Federal law enforcement in the United States

From USApedia

Template:Law enforcement in the United States

File:CBP female officers going aboard a ship.jpg
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers going aboard a ship to examine cargo

The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of federal law enforcement agencies (informally known as the "Feds") to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole.[1][2]

While the majority of federal law enforcement employees work for the Department 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.

Federal agencies employ approximately 137,000 full-time personnel authorized to make arrests and/or carry firearms in the 50 states and the District of Columbia,[1] out of the more than 800,000 law enforcement officers in the United States.[3]

Overview

File:DSS at UNGA 72 - Motorcade arrivals (27402524719).jpg
Federal agencies work with other law enforcement during events, such as presidential visits to the UNGA in NYC. Pictured: USSS, DSS and ATF

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,[4] while the U.S. Marshals Service dates to 1789.[5] Other agencies, such as the FBI, are relatively recent, being founded in the early twentieth century. Other agencies have been reformed, such as the ATF which was formed only in 1972, but had its origins in 1886.Template:CN Some federal law enforcement agencies have been formed after mergers of other agencies, over the years. This includes the CBP, ATF, and the DEA.

Military law enforcement, although federal, consists of both military personnel and civilian officers. For example, "DoD Police" refers to any civilian engaged in police duties for the DoD or the US Armed Forces. Each branch also has a law enforcement agency responsible for the investigation of more serious crimes and incidents, such as the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division.

Different federal law enforcement authorities have authority under different parts of the United States Code (U.S.C.). Most are limited by the U.S. Code to investigating matters that are explicitly within the power of the federal government. There are exceptions, with some agencies and officials enforcing codes of U.S. states and tribes of Native Americans in the United States. Some federal investigative powers have become broader in practice, especially since the passage of the Patriot Act in October 2001.[6]

The United States 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[7] and 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, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) became the department with the most sworn armed Federal law enforcement officers and agents upon its creation in 2002 in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks when it incorporated agencies seen as having roles in protecting the country against terrorism. This included large agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) (created by combining the former agencies of the United States Border Patrol, United States Customs Service, and the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) into a single agency within the DHS).[2]

Statistics

Template:Trivia

  • In 2020, federal agencies employed approximately 137,000 full-time personnel authorized to make arrests and/or carry firearms in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Around half (49%) of the personnel worked for the Department of Homeland Security, and 30% worked for the Department of Justice.
  • Federal officers' most common primary function was criminal investigation or enforcement (68%), corrections (25%), and police response and patrol (9%).
  • Around 15% of federal law enforcement officers and 13% of supervisory law enforcement personnel were female in 2020.
  • More than a third (38%) of federal officers were members of a racial or ethnic minority in 2020. This included 21% who were Hispanic or Latino, and 10% who were black or African American. In 2002, racial or ethnic minorities officers constituted 32.4% of federal officers.
  • About 60% of federal agencies authorized shotguns or manual rifles for officers while on duty in 2020. Fifty percent authorized semiautomatic rifles and 20% authorized fully automatic rifles for officers while on duty.[1]

List of federal law enforcement agencies and units of agencies

Agencies in bold text are law enforcement agencies (LEAs).

Executive branch

Department of Agriculture

Seal of the United States Department of Agriculture
Office of Safety, Security and Protection (OSSaP)[8]

U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigations (USFS LEI)

Department of Commerce

Seal of the United States Department of Commerce
US DOC Office of Security

US Commerce Department Police 

Office of Export Enforcement (OEE)

National Institute of Standards and Technology Police

Office of Space Commerce, Division of Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA) Compliance and Monitoring
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense Seal

Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) 

United States Pentagon Police (PPD)

Defense Logistics Agency Police

National Security Agency Police

Defense Intelligence Agency Police

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Police (NGA Police)

United States Army Criminal Investigation Division (USACID) 
United States Army Counterintelligence (ACI) 
United States Army Military Police Corps (USAMPC)
Department of the Army Civilian Police (DACP)
  • includes Department of the Army Civilian Guards (DASG)
United States Army Corrections Command (USACC)

Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) 
United States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division (USMC CID) 
United States Navy Master-at-Arms (military police)
Department of the Navy Police (civilian police)
United States Marine Corps Military Police
United States Marine Corps Civilian Police
Marine Security Guards
Marine Security Forces

Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) 
Air Force Security Forces Center (AFSFC) 
United States Air Force Security Forces (military police)
Department of the Air Force Police (civilian police)
  • includes Department of Air Force Civilian Guards (DAF Guard)

Department of Education

Seal of the United States Department of Education

Department of Energy

Seal of the United States Department of Energy
Office of Secure Transportation (OST)
Federal Protective Forces

Department of Health and Human Services

Seal of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI)

National Institutes of Health Police

Department of Homeland Security

Seal of the United States Department of Homeland Security
File:CBP Officers pay tribute 2007.jpg
CBP Officers and Border Patrol Agents at a ceremony in 2007

Office of Security and Professional Responsibility

Maritime Law Enforcement Specialist Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) 

United States Coast Guard Police (CGPD)

United States Border Patrol (USBP) 
CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) 
CBP Office of Field Operations (OFO) 

Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center
  • Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center Police
Office of Chief Security Officer (OCSO)

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) 
Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) 
Office of Intelligence
Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)

United States Secret Service Uniformed Division (USSS UD) 
Secret Service Counter Assault Team (CAT) 

Office of Law Enforcement (OLE)/Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) 

Office of Inspection (OI)

Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS)

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Seal of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG)
  • Protective Service Division (HUD-PSD)

Department of the Interior

Seal of the United States Department of the Interior

Office of Justice Services

Office of Law Enforcement & Security 

Security Response Force (SRF), formerly known as Hoover Dam Police that covers Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam and Glen Canyon Dam

NPS Law Enforcement Rangers 

United States Park Police 

Office of Law Enforcement (FWS OLE)
Division of Refuge Law Enforcement

Department of Justice

Seal of the United States Department of Justice

Department of Labor

Seal of the United States Department of Labor

Department of State

U.S. Department of State official seal
Diplomatic Security Service (DSS)

Department of Transportation

Seal of the United States Department of Transportation
Department of Public Safety (USMMADPS)

Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation (OFI)

Department of the Treasury

Seal of the United States Department of the Treasury
File:Bureau of Engraving and Printing Police.jpg
A Bureau of Engraving and Printing Police (BEP) patrol car.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing Police

Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)
File:IRS-CI Special Agents.png
Two IRS-CI Special Agents conducting a search

Department of Veterans Affairs

Seal of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Legislative branch

Seal of the United States Congress
Office of Inspector General (USCP OIG)
Office of Professional Responsibility (USCP OPR)

Office of Inspector General (LOC-OIG)

Office of Inspector General (GPO-OIG)
Government Publishing Office Police

Judicial branch

United States Supreme Court Police 

Office of Probation and Pretrial Services (Federal Probation Officers)

Other federal law enforcement agencies

Independent Agencies and federally-administered institutions; 

Security Protective Service (CIA SPS)

Division of Enforcement

Office of Inspector General (EPA-OIG) 

Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)

Office of Protection Services

Office of Inspector General (NASA-OIG) 
Office of Protective Services (NASA OPS)

Office of Inspector General (OPM OIG)
File:2016 Ford Police Interceptor Utility belonging to the US Postal Police, NYC.jpg
2016 Ford Police Interceptor Utility belonging to the US Postal Police, NYC
Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG) 
United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)

Office of Inspector General (SI-OIG) 

Office of Protection Services 
National Zoological Park Police (NZPP) 

Office of Inspector General (Amtrak-OIG)
Office of Security Strategy and Special Operations (OSSSO)
Amtrak Police Department

Office of Inspector General (FRB/CFPB-OIG) 

Federal Reserve Police

Federal Reserve Board of Governors 

Office of Inspector General (TVA-OIG)

Office of Investigation
Office of Inspector General (NRC-OIG)

Office of Inspector General (NSF-OIG)

Office of Inspector General (NARA-OIG)

Office of Inspector General (PC-OIG)

Office of Inspector General (RRB-OIG)

Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG)

Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG)

Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG)

Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG)

Office of Inspector General (AID-OIG)

Office of Inspector General (CNCS-OIG)

List of former agencies and units of agencies

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 2020 – Statistical Tables" (in en). 2022-09-29. https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/federal-law-enforcement-officers-2020-statistical-tables. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "CBP Through the Years - U.S. Customs and Border Protection". https://www.cbp.gov/about/history. 
  3. ↑ "Law Enforcement Facts" (in en-US). May 2022. https://nleomf.org/memorial/facts-figures/law-enforcement-facts/. 
  4. ↑ "History of the United States Postal Inspection Service". https://www.uspis.gov/about/history-of-uspis/. 
  5. ↑ "U.S. Marshals Service". 19 June 2020. https://www.usmarshals.gov/history/oldest.htm. 
  6. ↑ Hatcher, Jeanette. "LibGuides: Criminal Justice: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies". http://tamiu.libguides.com/content.php?pid=355722&sid=2953612. 
  7. ↑ Langeluttig, Albert (1927). The Department of Justice of the United States. Johns Hopkins Press. pp. 9–14. 
  8. ↑ "USDA Leadership and Offices" (in en). https://www.usda.gov./leadership-and-offices. 
  9. ↑ https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN11328 Archived 2020-05-12 at the Wayback Machine[bare URL PDF]

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