united-states police new-york-city law-enforcement
Are local police obligated to enforce a law if they know about it?
<p>If a local police officer knows that a law exists and is familiar with its details, and they observe or otherwise become aware that said law is being broken, and they have the resources, means, jurisdiction, and opportunity to enforce said law, do they have any legal obligation to enforce that law (and/or are there established criteria for making a decision to enforce it)? And, if they do or do not, are there any exceptions either way?</p>
<p>In particular, I'm asking about NYPD local precinct general patrol, traffic patrol, and investigators, (as opposed to e.g. school / housing, parking, crossing guards, auxiliary, etc.) but I'm also wondering about local / municipal police in general in the USA (although I presume if such an obligation exists, it would be on a state level or lower).</p>

<p>No such obligation exists, at least at the federal level. See DeShaney v Winnebago or Town of Castle Rock v Gonzales. SCOTUS has repeatedly ruled that law enforcement officers are under no legal obligation to prevent a crime in progress, merely that they have the power to intervene if they so choose. Obviously as a society we expect police officers to, you know, do their job, but there is little legal recourse if they don’t.</p>
