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The Federal Bureau Of Investigation Is The Domestic Intelligence And Security Service Of The United States

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Background The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States, which also serves as the nation’s prime Federal law enforcement organization. The FBI operates under the U.S. Department of Justice. The FBI does many things from leading the U.S. counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal organization, with jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crimes. The first bureau was created in 1896, the National Bureau of Criminal Identification, which provided local police departments across the country to identify known criminals. This quickly changed with the assassination of President McKinley in 1901 by creating a perception that the US was in a major …show more content…

Using Department of Justice expense funds, Attorney General Bonaparte, hired thirty-four people. The first chief (or known as today by the Director) was Stanley Finch. Congress was notified by these actions and approved in December 1908 (“FBI”, 2010). In June 1910, the first official task of the Bureau was making surveys and visiting the houses of prostitution in preparation for enforcing the White Slave Traffic Act (Mann Act). The Mann Act made it illegal for women to be transported across state lines for immoral purposes (prostitution), this gave the bureau the right to investigate non-law-abiding citizens who have eluded the authorities by crossing state lines (“FBI”, 2010). According to the FBI Intelligence Timeline (2010) from 1912 to 1914, the Bureau of Investigation employed around 300 special agents doing various jobs, as well as 300 other office personnel offering support and logistics to field agents (“FBI Intelligence Timeline”). Offices began to be built and placed in many major U.S. cities, with each office being run by a special agent who worked directly with headquarters in D.C. From 1921 to 1933, the bureau was often at odds with a frustrated public. During what were called the "lawless years," many Americans resisted the establishment of Prohibition while others were involved in extremist politics. The Treasury Department, not the Justice Department, had jurisdiction over the unlawful use of intoxicating

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