Federal law enforcement in the United States

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers boarding 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 and history

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.[6] Some federal law enforcement agencies have been formed after mergers of other agencies, over the years. This includes the CBP, ATF, and the DEA. In 1794, the first known federal law enforcement officer line-of-duty death occurred; Robert Forsyth, United States Marshal for the District of Georgia, was shot in the head and murdered while attempting to serve 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 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.[8]

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[9] 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 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 (ICE) 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]

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
Seal of the United States Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

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

Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense Seal
United States Department of Defense Seal

Department of Education

Seal of the United States Department of Education
Seal of the United States Department of Education

Department of Energy

Seal of the United States Department of Energy
Seal of the United States Department of Energy

Department of Health and Human Services

Seal of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
Seal of the United States Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Homeland Security

Seal of the United States Department of Homeland Security
Seal of the United States Department of Homeland Security
CBP Officers and Border Patrol Agents at a ceremony in 2007

Department of Housing and Urban Development

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

Department of the Interior

Seal of the United States Department of the Interior
Seal of the United States Department of the Interior

Department of Justice

Seal of the United States Department of Justice
Seal of the United States Department of Justice

Department of Labor

Seal of the United States Department of Labor
Seal of the United States Department of Labor
  • Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG)

Department of State

U.S. Department of State official seal
U.S. Department of State official seal
Seal of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Seal of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission

United States Securities and Exchange Commission

  • Office of Inspector General (SEC-OIG)
  • Division of Enforcement

Department of Transportation

Seal of the United States Department of Transportation
Seal of the United States Department of Transportation

Department of the Treasury

Seal of the United States Department of the Treasury
Seal of the United States Department of the Treasury
A Bureau of Engraving and Printing Police (BEP) patrol car
Two IRS-CI Special Agents conducting a search

Department of Veterans Affairs

Seal of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Seal of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG)
  • Veterans Affairs Police

Legislative branch

Seal of the United States Congress
Seal of the United States Congress

Judicial branch

Other federal law enforcement agencies

Independent Agencies and federally-administered institutions;

2016 Ford Police Interceptor Utility belonging to the US Postal Police, NYC

List of former agencies and units of agencies

  • United States Revenue Cutter Service (1790–1915) (merged with the United States Life-Saving Service to create the United States Coast Guard)
  • Bureau of Internal Revenue, Narcotic Division (1921–1927) (transferred to Bureau of Prohibition)
  • Bureau of Prohibition, Narcotic Division (1927–1930) (merged into Federal Bureau of Narcotics)
  • Federal Narcotics Control Board (FNCB) (1922–1930) (merged into Federal Bureau of Narcotics)
  • White House Police Force (1922–1930) (became part of the United States Secret Service. It was renamed the Executive Protective Service in 1970 and then the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service in 1977)
  • Steamboat Inspection Service (1871–1932) (merged into Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation)
  • Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (1884–1946) (functions split between U.S. Customs Service and U.S. Coast Guard)
  • Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) (1930–1968) (merged into Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs)
  • Bureau of Drug Abuse Control (1966–1968) (merged into Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs)
  • Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) (1968–1973) (merged into Drug Enforcement Administration)
  • Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (ODALE) (1972–1973) (merged into Drug Enforcement Administration)
  • Office of National Narcotics Intelligence (ONNI) (1972–1973) (merged into Drug Enforcement Administration)
  • Canal Zone Police (1904–1982), dissolved by Torrijos–Carter Treaties
  • Bureau of Secret Intelligence (BSI) (1916–1985) (replaced by Diplomatic Security Service)
  • United States Treasury Police (TPF) (1879–1986) (merged with the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service)
  • United States Customs Service (1789–2003) (functions split between U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
  • Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (1940-2003) (functions transferred to three new entities – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.)
  • Library of Congress Police (LCP) (1950–2009) (merged into the United States Capitol Police)
  • Hoover Dam Police (1931–2017) (functions transferred to United States Park Rangers stationed at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Bureau of Reclamation Security Response Force)
  • Federal Investigative Services Division (replaced by National Background Investigations Bureau in 2016)
  • National Background Investigations Bureau (2016–2019) (merged with Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency)
  • Defense Investigative Service (DSS) (1972–1999) (changed to Defense Security Service)
  • Defense Security Service (DSS) (1999–2019) (merged with Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 2020 – Statistical Tables". Bureau of Justice Statistics. September 29, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "CBP Through the Years - U.S. Customs and Border Protection". January 20, 2025.
  3. ^ "Law Enforcement Facts". National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. May 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "History of the United States Postal Inspection Service". Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  5. ^ "U.S. Marshals Service". June 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "Our History | ATF". www.atf.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  7. ^ "Robert Forsyth". U.S. Marshals Service. United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original on January 11, 2025.
  8. ^ Hatcher, Jeanette. "LibGuides: Criminal Justice: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies".
  9. ^ Langeluttig, Albert (1927). The Department of Justice of the United States. Johns Hopkins Press. pp. 9–14.
  10. ^ "USDA Leadership and Offices".
  11. ^ ONI Police Force
  12. ^ Department of Public Safety
  13. ^ Odometer Fraud
  14. ^ TVA Police
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