Who gives authority to a police department? Lets say a new town were to be founded somewhere in the US, how is the local law enforcement agency brought up in that town?

Question

Who ordains it? Does the town mayor have authority over who gets to enforce the law? Is it the state legislature? The governor?

In: 12

Answer 1

In the US, towns get their authority from their charter, which is approved by the state legislature when they are formed. The charter will describe and authorize a town police department; the local police get their authority from that.