Police power refers to the government’s right to make laws and regulations, including the ability to split into smaller units. It is limited to protecting public health, safety, and morals. The power is passed down through hierarchies, and can be abused. It allows governments to provide services but can also lead to excessive authority.
Many people mistakenly believe that the term police power is self-explanatory. They incorrectly assume that it refers to the authorities granted to law enforcement agencies. These authorities are included among the police powers exercised in modern society, but that is not the essence of the term. When used accurately, this phrase refers to the rights of governments to make laws or regulations. This power is what provides the ability for governments to split into multiple local units and create agencies that are supposed to provide services to citizens.
It is thanks to the police power that governments can issue laws, regulations and break them down into smaller units. In the United States, this authority is said to be based on the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Laws and regulations developed by the police power should be limited to those that protect public health, safety and morals. Examples of government entities that possess this type of authority include states, counties, and cities. There are cases documented in case law where governments abuse this power and attempt to exercise excessive authority.
Police power generally exists in hierarchies. A national government may have the police power granted by its constitution. It will then pass it on to the next level of government, such as a state. Power will be continuously transmitted. Whenever this happens another governing body is legitimized and can regulate citizens in its jurisdiction.
With their policing power, the different levels of government assign themselves a variety of tasks. These include setting speed limits, making and enforcing laws, and collecting taxes. In the United States, this kind of power is said to be limited to issuing regulations that protect public health, safety, and morals. The ability to create this hierarchy should be based on the 10th amendment to the US Constitution.
Police power can be seen as having positive and negative aspects. Its biggest advantage is that it involves governments forcing themselves to take care of the people. Without police power, for example, there would be no social services and no police departments.
The sinister contrast is that governments tend to use this power to continually expand their authority. In the United States, there is a case law where citizens have successfully sued governments for abuse of their power. These cases tend to involve situations in which a government has exercised authority in a manner deemed to be outside the benefit of the public.
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