| Law enforcement in the United States |
|---|
| Separation of powers |
| Jurisdiction |
| Legal context |
| Prosecution |
| Lists of law enforcement agencies |
| Police operations/organization/issues |
|
| Types of agency |
| Types oflaw enforcement officers |
| See also |
Thefederal government of the United States empowers a wide range of federallaw 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 theDepartment of Justice andHomeland Security, there are dozens of other federal law enforcement agencies under the other executive departments, as well as under thelegislative andjudicial 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 800,000law enforcement officers in the United States.[3]
.jpg)
Federal law enforcement in the United States is more than two hundred years old. For example, thePostal Inspection Service can trace its origins back to 1772,[4] while theU.S. Marshals Service dates to 1789.[5] Other agencies, such as theFBI, are relatively recent, being founded in the early twentieth century. Other agencies have been reformed, such as theATF which was formed only in 1972, but had its origins in 1886.[6] Some federal law enforcement agencies have been formed after mergers of other agencies, over the years. This includes theCBP, ATF, and theDEA. In 1794, the first known federal law enforcement officerline-of-duty death occurred;Robert Forsyth,United States Marshal for theDistrict of Georgia, was shot in the head and murdered while attempting toserve process.[7]
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 theDoD or theUS Armed Forces. Each branch also has a law enforcement agency responsible for the investigation of more serious crimes and incidents, such as the Army’sCriminal Investigation Division.
Different federal law enforcement authorities have authority under different parts of theUnited 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 ofU.S. states andtribes ofNative Americans in the United States. Some federal investigative powers have become broader in practice, especially since the passage of thePatriot Act in October 2001.[8]
TheUnited 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[9] and includes theUnited 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, theUnited 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 theSeptember 11 attacks when it incorporated agencies seen as having roles in protecting the country against terrorism. This included large agencies such asU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), theU.S. Secret Service (USSS), theU.S. Coast Guard (USCG), theTransportation Security Administration (TSA), and theU.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) (created by combining the former agencies of theUnited States Border Patrol,United States Customs Service, and theUnited States Department of Agriculture'sAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) into a single agency within the DHS).[2]
Agencies in bold text are law enforcement agencies (LEAs).
Independent Agencies and federally-administered institutions;
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States government.