Introduction
Federal law enforcement agencies operating in the U.S. are charged with a multiplicity of responsibilities. This paper specifically aims to evaluate the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Drug Enforcement Agency, Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Transportation Security Administration.
Federal Bureau of Investigations
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) was established on 26 July 1908 during the presidency of the late Theodore Roosevelt and operated as the Bureau of Investigations (BOI). With a workforce of about 28,576 employees as of 2006, the FBI is the government’s principal investigative agency and also serves as an internal intelligence agency (Koletar, 2006). The agency has investigative jurisdiction over criminal violations of in excess of 200 categories of federal law in addition to performing critical national security investigations (BLS, 2010).
The agency investigates a wide range of criminal activities, including global terrorism, spying on U.S. facilities, computer crime, corruption, civil rights abuses, a high-level organized crime such as bank heists, white-collar crime, and drug trafficking. The FBI’s role in countering drug trafficking overlaps with the DEA’s task of preventing drug trafficking, but the DEA mandate in this area is larger than that of the FBI. The agency is also known to collaborate with other agencies, such as the Secret Service, NCIS, CIA, and ATF, in fulfilling its broad investigative role, budgeted at approximately $7.9 billion for the fiscal year 2010.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was established on July 1 1973 as a direct outcome of the Reorganization Plan No. 2, signed into law by President Richard Nixon. Operating under the United States Department of Justice, DEA is charged with the momentous task of preventing drug use and smuggling within the U.S. and internationally. According to BLS (2010), not only is the DEA the lead agency for internal enforcement of laws and regulations relating to illegal drugs, sharing simultaneous control and jurisdiction with the FBI, it also has exclusive responsibility for coordinating and trailing U.S. drug inquiries across national borders.
The agency had 5,233 special agents and a total workforce of 10,784 as of July 2009, and a budget of $2.6 billion (DEA Staffing & Budget, n.d.), mostly allocated to support efforts aimed at demand reduction, breaking international and domestic sources of drug supply, and reducing drug-related crime.
U.S. Marshals Service
Although the United States Marshals Service (USMS) was formally founded in 1969, the office of the U.S. Marshal is inarguably one of the oldest law enforcement offices in the country. The USMS secures the federal court officers and buildings, in addition to guaranteeing the effective and efficient operation of the U.S. judicial system (BLS, 2010). Other tasks of the USMS include serving arrest warrants, protecting witnesses, asset seizure and forfeiture, and seeking fugitives. The task of publicizing and pursuing the most wanted persons is similar to and sometimes overlaps the roles of the FBI and the ATF in pursuing the fugitives, depending on jurisdiction. Recently released statistics reveal that the service has just about 4,942 employees, including 94 U.S. Marshals and 3,345 Deputy U.S. Marshals and Criminal Investigators (U.S. Marshals Service, 2009). Its financial budget for 2003 totaled $626 million (Department of Justice, n.d.).
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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Established in 1886 as the Revenue Laboratory, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is charged with the responsibilities of investigating and preventing federal criminal offenses involving the illegal use, production, and possession of guns and other dangerous explosives, acts of arson and terrorist bombings, and illegitimate manufacture and trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products (ATF, 2010).
The agency’s mandate also includes licensing the vending, ownership, and transportation of guns, ammunition, and other dangerous explosives to check usage and enhance regulation across the country. As of July 2010, ATF had an estimated 5,000 employees, including around 2,400 special agents and its annual budget for the financial year 2010 totaled $1.2 billion (ATF, 2010). The agency’s roles overlap to a certain extent with those of the DEA and FBI in drug enforcement.
The Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was established on 19 November 2001 after the Aviation and Transportation Act was signed into law by President George Bush, following the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks believed to be coordinated by Muslim fundamentalists (TSA, 2010). Presently the agency is under the Department of Homeland Security. TSA is charged with the responsibility of securing all modes of transportation, including air, road, rail, and sea. Specifically, the agency develops and implements strategies aimed at ensuring the security of the U.S. air traffic and passages, and also ensuring other modes of transportation are safe for use by the population.
Its two foremost objectives include the deterrence of aircraft commandeering and enhancing airport security. The agency often collaborates with the FBI in pursuing and frisking air travelers suspected to have terrorist intentions in efforts aimed at countering terrorism. TSA has a workforce of 45,000 Transportation Security Officers, also known as screeners (TSA, 2010). Its budget for the financial year 2010 totaled $7.8 billion (Rossides, 2009).
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Reference List
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. (2010). Web.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2010). Occupational outlook handbook, 2010-11 edition. Web.
DEA Staffing & Budget. (n.d.). Web.
Department of Justice. (n.d.). Web.
Koletar, J.W. (2006). The FBI career guide: Inside information on getting chosen for and succeeding in one of the toughest, most prestigious jobs in the world. New York, NY: AMACOM.
Rossides, G.D. (2009). United States Department of homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration. Web.
Transportation Security Administration. (2010). Web.
U.S. Marshals Service. (2009). Fact Sheets: Facts and Figures. Web.