oriented policing is a shift in policing practices in the U.S. that moved away from standardization and towards a more preventative model where police actively partner with the community it serves.[15]
Powers of officers[edit]
General powers[edit]
Law enforcement officers are granted certain powers to enable them to carry out their duties. When there exists probable cause to believe that a person has committed a serious crime, a law enforcement officer can handcuff and arrest a person, who will be held in a police station or jail pending a judicial bail determination or an arraignment.
The procedural use of strip searches and cavity searches by law enforcement has raised civil liberties concerns.[16][17][18] The practice of taking an arrested person on a perp walk, often handcuffed, through a public place at some point after the arrest, creating an opportunity for the media to take photographs and video of the event, has also raised concerns.[19]
In 2010, the FBI estimated that law enforcement agencies made 13,120,947 arrests (excluding traffic violations). Of those persons arrested, 74.5% were male and 69.4 percent of all persons arrested were white, 28.0 percent were black, and the remaining 2.6 percent were of other races.[20]
A law enforcement officer may briefly detain a person upon reasonable suspicion of involvement in a crime but short of probable cause to arrest. Contrary to popular belief and Hollywood-style depictions in TV and movies, merely lawfully detaining a person—in and of itself—does not deprive a person of their Fourth Amendment right against unlawful searches. Federal, state, and local laws, and individual law enforcement departmental policies govern when, where, how, and upon whom a law enforcement officer may perform a "pat down," "protective search," or "Terry frisk," based on several U.S. Supreme Court decisions (including Terry v. Ohio (1968), Michigan v. Long (1983), and Maryland v. Buie (1990)):[21]
In Terry v. Ohio, the landmark decision introducing the term "Terry frisk," or "frisk," to the broader public:
"Our evaluation of the proper balance that has to be struck in this type of case leads us to conclude that there must be a narrowly drawn 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 (italics added)."[22]
The New York City Police Department came under scrutiny in 2012 for its use of a stop-and-frisk program.[23][24][25]
Civil asset forfeiture[edit]
Main article: Civil forfeiture in the United States
The Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement officers may enter a house without knocking if they have "a reasonable suspicion" that announcing their presence would be dangerous or allow a suspect to destroy evidence (for example, by flushing drugs down the toilet). In addition, rules on civil asset forfeiture allow law enforcement officers to seize anything which they can plausibly claim was the proceeds of a crime. The property-owner need not be convicted of that crime; if officers find drugs in a house, they can take cash from the house and possibly the house itself. Commentators have said these rules provide an incentive for law enforcement officers to focus on drug-related crimes rather than rape and murder investigations. They also provide an incentive to arrest suspected drug-dealers inside their houses, which can be seized, and to raid stash houses after most of their drugs have been sold, when officers can seize the cash.[26][27]
Deadly force[edit]
Main articles: Police use of deadly force in the United States and List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States
In most states, law enforcement officers operate under the same self-defense laws as the citizens of that state. Generally, when the officer or an innocent party is at risk of serious bodily injury and/or death, lethal force is justified. Most law enforcement agencies establish a use of force continuum and list deadly force as a force of last resort. With this model, agencies try to control excessive use of force. Nonetheless, some question the number of killings by law enforcement officers, including killings of people who are unarmed, raising questions about widespread and ongoing excessive use of force.[28][29] Other non-fatal incidents and arrests have raised similar concerns.[30][31][32]
Accountability[edit]
Main article: Police accountability § Police reform in the United States
Misconduct[edit]
Main articles: Police misconduct § United States, Police brutality in the United States, Police perjury in the United States, and Police riots in the United States
Several serious cases of police misconduct have raised questions surrounding abuse of powers by individual or groups of officers. Historical examples include the Chicago Police Department's torture of felony suspects between 1972-1991 by and under Jon Burge, Los Angeles Police Department's 1991 beating of Rodney King and late-1990s LAPD Rampart Scandal, New York City Police Department's 1970s fatal shootings of Clifford Glover (1973) and Randolph Evans (1976), the 1980s chokehold of Michael Stewart (1983), shootings of Eleanor Bumpers (1984) and Edmund Perry (1985), the stun gun torture of Mark Davidson (1985), the 1990s torture of Abner Louima and shooting of Amadou Diallo, the 2000s shootings and record-publicizing of Patrick Dorismond, and Sean Bell, Philadelphia Police Department's torture of suspects in the 1970s to improve then-mayor Frank Rizzo's reputation and Torrington, Connecticut's Tracey Thurman.
Entry qualifications[edit]
Requirements[edit]
Nearly all U.S. states and the federal government have by law adopted minimum-standard standardized training requirements for all officers with powers of arrest within the state. 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 often comply with standards promoted by the US Department of Justice. These standards typically require a thorough background check that potential police recruits:[33][34]
Be a United States citizen (waived in certain agencies if the applicant is a lawful resident).
Must have a high school diploma or a GED and if necessary a college degree or served in the United States military without a dishonorable discharge;
Be in good medical, physical, and psychological condition;
Maintain a clean criminal record without either serious or repeated misdemeanor or any felony convictions;
Must have a valid driver's license with a clean driving record and that is not currently or has a history of being suspended or revoked;
Be of high moral character;
Not have a history of prior narcotic or repeated marijuana use or alcoholism;
Not have a history of ethical, professional, prior employment, motor vehicle, educational, or financial improprieties;
Not have a history of domestic violence or mental illness;
Not to 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 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.[35] Departments maintain records of past applicants under review, and refer to them in the case of either reapplication or requests between other agencies.
Issues with recruitment[edit]
Further information: Gypsy cop
Despite these safeguards, some departments have at times relaxed hiring and staffing policies, sometimes in violation of the law, most often in the cases of local departments and federally funded drug task forces facing staffing shortages, attrition, and needs to quickly fill positions. This has included at times the fielding (and sometimes the arming) of uncertified officers (who may be working temporarily in what is supposed to be a provisional limited-duty status prior to certification) and the hiring of itinerant "gypsy cops", who may have histories of poor performance or misconduct in other departments.[36][37][38][39][40][41]
Police equipment[edit]
Firearms[edit]
Police in the United States usually carry a handgun on duty. Many are required to be armed on-duty and often 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 (US Secret Service and other Federal Law Enforcement agencies) or .45 ACP.
Until the late 1980s and early 1990s, most US police officers carried revolvers, typically in .38 Special or .357 Magnum calibers, as their primary duty weapons. At the time, Smith & Wesson, Colt, Ruger and some Taurus models were popular with police officers, most popular being the Smith & Wesson or Colt revolvers. Since then, most agencies have switched to 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 1980 Norco shootout and the 1986 FBI Miami shootout.
Some police departments allow qualified officers to carry shotguns and/or 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[edit]
ASP 21" tactical baton in collapsed and expanded states.
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 night stick usually has to be removed before entering the vehicle. Many departments also use less-lethal weapons like mace, pepper spray, electroshock guns, and beanbag shotgun rounds.
Another less lethal weapon that police officers often carry is an electroshock gun, 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 his or her 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.
Specialized weapons[edit]
Further information: SWAT
Most large police departments have elite SWAT units which are called in to handle situations, such as barricaded suspects, hostage situations and high-risk warrant service, that require greater force, specialized 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 specialized weapons and equipment at their disposal. Some departments are equipped with armored vehicles.
Body armor[edit]
Further information: Body armor
Uniformed police officers are often issued body armor, typically in the form of a lightweight Level IIA, II or IIIA vest that can be worn under service shirts. SWAT teams typically wear heavier Level III or IV tactical armored vests, often with steel or ceramic trauma plates, comparable to those worn by U.S. military personnel engaged in ground operations. Officers trained in bomb disposal wear specialized heavy protective armor 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.[42][43]
Body-worn camera[edit]
Further information: Body worn video (police equipment)
Multiple states have pending body-worn camera legislation that require its law enforcement to be equipped with body-worn cameras when the officers are on duty. Some of these states include California, Washington, and Illinois, among others.[44] Body-worn cameras are video recording devices around three inches long that cost between $129-$900.[45] There are different body-worn camera models, but a standard body-worn camera includes an on and off switch that enables the image capturing technology to record and store data in the cloud.
Body-worn cameras have become standard due to the rise of civilian complaints about police brutality across the nation.[46] Supporters argue 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. Surveillance items that can be used by law enforcement which have been scrutinized also include the automatic number plate recognition due to its similarities to mass surveillance.
Police communications[edit]
Radio[edit]
Most American police departments are dispatched from a centralized communications center, 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. American police cars are also increasingly equipped with mobile data terminals (MDT's)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 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 telephone taxation. A large number of police agencies have pooled their 9-1-1 tax resources for Computer Aided Dispatching (CAD) to streamline dispatching and reporting. CAD systems are usually linked to MDT's (see above).
National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System[edit]
A variety of national, regional, state and local information systems are available to law enforcement agencies in the U.S., with differing purposes and types of information. One example is the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS),[47] an interstate justice and public safety network owned by the states supporting inquiry into state systems for criminal history, driver's license and motor vehicle registration, as well as supporting inquiry into federal systems, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Law Enforcement Support Center, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) National Drug Pointer Index (NDPIX), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aircraft Registry, plus the Government of Canada's Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC).[48]
NLETS operates primarily through a secure private network through which each state has an interface to the network, and all agencies within the state operate through this portal. The federal and international components operate very similarly. Users include all United States and territories, Federal agencies with a justice mission, and certain international agencies. The primary operational site for the network is housed in Arizona, with a secure backup site located in the East Central U.S.
Through the NLETS network, law enforcement and criminal justice agencies can access a wide range of information, from standard driver license and vehicle queries to criminal history and Interpol information.[49] Operations consist of nearly 1.5 billion transactions a year to over 1 million PC, mobile and handheld devices in the U.S. and Canada at 45,000 user agencies, and to 1.3 million individual users.[47]
Dissemination[edit]
Police departments share arrest information with third-party news organizations that archive names of citizens and legal allegations in a "police blotter". However, if the allegations are dismissed in court a citizen may not petition the third-party for removal.
Number of police[edit]
In 2008, federal police employed approx. 120,000 full-time law enforcement officers, authorized to make arrests and carry firearms in the United States.[50]
The 2012 Bureau of Justice Statistics' Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA), found there were 17,985 state and local law enforcement agencies employing at least one full-time officer or the equivalent in part-time officers.[51]
In 2008, state and local law enforcement agencies employed more than 1.1 million people on a full-time basis, including about 765,000 sworn personnel (defined as those with general arrest powers). Agencies also employed approximately 100,000 part-time employees, including 44,000 sworn officers.[51]
From 2004 to 2008, overall full-time employment by state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide increased by about 57,000 (or 5.3%). Sworn personnel increased by about 33,000 (4.6%), and nonsworn employees by about 24,000 (6.9%). From 2004 to 2008, the number of full-time sworn personnel per 100,000 U.S. residents increased from 250 to 251.[51] From 1992 to 2008, the growth rate for civilian personnel was more than double that of sworn personnel.[52]
Local police departments were the largest employer of sworn personnel, accounting for 60% of the total. Sheriffs' offices were next, accounting for 24%. About half (49%) of all agencies employed fewer than 10 full-time officers. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of sworn personnel worked for agencies that employed 100 or more officers.[51]
Changes in personnel numbers[edit]
Fifteen of the 50 largest local police departments employed fewer full-time sworn personnel in 2008 than in 2004. The largest declines were in Detroit (36%), Memphis (23%), New Orleans (13%), and San Francisco (10%).[51]
Ten of the 50 largest local police departments reported double-digit increases in sworn personnel from 2004 to 2008. The largest increases were in Phoenix (19%), Prince George's County (Maryland) (17%), Dallas (15%), and Fort Worth (14%).[51]
Salary[edit]
Salary varies widely for police officers, with most being among the top third of wage-earners, age 25 or older, nationwide.[53] In May 2012, the overall median was $56,980. The top 10% earned more than $93,450 and bottom 10% less than $33,060.[54]
The median wages for police and detective occupations in May 2012 were as follows:[54]
$74,300 for detectives and criminal investigators
$55,270 for police and sheriff's patrol officers
$55,210 for transit and railroad police
$48,070 for fish and game wardens
Gallery[edit]
Grover Cleveland was Sheriff of Erie County New York 1871-1872
Theodore Roosevelt as Police Commissioner of New York City with Jacob Riis 1894
See also[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Police of the United States.
List of U.S. state and local law enforcement agencies
Police ranks in the US
Police uniforms of the United States
Police academies in the United States
List of law enforcement agencies in the District of Columbia
Related:
Crime in the United States
Incarceration in the United States
Terrorism in the United States
General:
Police
United States portal
Law enforcement portal
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Debusmann, Bernd (October–November 2016). "The race problem in black and white". The World Today. Chatham House. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
Jump up ^ Langeluttig, Albert (1927). The Department of Justice of the United States. Johns Hopkins Press. pp. 9–14.
Jump up ^ "Virginia County vs. Town vs. City". Virginia Places.Org. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
Jump up ^ "Auxiliary Police and Part Time Law Enforcement Officer Training Standards" (PDF). Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. DCJS VA. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
Jump up ^ Archbold, Carol A. (2013). Policing (PDF). Sage Publication. ISBN 9781412993692.
Jump up ^ Gregory, Anthony. "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces." The Independent Review 19.2 (2014): 271-75. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.
Jump up ^ Kraska, Peter B. "Militarizing Criminal Justice: Exploring the Possibilities."The Journal of Political and Military Sociology 27.2 (1999): 205-15.ProQuest Research Library. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.
Jump up ^ Kohn, Richard H. "The Danger of Militarization in an Endless "War" on Terrorism." The Journal of Military History 73.1 (2008): 177-208.ProQuest Research Library. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.
Jump up ^ "War Gear Flows to Police Departments". New York Times. June 8, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Community Police Armed with the Weapons and Tactics of War". ACLU. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Cash Flowed To Lawmakers Who Voted to 'Militarize' Police". International Business Times. August 15, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Amid Ferguson chaos, Rand Paul bemoans 'militarization' of police". LA Times. August 14, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Trump to Fully Restore Military Surplus Transfers to Police". The New York Times. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
Jump up ^ Falcone, David N., Edward L. Wells, and Ralph A. Weisheit. "The Small-Town Police Department." Policing 25.2 (2002): 371-85. ProQuest Criminal Justice Periodicals Index. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.
Jump up ^ Batten, Ed. Donna (2010). "Community-Oriented Policing." Gale Encyclopedia of American Law (3 ed.). Detroit: Gale. pp. 49–51. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Jump up ^ "Strip Searching Americans Without Cause: A Blow to Personal Privacy". Huffington Post. June 6, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
Jump up ^ "In U.S. justice system, the strip-search is common practice". Reuters. December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Strip Searches". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Case Study: DSK Fallout: Time for the Perp Walk to Take a Hike?". Time. July 11, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
Jump up ^ FBI Uniform Crime Reports
Jump up ^ "Protective Searches-Building Upon Terry V. Ohio". Law Enforcement Today. 15 October 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
Jump up ^ "Terry v. Ohio". Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
Jump up ^ "NYPD Stop And Frisks: 15 Shocking Facts About A Controversial Program". Huffington Post. May 15, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Stop-and-Frisk Campaign: About the Issue". NYCLU. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
Jump up ^ "NYPD Stop and Frisk". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Cops or soldiers?". The Economist. March 22, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Civil Asset Forfeiture". ACLU. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Fatal police shootings in 2015 approaching 400 nationwide". The Washington Post. May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
Jump up ^ "America's police kill too many people. But some forces are showing how smarter, less aggressive policing gets results". The Economist. December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Arrest-Related Deaths". Bureau Of Justice Statistics. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
Jump up ^ "US Police Have Killed Over 5,000 Civilians Since 9/11". November 10, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2014. .
Jump up ^ "Police Involved Shooting Statistics: A National One-Year Summary". December 25, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2014. .
Jump up ^ Sullivan, Larry (2005). Encyclopedia of law enforcement. Sage. p. 702. ISBN 0761926496.
Jump up ^ Suarez, Jonathan. Police Officer Exam. Lulu.com. p. 357. ISBN 0557036372.
Jump up ^ The Law Enforcement Oral Board Interview - http://www.lawenforcementts.com
Jump up ^ "Cast-Out Police Officers Are Often Hired in Other Cities". The New York Times. September 10, 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
Jump up ^ "Fired/Rehired: Police chiefs are often forced to put officers fired for misconduct back on the streets". Washington Post. August 3, 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
Jump up ^ "How Police Unions and Arbitrators Keep Abusive Cops on the Street". The Atlantic. December 2, 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
Jump up ^ Barker, Tom (2011). Police ethics: crisis in law enforcement (3rd ed.). Chares C. Thomas. p. 134. ISBN 039808615X.
Jump up ^ "Push to keep "gypsy cops" with questionable pasts off the streets". CBS News. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
Jump up ^ "Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
Jump up ^ "Houston Police Foundation - Houston Police Department Body Armor". www.houstonpolicefoundation.org. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
Jump up ^ "Body Armor | Recent News". www.alexandriapolicefoundation.org. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
Jump up ^ CAPPS, KRISTON (July 30, 2015). "Police Body Cameras: Coming Everywhere in 3 to 5 Years". City Lab.
Jump up ^ Wagstaff, Keith (December 2, 2014). "Digital Partner: Here's How Police Body Cameras Work". NBC News.
Jump up ^ Ariel, Barak; Farrar, William; Sutherland, Alex (September 2015). "The Effect of Police Body-Worn Cameras on Use of Force and Citizens' Complaints Against the Police: A Randomized Controlled Trial". Journal of Quantitative Criminology.
^ Jump up to: a b "Who We Are - Nlets". www.nlets.org. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
Jump up ^ "National Crime Information Systems | TRIBAL". Department of Justice. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
Jump up ^ "What We Do - Nlets". www.nlets.org. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
Jump up ^ U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f U.S. Department of Justice, Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2008
Jump up ^ U.S. Department of Justice, Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2008, p.2
Jump up ^ "U.S. Census Bureau. (June 24, 2005). PINC-03. Educational Attainment--People 25 Years Old and Over, by Total Money Earnings in 2008, Work Experience in 2004, Age, Race, Hispanic Origin, and Sex." Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
^ Jump up to: a b "Police and Detectives : Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014–15 edition". U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
show
v
t
e
Law enforcement agencies of the United States by state
Law enforcement in the United States
States
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Federal district
Washington, D.C.
show
Links to related articles
show
v
t
e
Highway patrol/state police in the United States
See also: Law enforcement in the United States and Highway patrol
States
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii (does not have a statewide police agency)
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Federal district
District of Columbia
Insular areas
American Samoa
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
show
v
t
e
United States articles
History
By event
Timeline of U.S. history
Pre-Columbian era
Colonial era
Thirteen Colonies
military history
Continental Congress
American Revolution
War
American frontier
Confederation Period
Drafting and ratification of Constitution
Federalist Era
War of 1812
Territorial acquisitions
Territorial evolution
Mexican–American War
Civil War
Reconstruction Era
Indian Wars
Gilded Age
Progressive Era
African-American civil rights movement 1865–1896 / 1896–1954 / 1954–1968
Spanish–American War
Imperialism
World War I
Roaring Twenties
Great Depression
World War II
home front
Nazism in the United States
American Century
Cold War
Korean War
Space Race
Feminist Movement
Vietnam War
Post-Cold War (1991–2008)
War on Terror
War in Afghanistan
Iraq War
Recent events (2008–present)
By topic
Outline of U.S. history
Demographic
Discoveries
Economic
debt ceiling
Inventions
before 1890
1890–1945
1946–91
after 1991
Military
Postal
Technological and industrial
Geography
Territory
counties
federal district
federal enclaves
Indian reservations
insular zones
minor outlying islands
populated places
states
Earthquakes
Extreme points
Islands
Mountains
peaks
ranges
Appalachian
Rocky
National Park Service
National Parks
Regions
East Coast
West Coast
Great Plains
Gulf
Mid-Atlantic
Midwestern
New England
Pacific
Central
Eastern
Northern
Northeastern
Northwestern
Southern
Southeastern
Southwestern
Western
Longest rivers
Arkansas
Colorado
Columbia
Mississippi
Missouri
Red (South)
Rio Grande
Yukon
Time
Water supply and sanitation
Politics
Federal
Executive
Cabinet
Civil service
Executive departments
Executive Office
Independent agencies
Law enforcement
President of the United States
Public policy
Legislative
House of Representatives
current members
Speaker
Senate
current members
President pro tempore
Vice President
Judicial
Courts of appeals
District courts
Supreme Court
Law
Bill of Rights
civil liberties
Code of Federal Regulations
Constitution
federalism
preemption
separation of powers
Federal Reporter
United States Code
United States Reports
Intelligence
Central Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
Federal Bureau of Investigation
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
National Reconnaissance Office
National Security Agency
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Uniformed
Armed Forces
Army
Marine Corps
Navy
Air Force
Coast Guard
National Guard
NOAA Corps
Public Health Service Corps
51st state
political status of Puerto Rico
District of Columbia statehood movement
Elections
Electoral College
Foreign relations
Foreign policy
Hawaiian sovereignty movement
Ideologies
anti-Americanism
exceptionalism
nationalism
Local government
Parties
Democratic
Republican
Third parties
Red states and blue states
Purple America
Scandals
State government
governor
state legislature
state court
Uncle Sam
Economy
By sector
Agriculture
Banking
Communications
Energy
Insurance
Manufacturing
Mining
Tourism
Trade
Transportation
Companies
by state
Currency
Exports
Federal budget
Federal Reserve System
Financial position
Labor unions
Public debt
Social welfare programs
Taxation
Unemployment
Wall Street
Society
Culture
Americana
Architecture
Cinema
Cuisine
Dance
Demography
Education
Family structure
Fashion
Flag
Folklore
Languages
American English
Indigenous languages
ASL
Black American Sign Language
HSL
Plains Sign Talk
Arabic
Chinese
French
German
Italian
Russian
Spanish
Literature
Media
Journalism
Internet
Newspapers
Radio
Television
Music
Names
People
Philosophy
Public holidays
Religion
Sexuality
Sports
Theater
Visual art
Social class
Affluence
American Dream
Educational attainment
Homelessness
Home-ownership
Household income
Income inequality
Middle class
Personal income
Poverty
Professional and working class conflict
Standard of living
Wealth
Issues
Ages of consent
Capital punishment
Crime
incarceration
Criticism of government
Discrimination
affirmative action
antisemitism
intersex rights
Islamophobia
LGBT rights
racism
same-sex marriage
Drug policy
Energy policy
Environmental movement
Gun politics
Health care
abortion
health insurance
hunger
obesity
smoking
Human rights
Immigration
illegal
International rankings
National security
Mass surveillance
Terrorism
Separation of church and state
Outline
Index
Book
Category
Portal
show
v
t
e
Police forces by country
Africa
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
The Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Americas
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada
Chile (Chilean National Police - Chilean Investigations Police)
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
Asia / Oceania
Afghanistan
Australia
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Burma (Myanmar)
Cambodia
China (Hong Kong - Macau)
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
New Zealand
North Korea
South Korea
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
Mongolia
Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Philippines
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Syria
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Thailand
Tajikistan
East Timor (Timor-Leste)
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi Police - Dubai Police Force)
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Yemen
Europe
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Non-recognized
Kosovo
Northern Cyprus
Defunct
Czechoslovakia
East Germany
Serbia and Montenegro
Soviet Union
Yugoslavia
show
v
t
e
Law enforcement in the Americas
North America
South America
Sovereign states
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
Dependencies and
other territories
Anguilla
Aruba
Bermuda
Bonaire
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Curaçao
Falkland Islands
French Guiana
Greenland
Guadeloupe
Martinique
Montserrat
Puerto Rico
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Martin
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saba
Sint Eustatius
Sint Maarten
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands
US Virgin Islands
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Law_enforcement_in_the_United_States&oldid=854516418"
Categories:
Law enforcement in the United States
Public services of the United States
Hidden categories:
Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL
All articles with unsourced statements
Articles with unsourced statements from March 2016
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
In other projects
Wikimedia Commons
Wikiquote
Languages
Български
Čeština
Deutsch
Euskara
Français
한국어
日本語
Русский
Svenska
中文
3 more
Edit links
This page was last edited on 11 August 2018, at 23:03 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

attrs: id class lang

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

attrs: class href

values: mw-jump-link #mw-head

values: mw-jump-link #p-search

attrs: href class title

values:
/wiki/Courts_in_the_United_States
mw-redirect
Courts in the United States

value: p

values:
/wiki/Public_safety
mw-redirect
Public safety

value: input

attrs: type role id class style

values: checkbox button toctogglecheckbox toctogglecheckbox display:none

value: label

attrs: class for

values: toctogglelabel toctogglecheckbox

value: span

values: Federal law enforcement in the United States

values:
/wiki/U.S._Park_Police
mw-redirect
U.S. Park Police

values:
/wiki/Inauguration_Day
mw-redirect
Inauguration Day

values:
/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act
mw-redirect
USA PATRIOT Act

values: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

values: United States Department of Homeland Security

values: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

values: United States Federal Protective Service

values:
/wiki/United_States_government
mw-redirect
United States government

values: Constitution of the United States of America

values: Explanation needed for claim that US states are not sovereign in their own right. (March 2016)

values:
noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact
white-space:nowrap;

values:
/wiki/States_of_the_United_States
mw-redirect
States of the United States

values:
/wiki/Government_agencies
mw-redirect
Government agencies

values:
/wiki/State_Attorney_General
mw-redirect
State Attorney General

values:
/wiki/Game_wardens
mw-redirect
Game wardens

values:
/wiki/Parishes_of_Louisiana
mw-redirect
Parishes of Louisiana

values:
/wiki/Borough_(Alaska)
mw-redirect
Borough (Alaska)

values:
/wiki/Counties_of_the_United_States
mw-redirect
Counties of the United States

values:
/wiki/Special-purpose_district
mw-redirect
Special-purpose district

values:
/wiki/County_jail
mw-redirect
County jail

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.texascit.org

values: Category:Municipal police departments of the United States

values:
/wiki/City_marshal
mw-redirect
City marshal

values: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

values: Category:Specialist police departments of the United States

values: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department

values:
/wiki/Private_Police
mw-redirect
Private Police

values:
/wiki/Motor_vehicle_accident
mw-redirect
Motor vehicle accident

values:
/wiki/War_on_Drugs
mw-redirect
War on Drugs

values:
/wiki/Cavity_search
mw-redirect
Cavity search

values: Police use of deadly force in the United States

values:
/wiki/Police_riots_in_the_United_States
mw-redirect
Police riots in the United States

values:
/wiki/Rampart_Scandal
mw-redirect
Rampart Scandal

values:
/wiki/Clifford_Glover
mw-redirect
Clifford Glover

values:
/wiki/Randolph_Evans
mw-redirect
Randolph Evans

values:
/wiki/Michael_Stewart_(graffiti_artist)
mw-redirect
Michael Stewart (graffiti artist)

values:
/wiki/Eleanor_Bumpers
mw-redirect
Eleanor Bumpers

values:
/wiki/Edmund_Perry
mw-redirect
Edmund Perry

values:
/wiki/Amadou_Diallo
mw-redirect
Amadou Diallo

values:
/wiki/Tracey_Thurman
mw-redirect
Tracey Thurman

values:
/wiki/US_Department_of_Justice
mw-redirect
US Department of Justice

values:
/wiki/College_degree
mw-redirect
College degree

values:
/wiki/Dishonorable_discharge
mw-redirect
Dishonorable discharge

values:
/wiki/Mental_illness
mw-redirect
Mental illness

values:
/wiki/FBI_Miami_shootout
mw-redirect
FBI Miami shootout

values:
/wiki/Semiautomatic_rifle
mw-redirect
Semiautomatic rifle

values:
/wiki/Impact_weapon
mw-redirect
Impact weapon

values:
/wiki/Less-lethal_weapons
mw-redirect
Less-lethal weapons

values:
/wiki/Electroshock_gun
mw-redirect
Electroshock gun

values:
/wiki/Flexible_baton_round
mw-redirect
Flexible baton round

values:
/wiki/TASER_International
mw-redirect
TASER International

values:
/wiki/Police_Foundations_(Local)
mw-redirect
Police Foundations (Local)

values:
/wiki/Department_of_motor_vehicles
mw-redirect
Department of motor vehicles

values: Edit section: National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System

values: Edit section: Changes in personnel numbers

values: commons:Category:Police of the United States

values: List of U.S. state and local law enforcement agencies

values: List of law enforcement agencies in the District of Columbia

values: display:table-cell;padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.2em 0.3em;vertical-align:middle

values:
/wiki/Portal:Law_enforcement
mw-redirect
Portal:Law enforcement

values: margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 1em;border:solid #aaa 1px

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.aclu.org/militarization

values:
nofollow
external free
http://www.lawenforcementts.com

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.nlets.org/about/who-we-are

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.nlets.org/about/what-we-do

values:
/wiki/U.S._Bureau_of_Labor_Statistics
mw-redirect
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

values: -moz-column-width: 30em; -webkit-column-width: 30em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;

values: Template:Law enforcement agencies of the United States by state

values: Template talk:Law enforcement agencies of the United States by state

values: List of United States state and local law enforcement agencies

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Alabama

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Alaska

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Arizona

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Arkansas

values: List of law enforcement agencies in California

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Colorado

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Connecticut

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Delaware

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Florida

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Georgia

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Hawaii

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Idaho

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Illinois

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Indiana

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Iowa

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Kansas

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Kentucky

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Louisiana

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Maine

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Maryland

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Michigan

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Minnesota

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Mississippi

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Missouri

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Montana

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Nebraska

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Nevada

values: List of law enforcement agencies in New Hampshire

values: List of law enforcement agencies in New Jersey

values: List of law enforcement agencies in New Mexico

values: List of law enforcement agencies in New York

values: List of law enforcement agencies in North Carolina

values: List of law enforcement agencies in North Dakota

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Ohio

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Oregon

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Rhode Island

values: List of law enforcement agencies in South Carolina

values: List of law enforcement agencies in South Dakota

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Tennessee

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Texas

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Utah

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Vermont

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Virginia

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Washington

values: List of law enforcement agencies in West Virginia

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin

values: List of law enforcement agencies in Wyoming

values: nowraplinks hlist collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner mw-collapsible mw-made-collapsible mw-collapsed

values: Template:Highway patrol and state police in the United States

values: Template talk:Highway patrol and state police in the United States

values: Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

values: American Samoa Department of Public Safety

values: Law enforcement in the Northern Mariana Islands

values:
/wiki/Puerto_Rico_Police_Department
mw-redirect
Puerto Rico Police Department

values: United States Virgin Islands Police Department

values: nowraplinks collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner mw-collapsible mw-made-collapsible mw-collapsed

values: Timeline of drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution

values: Territorial evolution of the United States

values:
/wiki/Reconstruction_Era
mw-redirect
Reconstruction Era

values: African-American civil rights movement (1865–1896)

values: African-American civil rights movement (1896–1954)

values: History of the United States (1865–1918)

values: Military history of the United States during World War II

values: United States home front during World War II

values: History of the United States (1991–2008)

values: History of the United States (2008–present)

values: Demographic history of the United States

values: Timeline of United States inventions (before 1890)

values: Timeline of United States inventions (1890–1945)

values: Timeline of United States inventions (1946–91)

values: Timeline of United States inventions (after 1991)

values: Postage stamps and postal history of the United States

values: Technological and industrial history of the United States

values: Lists of populated places in the United States

values: List of earthquakes in the United States

values: List of extreme points of the United States

values: List of mountain peaks of the United States

values: List of areas in the United States National Park System

values:
/wiki/Pacific_States
mw-redirect
Pacific States

values: Drinking water supply and sanitation in the United States

values: United States federal executive departments

values: Executive Office of the President of the United States

values: Independent agencies of the United States government

values: Current members of the United States House of Representatives

values: Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

values: Current members of the United States Senate

values: President pro tempore of the United States Senate

values: Separation of powers under the United States Constitution

values: United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

values: Political ideologies in the United States

values: List of federal political scandals in the United States

values: List of companies of the United States by state

values:
/wiki/Cuisine_of_the_United_States
mw-redirect
Cuisine of the United States

values: Chinese language and varieties in the United States

values: Educational attainment in the United States

values: Professional and working class conflict in the United States

values: Criticism of the United States government

values: Federal drug policy of the United States

values: Environmental movement in the United States

values: Illegal immigration to the United States

values: International rankings of the United States

values: Separation of church and state in the United States

values:
/wiki/Book:United_States
mw-redirect
Book:United States

values: nowraplinks hlist collapsible collapsed navbox-inner mw-collapsible mw-collapsed mw-made-collapsible

values: Police of Botswana (page does not exist)

values: Police of Burkina Faso (page does not exist)

values:
/wiki/Police_of_Burundi
mw-redirect
Police of Burundi

values: Police of Cameroon (page does not exist)

values: Police of Cape Verde (page does not exist)

values: Police of the Central African Republic (page does not exist)

values: Police of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (page does not exist)

values: Police of the Republic of the Congo (page does not exist)

values: Police of Djibouti (page does not exist)

values: Police of Equatorial Guinea (page does not exist)

values: Police of Ethiopia (page does not exist)

values: Police of The Gambia (page does not exist)

values: Police of Guinea-Bissau (page does not exist)

values: Police of Ivory Coast (page does not exist)

values: Police of Madagascar (page does not exist)

values: Police of Mauritania (page does not exist)

values: Police of Mauritius (page does not exist)

values: Police of São Tomé and Príncipe (page does not exist)

values: Armed forces of Senegal (page does not exist)

values: Police of Seychelles (page does not exist)

values: Police of Swaziland (page does not exist)

values: Police of Tanzania (page does not exist)

values:
/wiki/Federal_Police_Department
mw-redirect
Federal Police Department

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Chile
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Chile

values: Law enforcement in Dominica (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in Guyana (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in Saint Kitts and Nevis

values:
/wiki/Royal_Saint_Lucia_Police_Force
mw-redirect
Royal Saint Lucia Police Force

values: Law enforcement in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

values:
/wiki/Polic%C3%ADa_Nacional_Bolivariana
mw-redirect
Policía Nacional Bolivariana

values:
/wiki/Police_of_Australia
mw-redirect
Police of Australia

values: Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran

values:
/wiki/Police_of_New_Zealand
mw-redirect
Police of New Zealand

values:
/wiki/Police_of_North_Korea
mw-redirect
Police of North Korea

values:
/wiki/Police_of_Saudi_Arabia
mw-redirect
Police of Saudi Arabia

values:
/wiki/Sri_Lanka_Police_Service
mw-redirect
Sri Lanka Police Service

values: National Police Agency (Republic of China)

values:
/wiki/Police_of_East_Timor
mw-redirect
Police of East Timor

values: Law enforcement in the United Arab Emirates

values: Special Purpose Police Unit (Azerbaijan)

values:
/wiki/Bosnian_Police
mw-redirect
Bosnian Police

values:
/wiki/Police_of_Croatia
mw-redirect
Police of Croatia

values:
/wiki/Police_of_Hungary
mw-redirect
Police of Hungary

values:
/wiki/Macedonian_police
mw-redirect
Macedonian police

values:
/wiki/General_Directorate_of_Security
mw-redirect
General Directorate of Security

values: List of police forces of the United Kingdom

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Kosovo
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Kosovo

values: Police Serbia and Montenegro (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in North America (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in South America (page does not exist)

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_the_Bahamas
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in the Bahamas

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Barbados
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Barbados

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Belize
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Belize

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Colombia
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Colombia

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Costa_Rica
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Costa Rica

values: Law enforcement in the Dominican Republic

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Ecuador
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Ecuador

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_El_Salvador
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in El Salvador

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Jamaica
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Jamaica

values: Law enforcement in Uruguay (page does not exist)

values:
navbox-image
2
width:1px;padding:0px 0px 0px 2px

values:
/wiki/Territory_(subdivision)
mw-redirect
Territory (subdivision)

values: Law enforcement in Anguilla (page does not exist)

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Aruba
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Aruba

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Bermuda
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Bermuda

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Bonaire
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Bonaire

values: Law enforcement in the British Virgin Islands

values: Law enforcement in Curaçao (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in French Guiana (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in Guadeloupe (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in Martinique (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in Montserrat (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in Saint Barthélemy (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in Saint Martin (France) (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in Saint Pierre and Miquelon

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Saba
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Saba

values:
/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Sint_Eustatius
mw-redirect
Law enforcement in Sint Eustatius

values: Law enforcement in Sint Maarten (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (page does not exist)

values: Law enforcement in the Turks and Caicos Islands

values: Law enforcement in the United States Virgin Islands

values: nowraplinks collapsible collapsed navbox-inner mw-collapsible mw-collapsed mw-made-collapsible

values: Category:Law enforcement in the United States

values: Category:Public services of the United States

values: Category:Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL

values: Category:All articles with unsourced statements

values: Category:Articles with unsourced statements from March 2016

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: Find background information on current events

values:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

values: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

values: Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia

values: About the project, what you can do, where to find things

values: A list of recent changes in the wiki [ctrl-alt-r]

values: portal navigation p-interaction p-interaction-label

values: List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [ctrl-alt-j]

values: Recent changes in pages linked from this page [ctrl-alt-k]

values:
/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard
Upload files [ctrl-alt-u]
u

values: A list of all special pages [ctrl-alt-q]

values: Permanent link to this revision of the page

values: Link to connected data repository item [ctrl-alt-g]

values: Printable version of this page [ctrl-alt-p]

values: portal navigation p-wikibase-otherprojects p-wikibase-otherprojects-label

values: Правоохранителни органи в Съединените щати – Bulgarian

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-bg
display: none;

values: Policie ve Spojených státech amerických – Czech

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-cs
display: none;

values: Polizia Ameriketako Estatu Batuetan – Basque

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-eu
display: none;

values: 미국의 법집행 – Korean

values: アメリカ合衆国の警察 – Japanese

values: Органы правопорядка США – Russian

values: All languages (initial selection from common choices by you and others)

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Law_enforcement_in_the_United_States rootpage-Law_enforcement_in_the_United_States skin-vector action-view


text:
There ain't no such thing as a free lunch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
"No free lunch" redirects here. For the medical advocacy group, see No Free Lunch (organization). For the theorem in mathematical optimization, see No free lunch theorem.
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" (alternatively, "There is no such thing as a free lunch" or other variants) is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. The acronyms TANSTAAFL, TINSTAAFL, and TNSTAAFL are also used. Uses of the phrase dating back to the 1930s and 1940s have been found, but the phrase's first appearance is unknown.[1] The "free lunch" in the saying refers to the nineteenth-century practice in American bars of offering a "free lunch" in order to entice drinking customers.
The phrase and the acronym are central to Robert Heinlein's 1966 science-fiction novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, which helped popularize it.[2][3] The free-market economist Milton Friedman also popularized the phrase[1] by using it as the title of a 1975 book,[4] and it is used in economics literature to describe opportunity cost.[5] Campbell McConnell writes that the idea is "at the core of economics".[6]
Contents
[hide]
1 History and usage
1.1 "Free lunch"
1.2 Early uses
1.3 Popularization
1.4 Meanings
2 See also
3 Notes
4 References
History and usage[edit]
"Free lunch"[edit]
The "free lunch" refers to the once-common tradition of saloons in the United States providing a "free" lunch to patrons who had purchased at least one drink. Many foods on offer were high in salt (e.g., ham, cheese, and salted crackers), so those who ate them ended up buying a lot of beer. Rudyard Kipling, writing in 1891, noted how he
...came upon a bar-room full of bad Salon pictures, in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts.[7]
TANSTAAFL, on the other hand, indicates an acknowledgement that in reality a person or a society cannot get "something for nothing". Even if something appears to be free, there is always a cost to the person or to society as a whole, although that may be a hidden cost or an externality. For example, as Heinlein has one of his characters point out, a bar offering a free lunch will likely charge more for its drinks.[8]
Early uses[edit]
TANSTAAFL: a plan for a new economic world order. (Pierre Dos Utt, 1949)
According to Robert Caro, Fiorello La Guardia, on becoming mayor of New York in 1933, said "È finita la cuccagna!", meaning "Cockaigne is finished" or, more loosely, "No more free lunch"; in this context "free lunch" refers to graft and corruption.[1] The earliest known occurrence of the full phrase (except for the "a"), in the form "There ain't no such thing as free lunch", appears as the punchline of a joke related in an article in the El Paso Herald-Post of June 27, 1938 (and other Scripps-Howard newspapers about the same time), entitled "Economics in Eight Words".[9][10]
In 1945, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" appeared in the Columbia Law Review, and "there is no free lunch" appeared in a 1942 article in the Oelwein Daily Register (in a quote attributed to economist Harley L. Lutz) and in a 1947 column by economist Merryle S. Rukeyser.[2][11]
In 1949, the phrase appeared in an article by Walter Morrow in the San Francisco News (published on 1 June) and in Pierre Dos Utt's monograph TANSTAAFL: A Plan for a New Economic World Order,[12] which describes an oligarchic political system based on his conclusions from "no free lunch" principles.
The 1938 and 1949 sources use the phrase in relating a fable about a king (Nebuchadnezzar in Dos Utt's retelling) seeking advice from his economic advisors. Morrow's retelling, which claims to derive from an earlier editorial reported to be non-existent,[13] but closely follows the story as related in the earlier article in the El Paso Herald-Post, differs from Dos Utt's in that the ruler asks for ever-simplified advice following their original "eighty-seven volumes of six hundred pages" as opposed to a simple failure to agree on "any major remedy". The last surviving economist advises that "There ain't no such thing as free lunch."
In 1950, a New York Times columnist ascribed the phrase to economist (and army general) Leonard P. Ayres of the Cleveland Trust Company: "It seems that shortly before the General's death [in 1946]... a group of reporters approached the general with the request that perhaps he might give them one of several immutable economic truisms that he had gathered from his long years of economic study... 'It is an immutable economic fact,' said the general, 'that there is no such thing as a free lunch.'"[14]
The September 8, 1961, issue of LIFE magazine has an editorial on page 4, "'TANSTAFL,' It's the Truth," that closes with an anecdotal farmer explaining this slight variant of TANSTAAFL.
Popularization[edit]
In 1966, author Robert A. Heinlein published his seminal work The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, in which TANSTaaFL was a central, libertarian theme, mentioned by name and explained. This brought its use and the idea into mainstream popularity.[2][3]
Edwin G. Dolan used the phrase as the title of his 1971 book TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) – A Libertarian Perspective on Environmental Policy.[15]
The free-market economist Milton Friedman subsequently increased the popularity of the phrase[1] by using it as the title of a 1975 book,[4] and it is used in economics literature to describe opportunity cost.[5] Campbell McConnell writes that the idea is "at the core of economics".[6]
Meanings[edit]
Science
In the sciences, TANSTAAFL means that the universe as a whole is ultimately a closed system. There is no magic source of matter, energy, light, or indeed lunch, that does not draw resources from something else, and that will not eventually be exhausted. Therefore, the TANSTAAFL argument may also be applied to natural physical processes in a closed system (either the universe as a whole, or any system that does not receive energy or matter from outside). (See Second law of thermodynamics.) The bio-ecologist Barry Commoner used this concept as the last of his famous "Four Laws of Ecology".
According to American theoretical physicist and cosmologist Alan Guth "the universe is the ultimate free lunch", given that in the early stage of its expansion the total amount of energy available to make particles was very large.[16]
Economics
In economics, TANSTAAFL demonstrates opportunity cost. Greg Mankiw described the concept as follows: "To get one thing that we like, we usually have to give up another thing that we like. Making decisions requires trading off one goal against another."[17] The idea that there is no free lunch at the societal level applies only when all resources are being used completely and appropriately – i.e., when economic efficiency prevails. If not, a 'free lunch' can be had through a more efficient utilization of resources. Or, as Fred Brooks put it, "You can only get something for nothing if you have previously gotten nothing for something." If one individual or group gets something at no cost, somebody else ends up paying for it. If there appears to be no direct cost to any single individual, there is a social cost. Similarly, someone can benefit for "free" from an externality or from a public good, but someone has to pay the cost of producing these benefits. (See Free rider problem and Tragedy of the commons).
Finance
In mathematical finance, the term is also used as an informal synonym for the principle of no-arbitrage. This principle states that a combination of securities that has the same cash-flows as another security must have the same net price in equilibrium.
Statistics
In statistics, the term has been used to describe the tradeoffs of statistical learners (e.g., in machine learning). That is, any model that claims to offer superior flexibility in analyzing data patterns usually does so at the cost of introducing extra assumptions, or by sacrificing generalizability in important situations.[18]
Technology
TANSTAAFL is sometimes used as a response to claims of the virtues of free software. Supporters of free software often counter that the use of the term "free" in this context is primarily a reference to a lack of constraint ("libre") rather than a lack of cost ("gratis"). Richard Stallman has described it as "'free' as in 'free speech,' not as in 'free beer'".
The prefix "TANSTAA-" (or "TINSTAA-") is used in numerous other contexts as well to denote some immutable property of the system being discussed. For example, "TANSTAANFS" is used by electrical engineering professors to stand for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Noise-Free System".[citation needed]
Sports
Baseball Prospectus coined the abbreviation "TINSTAAPP", for "There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect",[19] as many young pitchers hurt their arms before they can be effective at a major league level.
Social policy
Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány used this adage to justify his social reforms in the mid-2000s. As a post-socialist country, Hungary struggled with the illusion of the state as a caring and giving, independent entity, rather than being the embodiment of the community. The saying "there is no free lunch" represented that even if the state provides welfare or something else for the people in need, it is in fact bought or provided by other people of the same community through taxes. Therefore, the state cannot provide everything for everyone, and increased provisions given by the state can only be financed by economic growth or increased taxes.
Exceptions
Some exceptions from the "no free lunch" tenet have been put forward, such as the Sun and carbon dioxide.[20] It was argued in particular that metabolism evolved to take advantage of the free lunch provided by the Sun, which also triggers production of vital oxygen in plants.[20] However, these too fall short in that the viewpoint is an open system, the earth, with "free" inputs from the Sun. When viewed from the larger system context, the Sun/Earth or Solar System, there is a net energy exchange, and still "no free lunch." [21]
See also[edit]
Economics portal
Demonstrated preference
Have one's cake and eat it too
No free lunch in search and optimization
The Free Lunch Is Over (computing)
No Free Lunch (organization)
No-arbitrage bounds
Parable of the broken window
Revealed preferences
Scarcity
Tax choice
Trade-off
Notes[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c d Safire, William On Language; Words Left Out in the Cold" New York Times, 2-14-1993 [1]
^ Jump up to: a b c Keyes, Ralph (2006). The Quote Verifier. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-312-34004-9.
^ Jump up to: a b Smith, Chrysti M. (2006). Verbivore's Feast: Second Course. Helena, MT: Farcountry Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-56037-404-6.
^ Jump up to: a b Friedman, Milton, There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch, Open Court Publishing Company, 1975. ISBN 087548297X.
^ Jump up to: a b Gwartney, James D.; Richard Stroup; Dwight R. Lee (2005). Common Sense Economics. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-312-33818-X.
^ Jump up to: a b McConnell, Campbell R.; Stanley L. Brue (2005). Economics: principles, problems, and policies. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-07-281935-9. OCLC 314959936. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
Jump up ^ Kipling, Rudyard (1899). American Notes. Boston: Brown and Company. p. 18. OCLC 1063540. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
American Notes by Rudyard Kipling at Project Gutenberg
Jump up ^ Heinlein, Robert A. (1997) [1966]. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. New York: Tom Doherty Associates. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-312-86355-1.
Jump up ^ Shapiro, Fred (16 July 2009). "Quotes Uncovered: The Punchline, Please". The New York Times – Freakonomics blog. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
Jump up ^ "Economics in Eight Words". The Pittsburgh Press. March 13, 1958. Retrieved 1 April 2014. ...first published in Scripps-Howard newspapers 20 years ago.
Jump up ^ Fred R. Shapiro, ed. (2006). The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press. p. 478. ISBN 978-0-300-10798-2.
Jump up ^ Dos Utt, Pierre (1949). TANSTAAFL: A Plan for a New Economic World Order. Cairo Publications, Canton, OH.
Jump up ^ "The Big Apple: "No more free lunch!" (Fiorello La Guardia)". Barrypopik.com. 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
Jump up ^ Fetridge, Robert H, "Along the Highways and Byways of Finance," The New York Times, Nov 12, 1950, p. 135
Jump up ^ Dolan, Edwin G. (1971). TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) – A Libertarian Perspective on Environmental Policy. updated and reissued in 2011
Jump up ^ Hawking, Stephen (1988). A brief history of time. Bantam books. p. 144. ISBN 0553175211.
Jump up ^ Principles of Economics (4th edition), p. 4.
Jump up ^ Simon, N.; Tibshirani, R. (2014). "Comment on "Detecting Novel Associations In Large Data Sets" by Reshef Et Al, Science Dec 16, 2011". arXiv:1401.7645  .
Jump up ^ Leach, Matthew (12 April 2013). "Even top pitching prospects are no sure thing". MLB.com. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Friend, Tim (2007). The Third Domain: The Untold Story of Archaea and the Future of Biotechnology. National Academies Press. p. 21. ISBN 0309102375.
Jump up ^ Wilson, Richard (11 December 2013). "Is the earth a 'closed system' with the Sun providing the sole input?". Retrieved 26 November 2016.
References[edit]
Tucker, Bob, (Wilson Tucker) The Neo-Fan's Guide to Science Fiction Fandom (3rd–8th Editions), 8th edition: 1996, Kansas City Science Fiction & Fantasy Society, KaCSFFS Press, No ISSN or ISBN listed.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=There_ain%27t_no_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch&oldid=834265546"
Categories:
Adages
Economics catchphrases
English phrases
Free meals
Milton Friedman
Robert A. Heinlein
Metaphors referring to food and drink
Lunch
Aphorisms
Hidden categories:
Articles with Project Gutenberg links
All articles with unsourced statements
Articles with unsourced statements from June 2016
Pages using div col with deprecated parameters
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
Bân-lâm-gú
Čeština
Deutsch
Español
Français
Հայերեն
Italiano
עברית
Nederlands
Norsk
Polski
Português
Русский
Svenska
Українська
Tiếng Việt
粵語
中文
9 more
Edit links
This page was last edited on 4 April 2018, at 19:57.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

key: html

type: local

value: div

attrs: id class

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

value: a

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: jump-to-nav mw-jump

attrs: href title

attrs: role class

values:
note
hatnote navigation-not-searchable

value: b

value: sup

values:
/wiki/Hidden_cost
mw-redirect
Hidden cost

attrs: alt src width height class srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values:
/wiki/Fiorello_La_Guardia
mw-redirect
Fiorello La Guardia

values:
/wiki/Merryle_S._Rukeyser
mw-redirect
Merryle S. Rukeyser

values:
/wiki/N._Gregory_Mankiw
mw-redirect
N. Gregory Mankiw

values:
/wiki/Free_rider_problem
mw-redirect
Free rider problem

values: This claim needs references to reliable sources. (June 2016)

values:
noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact
white-space:nowrap;

values: display:table-cell;padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.2em 0.3em;vertical-align:middle

values: margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 1em;border:solid #aaa 1px

values:
/wiki/Demonstrated_preference
mw-redirect
Demonstrated preference

values:
/wiki/Have_one%27s_cake_and_eat_it_too
mw-redirect
Have one's cake and eat it too

values: No free lunch in search and optimization

values:
/wiki/Revealed_preferences
mw-redirect
Revealed preferences

values: div-col columns column-count column-count-3

values: -moz-column-count: 3; -webkit-column-count: 3; column-count: 3;

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.worldcat.org/oclc/314959936

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.worldcat.org/oclc/1063540

values:
nofollow
external text
//arxiv.org/abs/1401.7645

attrs: alt src title width height srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values: -moz-column-width: 30em; -webkit-column-width: 30em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;

values: Category:Metaphors referring to food and drink

values: Category:Articles with Project Gutenberg links

values: Category:All articles with unsourced statements

values: Category:Articles with unsourced statements from June 2016

values: Category:Pages using div col with deprecated parameters

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

values: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

values: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

values:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

values: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

values: p-views navigation vectorTabs p-views-label

values:
p-cactions
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-cactions-label

values:
mw-wiki-logo
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page

values:
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page [ctrl-alt-z]
z

values: Featured content – the best of Wikipedia

values: Find background information on current events

values:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

values: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

values: Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia

values: About the project, what you can do, where to find things

values: A list of recent changes in the wiki [ctrl-alt-r]

values: portal navigation p-interaction p-interaction-label

values: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch – Chinese (Min Nan)

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-min-nan
display: none;

values:
https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/TANSTAAFL
TANSTAAFL – Czech
cs
cs
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/TANSTAAFL
TANSTAAFL – German
de
de
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/TANSTAAFL
TANSTAAFL – Spanish
es
es
interlanguage-link-target

values: Անվճար նախաճաշեր չեն լինում – Armenian

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-hy
display: none;

values:
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/TANSTAAFL
TANSTAAFL – Italian
it
it
interlanguage-link-target

values: אין ארוחות חינם – Hebrew

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-he
display: none;

values: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch – Dutch

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-nl
display: none;

values:
https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/TANSTAAFL
TANSTAAFL – Norwegian
no
no
interlanguage-link-target

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-no
display: none;

values:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/TANSTAAFL
TANSTAAFL – Polish
pl
pl
interlanguage-link-target

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-pl
display: none;

values: Бесплатных завтраков не бывает – Russian

values: interlanguage-link interwiki-ru badge-Q17559452 badge-recommendedarticle

values:
https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/TANSTAAFL
TANSTAAFL – Swedish
sv
sv
interlanguage-link-target

values: Безкоштовних сніданків не існує – Ukrainian

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-uk
display: none;

values: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch – Vietnamese

values: 冇免費午餐噉嘅嘢 – Cantonese

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue
display: none;

values: 天下沒有白吃的午餐 – Chinese

values: /static/images/wikimedia-button-1.5x.png 1.5x, /static/images/wikimedia-button-2x.png 2x

values: /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x

values:
suggestions
display: none; font-size: 13px;

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-There_ain_t_no_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch rootpage-There_ain_t_no_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch skin-vector action-view