Federal Bureau Of Investigations

The Federal Bureau of Investigation ('''FBI''') is a Federal Criminal Investigative and intelligence agency 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 Crime s 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 . The Bureau's Motto is "Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity."

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 three areas: Counterterrorism , foreign Counterintelligence , and cyber crime.

PRESENT MISSION OF THE FBI

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As of June 2002 , the FBI's official top priority is Counterterrorism . The second priority is counterintelligence. The USA PATRIOT Act granted the FBI increased powers, especially in Wiretap ping and monitoring of internet activity. One of the most controversial provisions of the act is the so-called "sneak and peek" provision, granting the FBI powers to search a house while the residents are away, and not requiring them to notify the residents for several weeks afterwards. Under the PATRIOT Act's provisions the FBI also resumed inquiring into the Library records of those it suspected of Terrorism , something it had supposedly not done since the 1970s . The bureau is also charged with the responsibility of enforcing compliance of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 and investigating violations of The Act in addition to prosecuting such violations with the United States Department Of Justice (DOJ). The FBI also shares concurrent jurisdiction with the DEA in the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

HISTORY OF THE FBI

The FBI originated from a force of Special Agents created on July 26 , 1908 , by Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt . At first it was named the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and it did not become the FBI until 1935.

Under J. Edgar Hoover , who became director of the Bureau on May 10 , 1924 , the agency spent much of its energy investigating political activists who were not accused of any crime.

The FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory (better known as the FBI Crime Lab ) officially opened on November 24 , 1932 .

During the 1930s, the agency played a prominent role in apprehending a number of well-known criminals who had conducted kidnappings, robberies and murders throughout the nation. These included John Dillinger , "Baby Face" Nelson , Kate "Ma" Barker , Alvin Karpis and George "Machine Gun" Kelly . It also played a decisive role in reducing the scope and influence of the Ku Klux Klan . Through the work of Edwin Atherton , the FBI claimed success in apprehending an entire army of Mexican neo-revolutionaries along the California border in the 1920's.

Beginning with the 1940s and continuing into the 1970s, the agency investigated cases of espionage against the United States and its allies. Eight Nazi agents who had planned Sabotage operations against American targets were arrested.

Although Hoover initially doubted the existence of a close-knit Organized Crime network in the United States, the bureau later conducted operations against known organized crime syndicates and families, including those headed by Sam Giancana and John Gotti .

During the 1950s and 1960s, the FBI carried out controversial was a frequent target of investigation. The FBI found no evidence of any crime, but attempted to use tapes of King involved in sexual activity for blackmail. In his 1991 memoirs, Washington Post journalist Carl Rowan asserted that the FBI had sent at least one anonymous letter to King encouraging him to commit suicide. {Link without Title}

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Federal Bureau Of Investigations