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Introduction: There are vast amounts of Federal Agencies in the United States Government and Federal Law Enforcement Agency’s are no different. Due to the large number of those Agencies we are going to talk about three of them, the Drug Enforcement Agency or DEA,
the Federal Bureau of Investigations or FBI, and last
but not least the Secret Service or USSS. All three of these agencies play a key part in their Federal Law Enforcement role. Overview: The three key agencies being discussed, the Drug Enforcement agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Secret Service have a wide range of personnel, functions, and special activities. In 1973 the DEA had a total of 2,898 employees. Of those employees 1,470 were special agents, and 1,305 were support staff. The budget during that time was 65.2 million dollars. In 2006, DEA had a total of 10, 891 employees. Of those employees, 5,320 were special agents, and 5,571 were support staff, and the budget was 2,415 million dollars. The mission of the DEA is to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and being to the criminal and civil justice system of the organizations, involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the United States; and to recommend and support non-enforcement programs aimed at reducing the availability of illicit controlled substances on the domestic and international markets. The DEA has many different functions. It was created to investigate and prosecute violators of drug laws operating at eh interstate and international levels. To investigate drug gangs who are responsible for violence and fear in communities. Seize assets resulting from, traceable to, or intended to be used for illicit drug trafficking. To be a liaison with the United Nations, Interpol, and other organizations on matters relating to international drug control programs. Management of a national drug intelligence program in cooperation with federal, state, local, and foreign officials to collect analyze, and disseminate strategic and operational drug intelligence information. Some special activities the DEA has been involved in include, a two year investigation that resulted in the arrest of 22 Colombian nationals who were using puppies to smuggle liquid heroin into the country. The Colombians were surgically implanting liquid heroine packets into pure bred puppies. A three year investigation in corporation with Brazilian Federal Police, Panamanian Judicial Police, and the Colombian National Police lead to over 100 arrests, the seizure of 47,555 kilograms of cocaine, and nearly $70 million in assets. The
Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) in 2006 had a total
of 30,762
employees. That includes 12,659 special agents and 18,009 support
professionals. Some support professionals
include intelligence
analysts, language specialists, scientists, information technology
specialists,
and other professionals. The FBI had a
budget of 5.7billion in 2006 along with 495 million for program
enhancements. The
mission of the FBI is to protect and defend
the The
FBI’s major
functions include protecting the The FBI has many special projects it investigates. The innocent images online child pornography program is designed to battle the construction of child pornography/child sexual exploitation facilitated by an online computer. Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Fumo was investigated and indicted by the FBI for fraud. Also, the 9/11 investigation of the world trade attacks was lead by the FBI. The
The
United States
Secret Service has a dual mission that of protection and criminal
investigations. The first mission states
that the Secret Service protects the president and vice president,
their
families, heads of state, and other designated individuals;
investigates
threats against those protected; protects the White House, vice
president’s
residence, foreign missions, and other buildings within Washington,
D.C.; and
plans and implements security designs for designated National Special
Security
Events. The second mission states that
the secret service will investigate violations of laws relating to
counterfeiting of obligations and securities of the The functions of the USSS include investigating counterfeit currency, identity crimes, computer fraud, forgery, and money laundering. The USSS provides a forensic service that specialized in identification, polygraph, and questioned documents. The USSS also provides protection to the president, vice president, their immediate families, former presidents, children of the president until age 16, visiting heads of foreign states or governments and their spouses, major presidential and vice presidential candidates and their spouses within 120 days of a general presidential election, and National Special Security Events. A
special activity
the secret service is involved in is the boys and girls club. In 2000, U.S. Secret Services has promised
its support in assisting with programs that discourage violence and
drug abuse,
while encouraging good citizenship and educational accomplishments. The Problems: DEA:
Current
problems with the DEA are supposedly stealing equipment from The
director of Correa
sent two
letters to the DEA requesting the equipment be returned to his agency,
but has
so far not received a reply. The
governments of The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) often seizes or takes custody of evidence while enforcing federal laws and regulations for controlled substances. In 1999, the General Accounting Office (GAO) identified weaknesses in the DEA's accountability over drug evidence that could increase the potential for theft, misuse, or loss, thus compromising the evidence for federal prosecution. In 2001, the DEA Administrator directed the DEA Office of Inspections (Office of Inspections) to review custodial accountability for five categories of evidence.2 After reviewing internal inspections conducted at all 21 DEA domestic field divisions from 1999 through 2000, the Office of Inspections concluded in its report that DEA's problems with custodial accountability remained unresolved. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the DEA's progress in correcting custodial accountability problems identified in the DEA Office of Inspections' report more than two years after this review was released, and four years after the GAO determined that the DEA needed to strengthen accountability for drug evidence, the DEA still had not corrected deficiencies identified by DEA's internal inspections, including implementing program guidance, improving Headquarters support, or developing training. Consequently, some DEA field division staff continued to handle and store evidence improperly. DEA also has a history of serious financial management weaknesses and has actions either underway or planned to address them. It has been reported that as far back as 1983 the DEA has had financial management weaknesses identified. The IPA reported financial management weaknesses related to DEA’s computer security and reporting of seized assets. Funding for federal drug control efforts has increased by about 49% in the 1990’s to the fiscal year 1999 level of about $18 billion. Funding for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) almost doubled, in constant 1999 dollars, from about $806 million in year 1990 to about $1.5 billion in fiscal year 1999.
DEA is not adequately protecting national security
information in its computer systems, and that though the DEA knows of
no
unauthorized disclosures, revelations of this national security
information
would endanger lives and hinder
The Department of Justice requires that all of its
component agencies identify all computers used to process national
security
information. DEA, however, has failed to
do so. The DEA was in violation of
National Security Guidelines by using the office automation system to
process
classified data, not conducting a risk analysis of the system,
operating office
automation workstations in open, unshielded work areas, using
non-tempest rated
workstations to process national security information, and using
unencrypted
data communications lines.
Additional problems occur because DEA uses the Office
Automation system to process national security information. In addition to the information security
problems outlined above, DEA has the following physical security
problems,
which increase the risk from the above problems: inadequately
controlled access to sensitive
areas, individuals without national security clearances working
unescorted in
sensitive areas, unattended computers left logged on,
computer-generated
printouts and disks being left unattended and unsecured, documents left
unattended and unsecured and safes left open and unattended
In conclusion these security weaknesses endanger the
lives of federal agents and need to be corrected immediately. FBI: Current problems found within the FBI are stolen weapons and laptop computers, the crime laboratory, a drug problem, impediments to hiring and meeting hiring goals, and recruitment. Hundreds of FBI weapons and laptop computers have been stolen or lost over the last decade, including one handgun used in a homicide and at least one laptop that contains classified information. Nearly 450 firearms are missing -- including pistols, revolvers, assault rifles and shotguns. The list includes 184 weapons stolen from agents' cars and homes, one of which was used in a slaying in the South, the only crime connected to one of the FBI guns. Many apparently were improperly kept by FBI agents who retired or were fired. FBI officials said they would pursue prosecutions of those former agents. Reportedly
in
February 1997 about 50 state and local prosecutors were warned that
their cases
could be affected by problems with mishandled evidence at the FBI crime
laboratory. The FBI crime lab analyzes
evidence in major cases, including the FBI explosives expert Frederick Whitehurst predicted that last year (1996) "potentially thousands" of cases could have been affected by the mishandled laboratory evidence. Whitehurst, who brought the initial allegations against his colleagues at the crime lab, was among four people suspended as the result of the unreleased preliminary report by the Justice Department's Inspector General. He claimed that in 1995 the lab was biased in favor of prosecutors, that there was contamination during testing, and some supervisors lacked proper training. Deputy U.S. Attorney General Jamie Gorelick believes that this is a serious set of problems but on the other hand, she believes the appropriate steps to preserve the integrity of the cases have been taken. A recent government audit in 1999 shows that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has a drug problem. There were numerous discrepancies between the actual weight of drug items and the weight recorded on attached evidence labels. Although many of the weight variances involved only several grams, larger discrepancies included a shortage of 269 grams of heroin and an overage of 3.9 kilograms of cocaine. Over half of the selected drug seizures held by the FBI failed to pass the government audit. The government auditors found that 90 of the 140 drug items reviewed for weight variances had differences between weights recorded on evidence labels and weights observed when FBI personnel weighed the items for the audit. The variances we observed ranged from about 1 gram to 269 grams for the 24 items that were lighter when reweighed, and ranged from about 1 gram to 3. 9 kilograms for the 66 items that was heavier. The audit also found that 14 of the 140 drug items selected for audit did not have a weight recorded on the item's evidence label. The General Accounting Office audit of the New York FBI Field Office revealed instances in which either the evidence was improperly sealed or evidence boxes appeared to have been broken open from the weight of other stacked evidence boxes. While the government audit noted that small amounts of drugs disappeared from FBI custody, the total amount of missing drugs may never be known because of bad FBI record keeping The
FBI fell
significantly short of its goal for hiring intelligence analysts in
2004 and
faces a surge of recently hired analysts leaving within the next five
years. The bureau lacks a formal
strategy for retaining qualified intelligence analysts and has not
determined
the total number of analysts needed to meets its mission. It was found
that the
FBI has made significant progress in hiring and training quality
intelligence
analysts but significant issues still remain. The
turnover rate
for intelligence analysts decreased for two consecutive years and the
attrition
rate dropped to 8 percent at the end of fiscal 2004, at which point the
bureau
employed about 1,400 analysts. Retirement was the main reason analysts
gave for
leaving. But the bureau ended fiscal 2004
with about one-third of its analyst positions unfilled. FBI analysts and managers identified several impediments to hiring and meeting hiring goals. They included attrition, a lengthy hiring process, failure of candidates to pass the FBI background investigation, and regulations that limit analysts' career paths, grading and pay. Automatic disqualifiers for employment with the FBI would be, bad credit, failure of drug test, criminal arrest, lack of candor, polygraph failure, and falsifying information It
was found that
22 percent of current intelligence analysts do not plan on staying with
the FBI
beyond the next five years. Among those hired in the last three years,
35
percent do not plan to remain. Only 16 percent of newly hired analysts
said
they are very likely to stay for the next 5 years. The
reasons for
people leaving most often were retirement, followed by low pay, poor
promotion
potential, unfulfilling work assignments and lack of respect for their
position
within the bureau. While
the turnover
rate for FBI intelligence analysts is not excessive it is still a
concern
because they way it may FBI's efforts to build a well-qualified
analytical
corps. The loss of analysts hinders the
FBI's efforts to meet its hiring goal and to provide sufficient numbers
of
analysts to support its intelligence requirements. The FBI is having problems recruiting people with foreign-language skills. It's also having trouble recruiting people with computer skills for somewhat similar reasons. This has troubling implications for the FBI's future as a lead antiterrorism agency. Five years after Arab terrorists attacked the United States, only 33 FBI agents have even a limited proficiency in Arabic, and none of them work in the sections of the bureau that coordinate investigations of international terrorism. Counting agents who know only a handful of Arabic words -- including those who scored zero on a standard proficiency test just 1 percent of the FBI's 12,000 agents have any familiarity with the language. The shortage of agents with foreign-language skills also shows the extent to which the FBI has focused on translators since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in part because officials believe it is more valuable to have specially trained linguists. More than 1,400 agents have at least a limited working proficiency in a foreign language, including nearly 900 who speak Spanish. Other languages include Russian, Farsi, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese, the FBI said. Several
factors limit the number of
foreign speakers who can become agents at the FBI. Special agents must
be USSS: An article from the US News and World Report Magazine stated that the most current problems within the US Secret Service Agency is alcohol abuse, criminal offenses and extramarital affairs between agents and members of the Whitehouse staff. In June 2002, Reporter Chitra Ragavan reported that not only is there alcohol abuse and criminal offenses going on in the Secret Service there are also extramarital affairs. It was stated that a special agent met an informant at his apartment where they proceeded to drink alcohol, have sex and she ended up dead in his bathroom, at no fault of his but due to a drug overdose. Another
series of
alcohol abuse was during the Chaney Detail in Beyond the alcohol abuse, criminal offenses and extramarital affair problems, they are also having morale problems. Officers in the Uniform Division post September 11th are working very hard and having to work very long hours. The Uniform Division that guards the Whitehouse is leaving in high numbers. Of the thousand uniform officers it was reported that about 400 will leave by the end of the year. Also, the snipers that guard the Whitehouse roof are leaving. They have to pull firearm instructors from the training academy to stand post at the Whitehouse. The agents are exhausted because of little time off and working long, hard hours post September 11th. It was stated that they are working long hours with only 1 day off. Reportedly by the end of 2002 the agency may lose up to 400 agents. In the report it was stated that the USSS admitted to the problems but only to a certain extent and when confronted about the problems, they got every mad and did not want to talk about it. It was talked about how the USSS is going to merge with the DHS but this will just exacerbate the problem because it will be a new agency, with little time to correct the current problem and the new agency will inherit the problems and then the problems will go unresolved and will get worse. ISSUES: DEA:
General: The main issue of the DEA is to enforce the controlled substances laws and in 2002, the Bush Administration set ambitious goals to reduce drug use. The first was to lower drug use by 10 percent over 2 years. Youth drug use dropped by 11 percent over 2 years. The second was to lower drug use by 25 percent over 5 years. The DEA achieved a 23 percent decline since 2001 for 8th, 10th, and 12th graders combined. Reductions in illicit drug use among 8th and 10th graders exceeded the President’s goal, falling 30 and 26 percent since 2001, respectively. Personnel: 10,891 employees with 5,320 Special Agents with a budget of $2.415 billion dollars. Services: The DEA stands ready to assist in areas of Aviation, Asset Forfeiture, Computer Forensics, Foreign Cooperative Investigations, Marijuana Eradication, Mobile Enforcement Teams, Money Laundering, Organized Crime Enforcement, State & Local Task Forces and Training. FBI:
General: The main issue
of the FBI is to protect and defend the 1.
Protect the Personnel:
As of October
31, 2006, the FBI had a total of 30,762 employees. That includes 12,659
special
agents and 18,009 support professionals, such as intelligence analysts,
language specialists, scientists, information technology specialists,
and other
professionals. They also have a budget of 5.7 billion dollars. Services: The
FBI currently has jurisdiction over violations of more than 200
categories of
federal law which include: counterterrorism, counterintelligence, cyber
crimes,
public corruption, civil rights, organized crime, white collar crime,
and major
thefts/violent crimes. Secret Service: General:
The United States Secret Service
is
mandated by
statute and executive order to carry out two significant missions:
protection
and criminal investigations. The Secret Service protects the President
and Vice
President, their families, heads of state, and other designated
individuals;
investigates threats against these protected; protects the White House,
Vice
President’s Residence, Foreign Missions, and other buildings within
Washington,
D.C.; and plans and implements security designs for designated National
Special
Security Events. Personnel: The Secret Service employs approximately 3,200 special agents, 1,300 Uniformed Division officers, and more than 2,000 other technical, professional and administrative support personnel. Their budget is $819 million dollars. Services:
The Secret Service has
primary jurisdiction to investigate threats against Secret Service
protected as
well as financial crimes, which include counterfeiting of U.S. currency
or
other U.S. Government obligations; forgery or theft of U.S. Treasury
checks,
bonds or other securities; credit card fraud; telecommunications fraud;
computer fraud, identify fraud and certain other crimes affecting
federally
insured financial institutions. TRENDS:
DEA Drug
prosecutions
dipped between 1992 and 1998, and then rose to the largest number of
convictions in Referrals
for
prosecutions by the DEA increased modestly during that time; largely
creditable
to the The DEA reported 18,945 referrals between 1993 and 1996 which was 6% higher than in 1992. That same year, the number of investigators rose to 301, a 16% increase over 1992. Historically, the DEA has referred more drug matters than any other federal agency with 6,841 additional referrals coming from the US Customs Service and 6,741 referrals from the FBI; both contributions equaled about 1/3rd of the DEA’s 18,945 total for 1998. The most significant trend is the rise in referrals by non-DEA agencies whose range overlaps the traditional DEA role. Between 1992 and 1998, FBI referrals rose 42% and Customs rose 21% while the DEA rose only 6%. Prosecutions and convictions for the FBI rose 69% and Customs rose 76% while the DEA rose a modest 5%. Reasons for that shift include criminal tactics that presumably avoid the DEA’s scope of interdiction. Although the DEA’s role has shrunk, that shrinkage does not diminish DEA’s traditional effectiveness, but instead, greatly aided the rediversification of powers among newly created Federal agencies. FBI The
FBI has been
expanding its international role as the Electronic and cyber crimes have risen dramatically since the Internet has taken root worldwide. The crime of hacking into secured accounts and moving large amounts of money to anywhere in the world is an increasing trend. As we invent new ways to interdict such crime, criminals are creating new ways to invalidate modern electronic safeguards. The Internet has been of tremendous value in locating fugitives who leave an electronic trail on-line. The FBI now executes more warrants to seize hard drives and computers than traditional warrants to seize records and books. Those warrants fall under Title III or more typical search warrants depending on the manner in which the suspect information is created, stored and transmitted. The most significant trend for the FBI is external attacks by organized crime and terrorist groups on internal FBI computer systems that house extremely critical information, some of which is vital to the interests of national security. Criminals have tampered with the New York Stock Exchange and shut down entire electrical power grids that during midwinter could have taken lives and damaged property. In
response to
growing worldwide trends and political shifts, the FBI established the
International Law Enforcement Academy in USSS During the Civil War (1861 – 1865), 1,600 state banks created their own variety of currency and 1/3rd of that currency was fake. The economic epidemic that resulted compelled the Federal government to establish the Secret Service in 1865 as a bureau under the Department of the Treasury. That mission was expanded during Grover Cleveland’s administration (1985 – 1989) to include the investigation of any type of fraud committed against the federal government and to provide bodily protection of the US President beginning with Cleveland administration forward (1885 – present). The Patriot Act, passed in 2001 in response to electronically-enabled fraud, expanded the Secret Service’s role to investigate financial fraud in connection with computers. The Secret Service created the Electronic Crimes Task Forces to collaborate with citizens, businesses and academia to protect our nation’s financial data infrastructure. An itemized breakdown of the Secret Service’s mission is to investigate: - Telecommunications fraud, including cellular and land line telephone service tampering - Fraudulent and counterfeit identification - Access device fraud - Advance fees - Electronic funds transfers - Money laundering with the service's Organized Crime division - Food stamp violation - Asset seizures and forfeitures - Electronic and computer crimes - Fraudulent use or forgery of all
government-issued currency and Treasury notes
Conclusion: As you can see, the DEA, FBI and USSS all play vital roles in the Federal Law Enforcement area. Each agency has a specific role and niche that they fill. The |
