The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole.
Video Federal law enforcement in the United States
Overview
Federal law enforcement authorities have authority given to them under various parts of the United States Code (U.S.C.). Federal law enforcement officers enforce various laws, generally at only the federal level. There are exceptions, with some agencies and officials enforcing state and tribal codes. Most are limited by the U.S. Code to investigating matters that are explicitly within the power of the federal government. Some federal investigative powers have become broader in practice, since the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act in October 2001.
The Department of Justice was formerly the largest, and is still the most prominent, collection of Federal law enforcement agencies. It has handled most law enforcement duties at the federal level. It includes the United States Marshals Service (USMS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and others.
However, upon its creation in 2002; in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) became the Department with the most sworn armed Federal law enforcement officers and agents after it incorporated agencies seen as having roles in protecting the country against terrorism. This included large agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)--which combined the former agencies of the United States Border Patrol, United States Customs Service, and the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) into a single agency within the DHS.
While the majority of federal law enforcement employees work for the departments of Justice and Homeland Security, there are dozens of other federal law enforcement agencies under the other executive departments, as well as under the legislative and judicial branches of the federal government.
Maps Federal law enforcement in the United States
History
Federal law enforcement in the United States is more than two hundred years old. For example, the Postal Inspection Service can trace its origins back to 1772.
List of agencies and units of agencies
Agencies in bold text are law enforcement agencies (LEAs).
Executive Branch
Department of Agriculture
- Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG)
- United States Forest Service (USFS)
- U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigations (USFS LEI)
Department of Commerce
- Office of Inspector General (DOC-OIG)
- Office of Security (DOC OS)
- Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)
- Office of Export Enforcement (OEE)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology Police
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
- Office for Law Enforcement (OLE)
- National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
Department of Defense
- Office of Inspector General (DOD-OIG)
- Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS)
- Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA)
- United States Pentagon Police (USPPD)
- Department of Defense Police
- Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)
- Defense Logistics Agency Police
- National Security Agency (NSA)
- National Security Agency Police
- Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
- Defense Intelligence Agency Police
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Police
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR)
- Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) (organization disbanded)
Department of the Army
- United States Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID)
- United States Army Military Police Corps
- Department of the Army Civilian Police
- United States Army Corrections Command
- United States Army Counterintelligence (ACI)
- United States Army Intelligence and Security Command
- Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)
- United States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division (USMC CID)
- Master-at-arms (military police)
- Department of the Navy Police (civilian police)
- Marine Corps Provost Marshal's Office (military police)
- United States Marine Corps Civilian Police (civilian police)
Department of the Air Force
- United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI)
- Air Force Security Forces Center (AFSFC)
- United States Air Force Security Forces (military police)
- Department of the Air Force Police (civilian police)
Department of Education
- Office of Inspector General (ED-OIG)
Department of Energy
- Office of Inspector General (DOE-OIG)
- Office of Health, Safety and Security (DOE-HSS)
- National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- Office of Secure Transportation (OST)
Department of Health and Human Services
- Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG)
- United States Food and Drug Administration (HHSFDA)
- Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- National Institutes of Health Police (NIH Police)
Department of Homeland Security
- Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG)
- Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC)
- DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate
- Federal Protective Service (FPS)
- United States Coast Guard (USCG)
- Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS)
- United States Coast Guard Police (CGPD)
- United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
- United States Border Patrol (USBP)
- CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO)
- CBP Office of Field Operations (OFO)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center
- (MWEOC) Police
- Office of Chief Security Officer (OCSO)
- Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center
- United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
- Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO)
- Office of Intelligence
- Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)
- United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
- United States Secret Service (USSS)
- Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
- Office of Law Enforcement (OLE)
- Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS)
- Office of Inspection (OI)
Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG)
- Protective Service Division (HUD PSD)
Department of the Interior
- Office of Inspector General (DOI-OIG)
- Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
- Office of Justice Services
- Bureau of Indian Affairs Police (BIA Police)
- Office of Justice Services
- Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
- Office of Law Enforcement
- United States Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)
- Office of Law Enforcement
- Hoover Dam Police aka Bureau of Reclamation Police
- National Park Service (NPS)
- National Park Service Ranger
- United States Park Police
- Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE)
- United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS),
- Office of Law Enforcement (FWS OLE)
- Division of Refuge Law Enforcement
Department of Justice
- Office of Inspector General (DOJ-OIG)
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- FBI Police
- Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
- United States Marshals Service (USMS)
- Office of Professional Responsibility (DOJ OPR)
Department of Labor
- Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG)
Department of State
- Office of Inspector General (DOS-OIG)
- Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS)
- Diplomatic Security Service (DSS)
Department of Transportation
- Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG)
- United States Merchant Marine Academy
- Department of Public Safety (USMMADPS)
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation (OFI)
Department of the Treasury
- Office of Inspector General (USDT-OIG)
- Bureau of Engraving and Printing
- BEP Police
- Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN)
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI)
- United States Mint Police (USMP)
- Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA)
- Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP)
Department of Veterans Affairs
- Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG)
- Veterans Affairs Police
Legislative Branch
- Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives
- Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate
- United States Capitol Police (USCP)
- Office of Inspector General (USCP OIG)
- Office of Professional Responsibility (USCP OPR)
- Library of Congress (LOC)
- Office of Inspector General (LOC-OIG)
- Government Publishing Office (GPO)
- Government Publishing Office Police
- Office of Inspector General (GPO-OIG)
Judicial Branch
- Marshal of the United States Supreme Court
- United States Supreme Court Police
- Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC)
- Office of Probation and Pretrial Services
Other federal law enforcement agencies
Independent Agencies and federally-administered institutions;
- Central Intelligence Agency
- Security Protective Service (CIA SPS)
- United States Environmental Protection Agency
- Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)
- Office of Inspector General (EPA OIG)
- NASA
- Office of Protective Services (NASA OPS)
- Office of Inspector General (NASA-OIG)
- United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
- Office of Inspector General (OPM OIG)
- Federal Investigative Services Division (FIS)
- National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB)
- United States Postal Service (USPS)
- Office of Inspector General
- United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
- U.S. Postal Police
- Smithsonian Institution (SI)
- Office of Inspector General (SI-OIG)
- Office of Protection Services
- National Zoological Park Police (NZPP)
- Amtrak
- Amtrak Office of Inspector General
- Amtrak Office of Security Strategy and Special Operations (OSSSO)
- Amtrak Police
- Federal Reserve System
- Office of Inspector General (FRB/CFPB-OIG)
- Federal Reserve Police
- Federal Reserve Board of Governors
- Federal Reserve Board Police
- Tennessee Valley Authority
- Tennessee Valley Authority Police (TVAP)
- Office of Inspector General (TVA-OIG)
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
- Office of Inspector General (NRC-OIG)
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Office of Inspector General (NSF-OIG)
- National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
- Office of Inspector General (NARA-OIG)
- Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)
- Office of Inspector General (RRB-OIG)
- Small Business Administration (SBA)
- Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG)
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
- Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG)
- General Services Administration (GSA)
- Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG)
- Social Security Administration (SSA)
- Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG)
- United States Agency for International Development
- Office of Inspector General (AID-OIG)
- Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
- Office of Inspector General (CNCS-OIG)
List of former agencies and units of agencies
- Bureau of Internal Revenue, Narcotic Division (1921-1927) (transferred to Bureau of Prohibition)
- Bureau of Prohibition, Narcotic Division (1927-1930) (merged into Federal Bureau of Narcotics)
- Federal Narcotics Control Board (FNCB) (1922-1930) (merged into Federal Bureau of Narcotics)
- Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) (1930-1968) (merged into Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs)
- Bureau of Drug Abuse Control (1966-1968) (merged into Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs)
- Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) (1968-1973) (merged into Drug Enforcement Administration)
- Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (ODALE) (1972-1973) (merged into Drug Enforcement Administration)
Statistics
- In 2004, federal agencies employed approximately 105,000 full-time personnel authorized to make arrests and carry firearms in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Compared with 2002, employment of such personnel increased by 13%.
- Nationwide, there were 36 federal officers per 100,000 residents. Outside the District of Columbia, which had 1,662 per 100,000, State ratios ranged from 90 per 100,000 in Arizona to 7 per 100,000 in Iowa.
- As of 2004, about 3 in 4 federal law enforcement officers working outside the Armed Forces were employed within the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Justice.
- Federal officers' duties included criminal investigation (38%), police response and patrol (21%), corrections and detention (16%), inspections (16%), court operations (5%), and security and protection (4%).
- Women accounted for 16% of federal officers in 2004, an increase from 14.8% in 2002.
- A third (33.2%) of federal officers were members of a racial or ethnic minority in 2004. This included 17.7% who were Hispanic or Latino, and 11.4% who were black or African American. In 2002, racial or ethnic minorities officers comprised 32.4% of federal officers.
- Twenty-seven federal offices of inspector general (IG) employed criminal investigators with arrest and firearm authority in 2004. Overall, these agencies employed 2,867 such officers in the 50 states and District of Columbia.
See also
- Law enforcement in the United States
References
- This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Government.
External links
Source of article : Wikipedia