| Bow Street Runners | Henry Fielding's unofficial band of constables who were paid as thief-takers.
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| Department of Homeland Security | A consolidation of 22 domestic agencies into one department to protect the nation against threats to the homeland.
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| Federal Air Marshals | A team of armed commandos who travel incognito on planes to watch for hijackers and other terrorists.
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| Federal Bureau of Investigation | The chief investigative body of the Justice Department, with jurisdiction extending to all federal crimes that are not the specific responsibility of some other federal enforcement agency.
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| Henry Fielding | The 18th-century British novelist and magistrate who laid the foundation for the first modern police force.
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| Interpol | An international police organization of 178 member countries that serves as a depository of intelligence information on wanted criminals.
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| mutual pledge | Alfred the Great's system of internal policing that organized people into tithings, hundreds, and shires.
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| posse comitatus | The able-bodied men of a county who were at the disposal of a sheriff when called for service.
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| Texas Rangers | Founded by Stephen F. Austin in 1823, the first territorial police agency in the United States.
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| thief-takers | Citizens who received a reward for the apprehension of a criminal.
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| vigilante justice | Extralegal criminal justice activities by individuals or groups who take the law into their own hands for the sake of establishing "law and order."
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