Whether local police have jurisdiction on federal property depends on the specific property. Some federal sites are policed only by federal officers, some are policed by both, and many — including most post offices, recruiting stations, and leased federal offices — are treated like any other building in the county, with local police handling calls the same way they would anywhere else.
The rule that ties it all together is called legislative jurisdiction, and federal property falls into one of three categories.
The Three Jurisdictional Categories
Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction
Under exclusive jurisdiction, the state has ceded its law enforcement authority to the federal government. Local police cannot enforce state or local laws on the property. About the only thing a local officer can do on such a site is serve court papers from an incident that happened somewhere else.1General Services Administration. Federal Facilities Jurisdictional Status High-security military bases and certain federal research facilities typically fall here. Federal agencies handle everything from parking tickets to felonies.
Concurrent Jurisdiction
Concurrent jurisdiction means federal and state authorities can both enforce their own laws on the same property.2United States Department of Justice. Criminal Resource Manual 1630 – Protection of Government Property A local officer and a federal agent can each lawfully arrest someone for the same conduct. If a federal officer makes the arrest, the case usually goes to federal court; if a local officer does, it usually goes to state court.3Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers. Territorial Jurisdiction on Federal Property Many national parks, federal office buildings, and some military installations run this way. It is the most common arrangement for federal property that sees regular public traffic.
Proprietary Jurisdiction
Under proprietary jurisdiction, the federal government owns or leases the land but has never acquired any special law enforcement authority from the state. Local police handle calls and investigate crimes as though the property were privately owned.3Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers. Territorial Jurisdiction on Federal Property Post offices, military recruiting centers, and many leased federal office spaces sit in this category. The federal government is essentially a tenant, and state jurisdiction runs uninterrupted.
Leased spaces almost always carry proprietary jurisdiction at most. A Social Security office in a strip mall is policed by the local department, full stop. Jurisdiction can also change: the federal government can retrocede some or all of its authority back to a state, and agency heads have statutory power to do so when they judge it appropriate. That commonly happens when a military installation closes or when a federal agency decides it can’t adequately handle policing on its own.
How to Find Out Which Category a Property Falls Under
The status of a specific building isn’t always obvious from looking at it. The General Services Administration maintains a centralized inventory of federal real property under executive branch control, and a public version with a searchable map is available through the GSA, though some sites are omitted for national security reasons.4General Services Administration. Federal Real Property Public Data Set If you need to know how a particular federal building is policed, start there. For military installations, the base’s provost marshal or public affairs office can confirm the jurisdictional status directly.
Agreements That Bring Local Police In
Even where the federal government holds exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction, formal agreements often pull local police into everyday enforcement, because federal agencies frequently lack the staffing to handle every call themselves.
A Memorandum of Understanding sets out which agency takes the lead on which incidents. An MOU might authorize a local police department to patrol a federal recreation area, respond to routine calls at a federal building, or lead certain property-crime investigations.
Mutual aid agreements are broader and built for events that outstrip any single agency. They allow rapid deployment of personnel and equipment across jurisdictional lines during emergencies and large-scale incidents.5Bureau of Justice Assistance. Mutual Aid – Multijurisdictional Partnerships for Meeting Regional Threats A local fire department may be the designated first responder for a blaze at military housing, and a county tactical team may assist during an active threat at a federal courthouse.
A more formal mechanism is deputation. A federal agency can issue a local officer a Special Law Enforcement Commission that grants specific federal enforcement authority on federal land. The Bureau of Indian Affairs uses this approach under 25 U.S.C. § 2804 to deputize state and local officers who serve in or near tribal lands. The agreement itself defines what the deputized officer can do and how liability is handled.
When Local Police Can Act Without an Agreement
Two well-established doctrines let local officers step onto federal property without waiting on paperwork.
The first is hot pursuit. A local officer actively chasing a suspect doesn’t have to stop at the boundary of a federal installation. If the pursuit began lawfully within the officer’s jurisdiction and there is probable cause the person committed a crime, the officer can follow onto federal property and make the arrest.
The second is emergency response. When someone on federal land faces an immediate threat, local officers who are the nearest units can respond without waiting for federal counterparts. The Bureau of Land Management, for example, tells the public to call 911 or the local sheriff for any emergency on BLM-managed land.6Bureau of Land Management. Law Enforcement Jurisdictional questions get sorted out afterward.
Why State Law Still Matters on Federal Land
One point that often confuses people: even where local police have no enforcement authority, state law can still apply to conduct on federal property. Congress has never passed a federal speeding statute, a federal shoplifting law, or many other everyday criminal provisions. The Assimilative Crimes Act at 18 U.S.C. § 13 fills those gaps by borrowing state law: if conduct on federal land would be a state crime and no federal statute covers it, the person can be prosecuted federally for the assimilated state offense.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 13 – Laws of States Adopted for Areas Within Federal Jurisdiction
Traffic offenses are the most common example. A driver caught going 90 mph on a military base is charged under the surrounding state’s traffic code by way of this statute. The charge is federal and heard in federal court, but the underlying rule is the state’s. When the state amends its code, the change carries over onto the federal enclave.
Sentencing follows federal, not state, rules. Congress amended 18 U.S.C. § 3551(a) to place these cases expressly under the federal sentencing structure,8United States Sentencing Commission. Amendment 412 so a conviction for a borrowed state offense on federal land can carry a different sentence than the same offense a mile down the road.
The short version: if you’re trying to figure out whether local police can act on a specific federal site, the answer turns on whether the site is exclusive, concurrent, or proprietary — and on any MOU, mutual aid arrangement, or deputation that layers on top. Check the GSA data set for the property, and for a military base, ask the installation directly.