Each airport and its law enforcement model have a unique set of relationships, operations, and resources.

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Synthesis 107: Models for Law Enforcement at Airports provides a concise body of knowledge to assist airport management, operators, researchers, and users by detailing the varying types of law enforcement models available to them.

The types of airport law enforcement models include airport police, city police, county sheriffs, departments of public safety, and state police. Many airports operate by using layers of law enforcement responses composed of more than one law enforcement model.