The United States federal government empowers law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order with respect to matters affecting the country as a whole.
Video Federal law enforcement in the United States
Overview
Federal law enforcement authorities have the authority given to them in various sections of the United States Code (USA). Federal law enforcement officials enact a variety of laws, generally only at the federal level. There are exceptions, with some agencies and officials enforcing state and tribal codes. Most are restricted by the US Code to investigate matters explicitly in the federal government's power. Several federal investigative powers have become more widespread in practice, since the passage of the US PATRIOT Act in October 2001.
The Justice Department was previously the largest, and is still the most prominent collection of Federal law enforcement agencies. It has handled most of the law enforcement tasks at the federal level. These include the United States Marshall Service (USMS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Abuse Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and others.
However, at the time of its creation in 2002; in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) became the Department with the most armed Federal officers and law enforcement agencies swearing the most after the merged institutions deemed to have a role in protecting the country from terrorism. These include major bodies such as the US Coast Guard (USCG), the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - which incorporates institutions of former US Border Patrol, United States Customs Services, and the US Department of Agriculture's Animal Health Inspection Service (APHIS) into an institution in DHS.
While most federal law enforcement officials work for the Department of Justice and Homeland Security, there are dozens of other federal law enforcement agencies under other executive departments, as well as under the legislative and judicial branches of the federal government.
Maps Federal law enforcement in the United States
History
Federal law enforcement in the United States is more than two hundred years old. For example, the Postal Check Service may trace its origins back to 1772.
List of agencies and agency units
Source of the article : Wikipedia