Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Title 28, United States Code (U.S. Code), Section 533, which authorizes the Attorney General to "appoint officials to detect... crimes against the United States", and other federal statutes give the FBI the authority and responsibility to investigate specific crimes. At present, the FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crimes and thus has the broadest investigative authority of any federal law enforcement agency. The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list has been used since 1949 to notify the public of wanted fugitives.

Mission

The mission of the FBI is to uphold the law through the investigation of violations of federal criminal law; to protect the United States from foreign intelligence and terrorist activities; to provide leadership and law enforcement assistance to federal, state, local, and international agencies; and to perform these responsibilities in a manner that is responsive to the needs of the public and is faithful to the United States Constitution.

Related Topics:
Law enforcement - United States Constitution

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Information obtained through an FBI investigation is presented to the appropriate U.S. Attorney or DOJ official, who decides if prosecution or other action is warranted. Top priority has been assigned to five areas: counterterrorism, foreign counterintelligence, combating drugs/organized crime and investigating violent crimes and white-collar crimes.

Related Topics:
Counterterrorism - Counterintelligence - Drugs - Organized crime - Violent crime - White-collar crime

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The FBI has had a mixed history, both in upholding the law and sometimes in breaking it. The force of Special Agents has grown over the years, and now exceeds 11,000 out of a total workforce of 17,000. Many of these Special Agents are stationed in foreign countries and work in U.S. Embassies as "Legal Attaches", or as they are known in the FBI: LEGATS. Both new and veteran agents are routinely trained at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The FBI also maintains a force of 1,000 uniformed Security police officers in the FBI Police for protecting the J. Edgar Hoover Building, FBI Academy at MCB Quantico and the New York Field Office.

Related Topics:
Special Agents - FBI Academy - Quantico, Virginia - Security police - J. Edgar Hoover Building - MCB Quantico

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Strategic Information and Operation Center is the FBI command center.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~