Is a peace officer the same as a LEO?

[bubbapug1]

Is a peace officer the same as a LEO? I have a friend applying to a job which requires possible qualifications in the future as a peace officer....I don't know where the line is drawn.

[code33]

Peace Officer = Law Enforcement Officer

Sections 830 through 831.7 PC specify which positions are and are not

http://law.justia.com/california/codes/pen/830-832.17.html

[BigDogatPlay]

"LEO" is slang... the name of the office in the law is "peace officer".

[Average Joe American]

Corrections Officers are LEO's but aren't necessarily Peace Officers...correct?

[jksupplyco]

Corrections Officers are LEO's but aren't necessarily Peace Officers...correct?

State Correctional Officers are Peace Officers.

County and City level employees vary by jurisdiction.

[code33]

Correctional Officer

http://law.justia.com/california/codes/pen/830-832.17.html

830.55. (a) As used in this section, a correctional officer is a
peace officer, employed by a city, county, or city and county which
operates a facility described in Section 2910.5 of this code or
Section 1753.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code or facilities
operated by counties pursuant to Section 6241 or 6242 of this code
under contract with the Department of Corrections or the Department
of the Youth Authority, who has the authority and responsibility for
maintaining custody of specified state prison inmates or wards, and
who performs tasks related to the operation of a detention facility
used for the detention of persons who have violated parole or are
awaiting parole back into the community or, upon court order, either
for their own safekeeping or for the specific purpose of serving a
sentence therein.

[We Are Apocalypse]

If I remember correctly, Federal Agents are not peace officers in California.

[code33]

Correct.

830.8. (a) Federal criminal investigators and law enforcement
officers are not California peace officers, but may exercise the
powers of arrest of a peace officer in any of the following
circumstances:...

http://law.justia.com/california/codes/pen/830-832.17.html

If I remember correctly, Federal Agents are not peace officers in California.

[Average Joe American]

So what is the biggest difference between a peace officer and a law enforcement officer with powers of arrest?

[5shot]

There are several pages in the Ca. Penal Code that address all the many classifications of peace officers. All have at least some type of law enforcement and arrest authority.
Here's some of the information on just a few classifications. You can find the rest here:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=05505112556+7+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

830. Any person who comes within the provisions of this chapter and
who otherwise meets all standards imposed by law on a peace officer
is a peace officer, and notwithstanding any other provision of law,
no person other than those designated in this chapter is a peace
officer. The restriction of peace officer functions of any public
officer or employee shall not affect his or her status for purposes
of retirement.



830.1. (a) Any sheriff, undersheriff, or deputy sheriff, employed
in that capacity, of a county, any chief of police of a city or
chief, director, or chief executive officer of a consolidated
municipal public safety agency that performs police functions, any
police officer, employed in that capacity and appointed by the chief
of police or chief, director, or chief executive of a public safety
agency, of a city, any chief of police, or police officer of a
district, including police officers of the San Diego Unified Port
District Harbor Police, authorized by statute to maintain a police
department, any marshal or deputy marshal of a superior court or
county, any port warden or port police officer of the Harbor
Department of the City of Los Angeles, or any inspector or
investigator employed in that capacity in the office of a district
attorney, is a peace officer. The authority of these peace officers
extends to any place in the state, as follows:
(1) As to any public offense committed or which there is probable
cause to believe has been committed within the political subdivision
that employs the peace officer or in which the peace officer serves.
(2) Where the peace officer has the prior consent of the chief of
police or chief, director, or chief executive officer of a
consolidated municipal public safety agency, or person authorized by
him or her to give consent, if the place is within a city, or of the
sheriff, or person authorized by him or her to give consent, if the
place is within a county.
(3) As to any public offense committed or which there is probable
cause to believe has been committed in the peace officer's presence,
and with respect to which there is immediate danger to person or
property, or of the escape of the perpetrator of the offense.
(b) The Attorney General and special agents and investigators of
the Department of Justice are peace officers, and those assistant
chiefs, deputy chiefs, chiefs, deputy directors, and division
directors designated as peace officers by the Attorney General are
peace officers. The authority of these peace officers extends to any
place in the state where a public offense has been committed or where
there is probable cause to believe one has been committed.
(c) Any deputy sheriff of the County of Los Angeles, and any
deputy sheriff of the Counties of Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Glenn,
Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa,
Mendocino, Plumas, Riverside, San Benito, San Diego, San Luis Obispo,
Santa Barbara, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter,
Tehama, Tulare, and Tuolumne who is employed to perform duties
exclusively or initially relating to custodial assignments with
responsibilities for maintaining the operations of county custodial
facilities, including the custody, care, supervision, security,
movement, and transportation of inmates, is a peace officer whose
authority extends to any place in the state only while engaged in the
performance of the duties of his or her respective employment and
for the purpose of carrying out the primary function of employment
relating to his or her custodial assignments, or when performing
other law enforcement duties directed by his or her employing agency
during a local state of emergency.



830.2. The following persons are peace officers whose authority
extends to any place in the state:
(a) Any member of the Department of the California Highway Patrol
including those members designated under subdivision (a) of Section
2250.1 of the Vehicle Code, provided that the primary duty of the
peace officer is the enforcement of any law relating to the use or
operation of vehicles upon the highways, or laws pertaining to the
provision of police services for the protection of state officers,
state properties, and the occupants of state properties, or both, as
set forth in the Vehicle Code and Government Code.
(b) A member of the University of California Police Department
appointed pursuant to Section 92600 of the Education Code, provided
that the primary duty of the peace officer shall be the enforcement
of the law within the area specified in Section 92600 of the
Education Code.
(c) A member of the California State University Police Departments
appointed pursuant to Section 89560 of the Education Code, provided
that the primary duty of the peace officer shall be the enforcement
of the law within the area specified in Section 89560 of the
Education Code.
(d) (1) Any member of the Office of Correctional Safety of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, provided that the
primary duties of the peace officer shall be the investigation or
apprehension of inmates, wards, parolees, parole violators, or
escapees from state institutions, the transportation of those
persons, the investigation of any violation of criminal law
discovered while performing the usual and authorized duties of
employment, and the coordination of those activities with other
criminal justice agencies.
(2) Any member of the Office of Internal Affairs of the Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation, provided that the primary duties
shall be criminal investigations of Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation personnel and the coordination of those activities
with other criminal justice agencies. For purposes of this
subdivision, the member of the Office of Internal Affairs shall
possess certification from the Commission on Peace Officer Standards
and Training for investigators, or have completed training pursuant
to Section 6126.1 of the Penal Code.
(e) Employees of the Department of Fish and Game designated by the
director, provided that the primary duty of those peace officers
shall be the enforcement of the law as set forth in Section 856 of
the Fish and Game Code.
(f) Employees of the Department of Parks and Recreation designated
by the director pursuant to Section 5008 of the Public Resources
Code, provided that the primary duty of the peace officer shall be
the enforcement of the law as set forth in Section 5008 of the Public
Resources Code.
(g) The Director of Forestry and Fire Protection and employees or
classes of employees of the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection designated by the director pursuant to Section 4156 of the
Public Resources Code, provided that the primary duty of the peace
officer shall be the enforcement of the law as that duty is set forth
in Section 4156 of the Public Resources Code.
(h) Persons employed by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage
Control for the enforcement of Division 9 (commencing with Section
23000) of the Business and Professions Code and designated by the
Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control, provided that the primary
duty of any of these peace officers shall be the enforcement of the
laws relating to alcoholic beverages, as that duty is set forth in
Section 25755 of the Business and Professions Code.
(i) Marshals and police appointed by the Board of Directors of the
California Exposition and State Fair pursuant to Section 3332 of the
Food and Agricultural Code, provided that the primary duty of the
peace officers shall be the enforcement of the law as prescribed in
that section.
(j) The Inspector General, pursuant to Section 6125, and the Chief
Deputy Inspector General, Chief Assistant Inspector General, Deputy
Inspector General In Charge, Senior Deputy Inspector General, Deputy
Inspector General, Senior Assistant Inspector General, Special
Assistant Inspector General, and those employees of the Inspector
General as designated by the Inspector General, are peace officers,
provided that the primary duty of these peace officers shall be
conducting audits of investigatory practices and other audits, as
well as conducting investigations, of the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice and the Board of
Parole Hearings.

[BigDogatPlay]

So what is the biggest difference between a peace officer and a law enforcement officer with powers of arrest?

To my way of thinking there really aren't very many "law enforcement officer with powers of arrest" in California. Federal criminal investigators and federal uniformed law enforcement are not peace officers under California law, as noted above, but have all the powers of arrest of a California peace officer.

The local correctional officers of some counties that have them are most often "public officers" with some authority while on duty and in scope, but little or no authority off the job. CDCR correctional officers, aka state prison guys, are absolutely peace officers without question. I'm not entirely sure how some of the large local agencies that employ "security officers" give them authority, but again in that case any such authority would only be on duty and in scope.

The powers of arrest held by a peace officer laid out in 836 PC are limited to those persons specifically identified by classification in the Penal Code. Anyone else not so identified does not have those powers.

[ulpian]

To add to the confusion, Federal LEO usually can enforce Some CPC, CFR, USC and have arrest power anywhere in California, but state/local LEO might not have the arrest power inside the Federal ground. It is not always the case, and the line are not clearly draw.

[SVT-40]

Penal codes 830 and 831 define who are "Peace Officers" here in Calif.

The sections are pretty long so I won't directly copy them here, but here is a link.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=09316013430+2+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

[Average Joe American]

So its basically a matter of jurisdiction? The state's Sergeant at Arms (formerly Capitol Police) have full police powers but only on state property?

And Dept. of Defense Police (like the guys who protect the beans, blankets and bombs in Lathrop) only have police powers on Federal property.

Or the Federal Reserve Bank Police in San Francisco only have jurisdiction on Federal bank property and the sidewalk and half the street?

Off duty or outside the fence...they are just regular citizens that can carry a gun under HR218 but are not mandated to respond like a sworn or appointed peace officer. Is this correct?

[code33]

You should really read the PC sections that have been linked. It will clarify things.
Like SVT stated, the sections are long...

830.8. (a) Federal criminal investigators and law enforcement
officers are not California peace officers, but may exercise the
powers of arrest of a peace officer in any of the following
circumstances:
(1) Any circumstances specified in Section 836 or Section 5150 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code for violations of state or local
laws.
(2) When these investigators and law enforcement officers are
engaged in the enforcement of federal criminal laws and exercise the
arrest powers only incidental to the performance of these duties.
(3) When requested by a California law enforcement agency to be
involved in a joint task force or criminal investigation.
(4) When probable cause exists to believe that a public offense
that involves immediate danger to persons or property has just
occurred or is being committed.
In all of these instances, the provisions of Section 847 shall
apply. These investigators and law enforcement officers, prior to
the exercise of these arrest powers, shall have been certified by
their agency heads as having satisfied the training requirements of
Section 832, or the equivalent thereof.