Law enforcement officer

A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, and other public safety related duties. Law enforcement officers are designated certain powers & authority by law to allow them to carry out their responsibilities. Modern legal codes use the term peace officer (or in some jurisdictions, law enforcement officer) to include every person vested by the legislating state with law enforcement authority. Traditionally, anyone "sworn, badged, and armable" who can arrest, or refer such arrest for a criminal prosecution. Security officers may enforce certain laws and administrative regulations, which may include detainment or apprehension authority, including arresting in some jurisdictions. Peace officers may also be able to perform all duties that a law enforcement officer is tasked with, but may or may not be armed with a weapon. The term peace officer in some jurisdictions is interchangeable with law enforcement officer or police officer, but in others peace officer is a totally separate legal designation with quasi-police powers. In Canada, the Criminal Code (R.S., c. C-34, s. 2.) defines a peace officer as: Peace officer includes (a) a mayor, warden, reeve, sheriff, deputy sheriff, sheriff's officer, and justice of the peace, (b) a member of the Correctional Service of Canada who is designated as a peace officer pursuant to Part I of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, and a warden, deputy warden, instructor, keeper, jailer, guard and any other officer or permanent employee of a prison other than a penitentiary as defined in Part I of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, (c) a police officer, police constable, bailiff, constable, or other person employed for the preservation and maintenance of the public peace or the service or execution of civil process, (d) an officer within the meaning of the Customs Act, the Excise Act or the Excise Act, 2001, or a person having the powers of such an officer, when performing any duty in the administration of any of those Acts, (d.