Code enforcement, sometimes encompassing law enforcement

Law enforcement

Law enforcement broadly refers to any system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to promote adherence to the law by discovering and punishing persons who violate the rules and norms governing that society...

, is the act of enforcing a set of rules, principle

Principle

A principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed...

s, or law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

s (especially written ones) and insuring observance of a system of norm

Norm (sociology)

Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...

s or customs

Custom (law)

Custom in law is the established pattern of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law." Customary law exists where:...

. An authority

Authority

The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...

 usually enforces a civil code

Civil code

A civil code is a systematic collection of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure...

, a set of rules, or a body of laws and compel those subject to their authority to behave in a certain way. In the United States, those employed in various capacities of code enforcement may be called Code Enforcement Officers, Municipal Regulations Officers, or with various titles depending on their specialization. In Canada and some Commonwealth Countries, the term Bylaw Enforcement Officer

Bylaw enforcement officer

A bylaw enforcement officer is a law enforcement employee of a municipality, county or regional district, charged with the enforcement of non-criminal bylaws, rules, laws, codes or regulations enacted by local governments....

 is more commonly used, as well as Municipal Law Enforcement Officer or Municipal Enforcement Officer. In the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, various names are used, but the word Warden

Wiktionary

Wiktionary is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in 158 languages...

 is commonly used for various classes of non-police enforcement personnel (such as Game Warden, Traffic Warden, Park Warden).

Various persons and organizations ensure compliance with the laws and rules including:

• Building inspector
  Building inspector
  A building inspection is performed by a person who is employed by either a city, township or county and is usually certified in one or more disciplines, either as a residential or commercial building inspector, a plumbing, electrical or mechanical inspector or other specialty to inspect structures...
  
  , an official who is charged with ensuring that construction is in compliance
  Compliance (regulation)
  In general, compliance means conforming to a rule, such as a specification, policy, standard or law. Regulatory compliance describes the goal that corporations or public agencies aspire to in their efforts to ensure that personnel are aware of and take steps to comply with relevant laws and...
  
   with local codes.
• Fire marshal
  Fire Marshal
  A fire marshal, in the United States and Canada, is often a member of a fire department but may be part of a building department or a separate department altogether. Fire marshals' duties vary but usually include fire code enforcement and/or investigating fires for origin and cause...
  
  , an official who is both a police officer and a firefighter and enforces a fire code.
• Health inspector
  Health inspector
  A health inspector is a public employee who investigates health hazards in a wide variety of locations, then will take action to mitigate or eliminate the hazards...
  
  , an official who is charged with ensuring that restaurants meet local health codes.
• Police
  Police
  The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
  
   forces are charged with maintaining public order, crime prevention, and enforcing criminal law
  Criminal law
  Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
  
  .
• Zoning enforcement officer is an official who is charged with enforcing the zoning code of a local jurisdiction, such as a municipality
  Municipality
  A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
  
   or county
  County
  A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
  
  .

See also

• Codification
• Code of Federal Regulations
  Code of Federal Regulations
  The Code of Federal Regulations is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States.The CFR is published by the Office of the Federal Register, an agency...
  
  
• Dress code
• National Electrical Code
• International Building Code
  International Building Code
  The International Building Code is a model building code developed by the International Code Council . It has been adopted throughout most of the United States.-History:...
  
  
• Legal code
  Legal code
  A legal code is a body of law written by a governmental body, such as a U.S. state, a Canadian Province or German Bundesland or a municipality...
  
  
• Fire code
• Penal code
• Traffic code
  Traffic code
  Traffic code refers to the collection of local statutes, regulations, ordinances and rules that have been officially adopted in the United States to govern the orderly operation and interaction of motor vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and others upon the public ways.The traffic code generally...
  
  
• Nuisance abatement
  Nuisance abatement
  Nuisance abatement is a growing area within policing and code enforcement. The term refers to using building codes, fire codes, zoning, etc. in order to improve the quality of life and resolve life safety issues within neighborhoods. Nuisance abatement programs are most often a component of...
  
  

External links

• National Association of Code Enforcement Officers & Investigators
• Association of Code Enforcement Officers