FBI

I

Introduction

FBI (FBI), chief investigative agency of the federal government of the United States and a division of the Department of Justice. The FBI is charged with investigating violations of most federal criminal laws and with protecting the United States from foreign intelligence and terrorist activities. It also provides services to other law enforcement agencies, including fingerprint identification, laboratory analysis of criminal evidence, police training, and access to a centralized crime information database. Because of its broad mandate, the FBI is one of the most powerful and controversial agencies in the government. The bureau traces its origins to 1908, when the Attorney-General appointed a small group of investigators within the Department of Justice.

II

Structure

The FBI has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The agency is led by the FBI director, who reports to the Attorney-General. The director is nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate (see Congress of the United States). The director may serve a maximum term of ten years. By tradition, the director of the FBI is not replaced when a new president takes office.

The FBI has 56 field offices located in major US cities and 1 field office in Puerto Rico. The field offices, in turn, oversee approximately 400 satellite offices in smaller cities and towns known as resident agencies. Outside the United States, the FBI has 44 foreign liaison offices, also called legal attaché offices, or legats for short.

The FBI has about 28,000 employees. Nearly 12,000 are special agents, who have the authority to make arrests and use firearms. The rest are professional support personnel, a category that includes chemists, psychologists, language specialists, computer specialists, attorneys, clerical workers, and many other types of employees. The FBI’s annual budget is appropriated by the US Congress, and in 2002 was approximately US$3 billion.

FBI headquarters comprises 13 divisions: the Administrative Services Division, the Counterintelligence Division, the Counterterrorism Division, the Criminal Investigative Division, the Criminal Justice Information Services Division, the Cybercrime Division, the Finance Division, the Information Resources Division, the Investigative Technologies Division, the Laboratory Division, the Records Management Division, the Security Division, and the Training Division. An assistant director heads each division, and four executive assistant directors supervise groups of divisions. The headquarters also includes a number of offices, including the Office of Public and Congressional Affairs, the Office of Professional Responsibility, the Office of the General Counsel, and the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.

III

Jurisdiction and Investigative Responsibilities

The FBI has the broadest jurisdiction (investigative authority) of all federal law enforcement agencies. It is authorized to investigate all federal criminal violations that Congress has not specifically assigned to other federal agencies. It may investigate other matters at the request of the president or Attorney-General, or if authorized under a law passed by Congress. This mandate stands in contrast to other federal law enforcement agencies, which have narrower missions. For example, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) enforces federal drug laws, and the Secret Service investigates counterfeiting and protects the president and vice-president and their families.

The FBI investigates hundreds of different federal crimes, including organized crime, drug trafficking, espionage, terrorism, bank robbery, extortion, racketeering, and kidnapping. The agency is responsible for investigating federal civil rights violations, such as police brutality, housing discrimination, and racial violence (see Racism). The FBI also investigates so-called white-collar crimes, such as money laundering, bank fraud and embezzlement, corruption in local and state government, election-law violations, environmental crimes, and computer-related crimes. Additionally, it handles cases involving threats or actual violence against the president, vice-president, and members of Congress. In all cases, the FBI presents the results of its investigations to federal prosecutors in the Justice Department, who decide whether to prosecute suspects in the federal courts.

In conducting investigations, the FBI frequently works with local, state, federal, and international law enforcement organizations. For example, the FBI works with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to prevent foreign spies from obtaining US national security secrets. It also works with the DEA in drug cases and with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) in certain cases involving bombs, arson, or firearms violations. Criminal activities often cross state and country borders. As a national law enforcement agency, the FBI is best equipped to investigate them. It investigates interstate criminal activity and can arrest fugitives who cross state lines to avoid prosecution. Although the FBI is not usually authorized to make arrests in foreign countries, the agency works with law enforcement agencies abroad to apprehend suspects wanted for crimes in US jurisdictions.

The FBI also conducts non-criminal inquiries. It researches the backgrounds of Supreme Court nominees, Cabinet nominees, and other presidential appointees to help the Senate decide if these candidates should be confirmed. It also conducts background checks on people who apply for employment at the FBI, Justice Department, White House, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and certain other government agencies. Finally, the FBI may collect evidence in civil suits involving the US government.

Among functions specifically excluded from the jurisdiction of the FBI are investigations of counterfeiting, which are handled by the Secret Service, and violations of customs and revenue laws, which are handled by the US Customs Service. Violations of postal laws, which are under the jurisdiction of the US Postal Service, are also excluded from the jurisdiction of the FBI. Intelligence activities aimed at foreign countries, related to the national security of the United States, are generally carried out by the CIA. However, the FBI does investigate terrorism outside of the United States when directed against US citizens or interests, such as US embassies.

IV

Agents

FBI special agents are responsible for conducting investigations. They perform their duties mainly from the field offices located around the United States, guided by supervisors in the field offices and at headquarters. Agents are responsible for gathering information and evidence about possible criminal activity that may be used by federal prosecutors in court.

To carry out their duties, FBI agents are entrusted with extremely broad powers. They are authorized to carry weapons and, under some circumstances, to shoot to kill. They can place suspects under arrest. With permission of the courts, they can eavesdrop on private phone conversations, videotape what goes on in people’s homes, open mailboxes and read letters, and obtain telephone bills, income tax returns, and other confidential documents. They can also subpoena witnesses to testify before a grand jury. While pursuing suspects, they are authorized to break traffic laws. By showing their credentials, FBI agents can bypass airport security and take weapons onto aeroplanes. If necessary, they can request help from the CIA, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), and foreign governments. But unless agents are on FBI business and have proper authorization, they have no more power than any other citizens.

Special FBI units sometimes assist agents in especially dangerous or unusual situations. The Critical Incident Response Group is deployed during terrorist incidents, hostage situations, and major crimes that require emergency action. The Hostage Rescue Team develops and executes tactical plans to rescue hostages, negotiate with barricaded individuals, and assist in high-risk arrests and raids.

FBI special agents must be US citizens and at least 23 years old but no older than 36. They must have a “four-year” degree from a college or university, and preferably law or accounting degrees because they can more easily understand federal criminal laws and financial crimes, respectively. All prospective agents must have a valid driver’s licence and pass a polygraph examination, a drug test, a vision test, a hearing test, a fitness examination, and a comprehensive background check. Training takes place at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.