A specialist law enforcement agency is a
law enforcement agency which specialises in the types of laws it enforces, or types of activities it undertakes, or geography it enforces laws in, or these in combination.
The specialisation may be imposed voluntarily by policy, consensus with other agencies, or logistical constraints, or it could be imposed legally by
law and
jurisdiction, or it is result of the historical evolution of the agency, or combinations thereof.
For example, some agencies only enforce laws related to
taxation or
customs. Other agencies can only operate in certain areas, for example
government-occupied buildings and land, or on waterways. Some agencies have otherwise unrestricted jurisdiction, but specialise in certain types of operations, for example
highway patrols.
Specialities can include:
Buildings and lands occupied or explicitly controlled by the institution and the institution's personnel, and public entering the buildings and precincts of the institution. For example,
United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police.
Coastal patrol, marine border protection, marine search and rescue. For example,
Indian Coast Guard.
Enforcement of
motor vehicles act, motor vehicles rules, motor vehicles taxation acts. For example,
Motor Vehicles Departments (MVD) or Transport Departments of various Indian states.
Investigation of financial crimes such as money laundering, foreign exchange violations, economic frauds, economic offences,etc. For example, at federal level:
Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India, state level: Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of various indian states.