Laws Essay, Research Paper

lawTo uphold the law through the investigation of violations offederal criminal law; to protect the U.S. from foreign intelligence andterrorist activities; to provide leadership and law enforcement assistanceto federal, state, local, and international agencies; and to perform theseresponsibilities in a manner that is responsive to the needs of the publicand is faithful to the constitution of the U.S.: this is the mission ofthe Federal Bureau of Investigation. The agency now known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation wasfounded in 1908 when the Attorney General appointed an unnamed force ofSpecial Agents to be the investigative force of the Department of Justice(DOJ). Before that time, the DOJ had to borrow Agents from the U.S. Secret Service to investigate violations of federal criminal laws withinit s jurisdiction. In 1909, the Special Agent Force was renamed theBureau of Investigation, and after a series of name changes, it receivedit s present official name in 1935. During the early period of the FBI s history, it s agentsinvestigated violations of mainly bankruptcy frauds, antitrust crime, andneutrality violation. During World War One, the Bureau was given theresponsibility of investigating espionage, sabotage, sedition (resistanceagainst lawful authority), and draft violations. The passage of theNational Motor Vehicle Theft Act in 1919 further broadened the Bureau sjurisdiction. After the passage of Prohibition in 1920, the gangster era began,bringing about a whole new type of crime. Criminals engaged in kidnappingand bank robbery, which were not federal crimes at that time. Thischanged in 1932 with the passage of a federal kidnapping statute. In1934, many other federal criminal statutes were passed, and Congress gaveSpecial Agents the authority to make arrests and to carry firearms. The FBI s size and jurisdiction during the second World Warincreased greatly and included intelligence matters in South America. With the end of that war, and the arrival of the Atomic Age, the FBI beganconducting background security investigations for the White House andother government agencies, as well as probes into internal securitymatters for the executive branch of the government. In the 1960 s, civil rights and organized crime became majorconcerns of the FBI, and counterterrorism, drugs, financial crime, andviolent crimes in the 1970 s. These are still the major concerns of theFBI, only now it is to a greater extent.. With all of this responsibility, it is logical to say that the FBIis a field-oriented organization. They have nine divisions and fouroffices at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. These divisions andoffices provide direction and support services to 56 field offices andapproximately 10,100 Special Agents and 13,700 other employees. Each FBIfield office is overseen by a Special Agent in Charge, except for thoselocated in New York City and Washington, D.C. Due to their large size,those offices are each managed by an Assistant Director in Charge. FBI field offices conduct their official business both directlyfrom their headquarters and through approximately 400 satellite offices,known as resident agencies. The FBI also operates specialized fieldinstallations: two Regional Computer Support Centers; one in Pocatello,Idaho, and one in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey — and two Informationtechnology Centers (ITC s); one at Butte, Montana, and one at Savannah,Georgia. The ITC s provide information services to support fieldinvestigative and administrative operations. Because they do have so much responsibility, their investigative

authority is the broadest of all federal law enforcement agencies. TheFBI also stresses long term, complex investigation, emphasize closerelations and information sharing with other federal, state, local, andforeign law enforcement and intelligence agencies. A significant numberof FBI investigations are conducted with other law enforcement agencies oras part of joint task forces. As part of this process, the FBI has divided it s investigationsinto the following programs:+ Applicant Program. Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory CommissionApplicants. Department of justice Candidates. FBI Special Agents and Support Applicants. and others+ Civil Rights Program. Civil Rights Act of 1964. Discrimination in Housing. Equal Credit Opportunity Act+ Counterterrorism Program. Hostage taking. Sabotage. Attempted of Actual Bombings. and others+ Financial Crime Program. Bank Fraud and Embezzlement. Environmental Crimes. Fraud Against the Government. and others+ Foreign Counterintelligence Programs. Espionage. Foreign Counterintelligence Matters+ Organized Crime/Drug Program. Drug Matters. Money Laundering. Organized Crime/Drug Enforcement Task Force Matters. and others+ Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Program. Theft of Government Property. Crime Aboard Aircraft. Kidnapping – Extortion. and othersThese programs cover most everything that the FBI investigates,and some individual cases in a program often receives extensiveinvestigative attention because of their size, potential impact, orsensitivity. Because FBI Special Agents are responsible for handling so manydifferent things, they have to go through rigorous training in thefollowing areas: Academics, Firearms, Physical Training/Defense Tactics,and Practical Exercises. Within these four major areas are componentslike interviewing techniques, communications, computer skills, and druginvestigations. Altogether there are 15 components in the four areas Ilisted previously. They receive all of this training at the FBI academyin Quantico, Virginia and must complete 645 hours (15 weeks) ofinstruction before they graduate. The training in the academy is difficult, but those who have madeit there have already passed the first test. To qualify for training asan FBI Agent, you must be:1. a U.S. citizen2. between the ages of 23 and 37 when entering on duty;3. hold a bachelor s degree obtained in an accredited four-yearresident program at a collegeor university; and4. have three years full-time work experience, or fluency in alanguage for which the Bureau has a need for. After graduation from the FBI Academy, a new Special Agent isassigned to an FBI field office. This assignment is determined by theindividual s special skills and the needs of the bureau. As part of theirduties, Special Agents are required to relocate during their careers. Special Agents enter service in Grade GS 10 on the federal government sGeneral Schedule pay scale and can advance to Grade 13 in fieldassignment. In our society today, one of the most important things to us isour safety. Organizations like the FBI help protect us and investigatecrimes to help prevent future ones. Their motto is Fidelity, Bravery, andIntegrity, and I think that each one of those words is justified when itcomes to describing the Federal Bureau of Investigation. When the dutiesof the FBI are stated in the mission it says to perform these duties in amanner that is responsive to the needs of the public and is faithful tothe Constitution of the United States. I believe that they do this to theutmost.