Federal Bureau of Investigation. Why is the FBI needed in America, what are their functions? Description of the activities of the Federal Bureau

Each country has its own law enforcement agencies. Their work is aimed at protecting the rights and freedoms of citizens, solving crimes, combating offenses, protecting the territorial integrity of the state, and combating terrorism. The functions of some of them include the organization of counterintelligence and intelligence activities. This array of functions is performed by various services and bodies that have one or another degree of subordination to the government elite. The work of these bodies is necessary, since the level of crime and terrorism today is high in almost all countries of the world, especially in the United States. has always been famous for the presence of a cumbersome bureaucratic apparatus. The founding fathers created a real political machine that has been working for several centuries in a row. For this system to function properly, special departments are needed that will work for the benefit of the state and perform the function of maintaining law and order. Below we will look at one of the most important bodies in the United States, which plays a paramount role in the field of crime fighting and counterintelligence. The name of this structure is the FBI.

General information about the FBI

The decoding of this concept sounds like this: Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is an agency that belongs to the US Department of Justice, but it reports to the Attorney General. The agency is part of the FBI Intelligence Community and is authorized to investigate any violations of federal laws, to ensure national security, as well as the security of the US president. The department also performs many other functions, for example, checking citizens who want to work in government structures, monitoring cyberspace in the United States. This body plays a special role in the fight against organized crime. The FBI has entire departments involved in the introduction of agents into criminal gangs and their operational development. There are a lot of rumors and speculation about the illegal operations of the FBI, but this will be written later. In no case should you identify the CIA and the FBI. The decoding of these names is completely different, as are the functions performed by them.

History of creation. Bureau of Investigation

The organization originates from the Bureau of Investigation founded in 1908. The initiative to create such a body was filed by Attorney General Charles Bonaparte.

He was supported by the then dominant President Theodore Roosevelt. It should be noted that the Bureau of Investigation of 1908 differed in many ways from the modern FBI. The deciphering of the name makes it clear that the current department deals with federal offenses, and the Bureau of Investigation did not have a clear list of functions. Its creation was due to the unstable political situation in the world. The states were on the verge of the First World War, while the activities of the intelligence structures intensified. The Bureau of Investigation was supposed to counter the threat of the spread of foreign agents, as well as provide protection against the spread of communism in the United States. In addition, the Bureau worked to ensure the operation of "prohibition" in the United States.

FBI 1935

Beginning in 1935, an abbreviation appears in the list of US law enforcement agencies. Edward Hoover became the director of the department. From this moment begins a completely new history of the department. The founder of the FBI, Hoover, was a prim and pedantic man.

During his 37 years as head of the department, significant results were achieved in the field of combating organized crime and counterintelligence. The activities of the FBI have in many ways gone beyond the confines of a conventional law enforcement agency. This is evidenced by the amount of authority that special agents received. The activities of the FBI are most clearly visible during the Great Depression in the United States, when there was a large rampant crime in the country. During this period, many criminal bosses, criminals and other representatives of the immoral environment were imprisoned or killed. Among them are John Dillinger, Baby Nelson, Handsome Floyd, etc.

FBI counterintelligence activities

There are many overt and underhand functions performed by the FBI. The fight against crime is not the main task of the department. A more priority branch of activity is counterintelligence. Initially, the counterintelligence function was only to prevent the spread of communism. But after the Second World War, the fight against foreign agents, primarily Soviet ones, became a paramount task.

This FBI is strictly classified, so there are very few exact records. Nevertheless, articles are constantly published in the American press about the detention by FBI agents of a foreign spy of some country.

Structure of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Like any serious law enforcement agency, the FBI has its own internal structure, which includes the following elements:

The main office for the employment of employees.

Office of disciplines.

An office dealing with all public affairs as well as congressional liaison.

Departments of administrative service and counter-terrorism.

KSO (department of criminal investigation).

Inspection Department.

Investigation department.

Department of Homeland Security.

Department of personnel training.

The official name of the agency in the US is FBI. Deciphering the name makes it possible to understand the jurisdiction of the structure, which is distributed throughout the United States. Many people think that the FBI is literally taking over from the police, but this is not true.

The jurisdiction of the police is extended only to the state in which it directly operates, while the FBI operates throughout America. The department is investigating "federal crimes" (kidnapping, bank robbery, terrorism, attempted assassination of senior government officials, etc.).

Illegal activities of the Bureau

Throughout the existence of the FBI, many facts have surfaced about the illegal operations of the agency. Moreover, there were often witnesses. For example, COINTELPRO is the largest illegal operation conducted by the FBI. The decryption of secret data about her led to the publicity of some of the most terrible actions of the employees of the department. According to the facts that have surfaced, under this program, the agents were engaged in a deliberate provocation of some civilian formations with the aim of their further liquidation. There are also many sources that indicate that Edward Hoover himself, as head of the FBI, collaborated with the leaders of the Italian-American mafia families. Many US citizens have repeatedly reported illegal tapping of the phone, tracking Internet traffic. According to some rumors, the FBI wanted to use the Gmail service to control and track emails. To date, there is no reliable information that would confirm the illegal activities of the FBI. The deciphering of materials about the department's involvement in illegal actions was carried out, but the secrecy stamp was not completely removed from them. Thus, it is very difficult to establish the agency's involvement. Perhaps the US government completely covers this law enforcement structure, the activities of which are in its favor.

FBI Academy

In order for the department to be constantly replenished with qualified personnel, a special FBI academy was created in 1972, located at the base of the United States Navy.

Training centers are equipped with the latest technology. There is also a specially built city that serves as a training ground for working out the actions of special agents in different situations. In this academy, advanced training courses are held, and new, “young” agents are trained for the FBI department. Decryption or storage of any secret data is not performed here, since this is a purely training base. Therefore, employees of foreign law enforcement agencies are invited here to exchange experience.

Conclusion

So, we have examined in detail one of the most important structures in the US law enforcement system - the FBI. Deciphering the abbreviation gave us the opportunity to understand the functions that this department performs. In general, it should be said that the FBI is the best example of the organization of a federal agency whose jurisdiction extends to the territory of the entire state. Other countries with a federal territorial system should take the example of the United States of America as a basis.

FBI structure

The available open sources make it possible to fairly accurately recreate the internal structure of this organization, tirelessly standing guard over American democracy.

The director of the FBI is appointed to his post by the President of the United States, while his candidacy is confirmed by the Senate. John Edgar Hoover's record of 48 years in office is likely to never be surpassed, as directorship is currently limited to 10 years. The current director of the FBI is Robert Mueller.

Unlike the CIA, the FBI director has only one deputy who replaces his boss in the event of his absence, illness, etc., and also helps him in managing the daily activities of the Bureau's units (with the exception of those that report directly to the director). Until recently, this position was held by Thomas Pickard (from June 25 to September 4, 2001, he served as acting director of the FBI). However, literally at the last moment before the publication of this book, his resignation was officially announced, coming at the end of November 2001.

In addition, the top leadership of the Bureau includes 14 assistant directors of the FBI. 11 of them head the FBI departments, the remaining three are the heads of the largest offices - in Washington, New York and Los Angeles.

The most important issues of the FBI are considered and decided at the meeting of the executive conference, which is convened, as a rule, once every two months.

The FBI is headquartered in Washington DC. In addition, there are also 56 regional (literally translated - “field”) offices in the United States (plus an office in Puerto Rico) and about 400 FBI offices. The largest of them, New York, has 2,000 employees, including 1,100 special agents. In 24 US cities there are special units to combat organized crime.

The main part of the FBI structure is made up of 11 departments:

Inspection Department. Reported directly to the Director of the FBI. He oversees all operational and support units of the Bureau, including regional offices, checking their compliance with US laws and FBI internal guidelines, the economy and reasonableness of the use of financial resources. Also monitors the observance of discipline by the employees of the Bureau and their professional suitability. When necessary, conducts disciplinary checks and internal investigations.

Office for Combating Terrorism. Despite the fact that the functions of the lead agency for combating terrorism in the United States were assigned to the FBI back in 1982, an independent department dealing with these issues was created quite recently, having separated from the National Security Department as part of a reorganization carried out by FBI Director Louis Free. Its creation was announced on November 11, 1999, and actual activity began in mid-December of the same year.

The Directorate includes two operational units, the first of which deals with the investigation of cases related to international, and the second - with domestic terrorism. In addition, the management includes:

National Department of Home Protection (National Domestic Preparedness Office). An approximate analogue of our Civil Defense. Coordinates all U.S. federal, state, and local government efforts related to preparing to protect the public in both conventional and WMD incidents.

National Infrastructure Protection Center. Its tasks include:

· identify cases of illegal use of computers and information technologies that threaten the security of US infrastructure, warn the relevant authorities about this, stop them and investigate them;

Investigate cases related to hackers;

· assist in the investigation of cases related to the fight against terrorism and foreign counterintelligence, and at the same time related to the illegal use of computers;

· warn national security officials of cases where an attempt to break into US infrastructure is not an ordinary criminal offense, but a computer attack organized from abroad against the United States;

· coordinate the training of investigators from public and private structures involved in the investigation of computer crimes.

National Security Directorate (until 1994 - Counterintelligence Directorate). Coordinates investigations related to countering foreign intelligence. He is also responsible for the internal security of the FBI.

The main part of the department consists of four departments. Three of them organize and coordinate US-wide "development" of foreign agencies and their personnel in order to identify intelligence officers and individuals from among Americans and citizens of other countries suspected of having links with foreign intelligence agencies.

The Fourth Division maintains contacts on counterintelligence issues with the police, the CIA and other US government departments, as well as with the police and intelligence agencies of other countries. The department has a special section that manages the activities of FBI representatives in US embassies around the world. Counterintelligence issues outside the United States are usually handled by the FBI with the help of the CIA.

Department of Criminal Investigations. Investigates criminal offenses classified under US law as federal. First of all, these are especially dangerous crimes against the life and health of citizens, committed under aggravating circumstances, bank robberies, crimes in air, sea and railway transport, fraudulent actions or extortion using state documents, seals, names of federal departments, etc. , violation of laws on the acquisition, storage and use of firearms and edged weapons.

Another group of offenses, the investigation of which falls within the competence of the department, are the so-called "white-collar crimes": misappropriation and embezzlement of federal funds, including the use of computers for these purposes, misappropriation of federal funds through abuse of benefits and privileges provided by law, abuse of office for profit , bribery, infringement of copyrights and patent warranties, unfounded claims to US citizenship and illegal acquisition of a US passport or entry visa, etc.

In the structure of the Criminal Investigation Department there is a department for combating organized crime, which, in particular, deals with the fight against racketeering, the detection of crimes in the field of gambling and lotteries, the suppression of bribery and bribes in sports, etc. It is this department that the above-mentioned special organized crime units in 24 American cities. The department organizes interaction in the fight against organized crime of all federal services, as well as law enforcement agencies of the states. The direct search and detention of criminals is carried out by the peripheral departments of the FBI in contact with the state police. The same department is entrusted with the control over the activities of the search and their coordination, as well as the preparation of orientations for the organization of the search.

Office of Investigative Services Division. Established in late 1999 as part of a reorganization by Bureau Director Louis Freeh to include units formerly part of the Office of National Security and Criminal Investigation, such as the International Operations Branch and the Strategic Operations Information Center (Strategic Information Operations Center).

The Office of Investigative Services is called upon to eliminate disunity in the actions of the FBI structures. It is planned that information obtained by various departments will flow into it. In addition, it coordinates the international activities of the FBI.

The department also includes the Critical Incident Response Group, established in 1995, designed to coordinate efforts to resolve crisis situations, primarily related to acts of terrorism.

Department of information services on criminal offenses. Located in the small town of Clarksburg, West Virginia. It is engaged in the centralized collection and storage of all information on criminal offenses coming not only from the FBI units, but also from local police structures, as well as other departments, both at the federal level and subordinate to the authorities of individual states. The department manages the dossiers collected by the FBI, as well as a centralized fingerprint file.

In addition, the department is engaged in the collection and processing of criminal statistics. Each year, it publishes public statistical collections that detail the level of crime in the United States and its dynamics, broken down by type of crime, the states in which they are committed, the social, racial, age of the perpetrators, as well as the success of American law enforcement. bodies - the number of solved crimes, arrested and convicted criminals, etc.

Information Resources Department. This division is in charge of the information systems of the FBI, which provide a centralized collection, processing and use of information, as well as the technical infrastructure necessary for their operation.

Office of Administrative Services (until 1999 - Office of Personnel). Has 870 employees (summer 1998). Manages all issues related to the selection and placement of personnel, recruiting new employees, etc.

The department also includes a special inspection department. Its main task is to verify persons appointed to positions in the White House, the US Congress, the Department of Justice and the FBI itself, related to access to state secrets.

In addition, the department deals with medical care, social security and pensions for FBI employees, as well as their safety.

Financial management. Oversees all financial activities of the FBI.

Laboratory management. In 1997, construction began on a new laboratory on the grounds of the FBI Academy at Quantico to replace the old one at FBI Headquarters. Construction, for which 130 million dollars were allocated, was completed in the summer of 2000. The FBI's new lab is one of the largest and best-equipped crime labs in the world.

Educational management. Located in Quantico, Virginia, home of the FBI Academy. In addition to the Academy itself, he manages all the educational and training programs of the Bureau.

In addition to departments, the FBI structure includes:

Office of the General Counsel. Reported directly to the Director of the FBI. He is a legal adviser to the director and other heads of the Bureau. Monitors FBI compliance with the Constitution and laws, the criminal code, and applicable rules and regulations.

Department of Professional Responsibility. Investigates crimes and serious offenses committed by the FBI. In addition, it makes decisions on the facts of violation of discipline revealed during the investigations. Works in close cooperation with the Inspection Department.

Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Affairs. The brainchild of the notorious "political correctness", this department ensures that there is no discrimination in hiring and promotion in the FBI: on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender or age, and female employees are not subjected to "sexual harassment" by colleagues.

Today, in many memoirs and works of historians, the Soviet state security agencies are criticized for the fact that often candidates for senior positions were selected there not according to the criteria of professional competence, but according to the principle of political literacy. If this was indeed the case, then such a practice certainly deserves reproach. However, one should hardly consider the best system for the selection and promotion of personnel, where almost the main criterion is belonging to the female sex or the Negroid race. As they say, everyone goes crazy in their own way.

Department of Public and Congressional Affairs. Responsible for working with the legislature, the media, and the general public.

Although the scope of the FBI is mainly limited to the United States, the Bureau also has numerous offices in foreign countries, the network of which is constantly expanding. If in 1996 the FBI had its representatives-attaches in 23 states, today there are already more than 40 such representative offices, including the FBI representative office in Moscow, opened on July 4, 1994.

Unlike most other American intelligence agencies, the FBI's budget is not classified. So, in the 2001 financial year (that is, for the period from October 1, 2000 to September 30, 2001), it amounted to 3.57 billion dollars. This figure is more than one and a half times higher than the 1995 budget, which was equal to 2.2 billion dollars.

Along with the sharp increase in funding that has been observed in recent years, the number of staff of the Office is also growing. If in 1995 the FBI employed 22,000 employees, including 10,000 operatives, by the end of 2000 their total number had increased to 28,000, and the number of operatives to 11,400. FBI operatives are traditionally called "special agents." This term was borrowed from the United States Secret Service, a group of employees of which at one time formed the backbone of the newly created Bureau of Investigation - the current FBI.

The FBI has an academy in Quantico, Virginia as a training center for training its personnel. The FBI Academy was opened in 1972. Prior to its creation, FBI officers were trained at courses located near Washington.

The term of study at the Academy is 11 weeks; students admitted to it must already have a higher education. During the year, four streams of students pass through the Academy. About 1,000 FBI employees and up to 120 students from other, primarily Latin American, states become graduates of the Academy every year, the training of which is carried out within the framework of the FBI's international cooperation. In addition, training for local US police services is organized at its base.

The training program for special agents is very intensive and includes approximately 700 hours of training devoted to both theoretical disciplines and classes in firearms and physical training. In addition, ideological work is also carried out with the students of the Academy. Of course, they are not taught the basics of Marxist-Leninist philosophy. Instead, beginning in the summer of 2000, a mandatory Holocaust history course was introduced into their curriculum, which included a visit to the American Holocaust Memorial Museum. According to management, this will help future FBI agents "assess the moral side of their profession."

As for the training of representatives of foreign states, it is conducted not only at the FBI Academy in Quantiko itself, but also at its branches in Budapest (Hungary) and Bangkok (Thailand).

After the liquidation of the Warsaw Pact and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, a political vacuum formed in Eastern Europe. However, as Aristotle rightly noted, nature does not tolerate emptiness, and this vacuum was immediately filled by the United States. Including the secret services. Since the beginning of the 90s, the countries of Eastern Europe and the CIS have become a field of activity for the FBI. The newly opened offices of the FBI began to regularly organize various kinds of "training events" for law enforcement officers in these countries. To give this activity a systematic character, in April 1995, the East European branch of the FBI Academy was opened in Budapest.

The term of study at the branch is 8 weeks, during the year 5 streams of students pass through it. According to the employees of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs who studied there, in general, the learning process cannot be called “a new word in operational-search activity,” especially since the teachers themselves have little idea of ​​the specifics of the countries in which their graduates will work. However, as you know, the main thing in a monastic meal is not food, but soul-saving conversations at the table. So the leadership of the FBI, inviting colleagues from Eastern Europe and the CIS to study, rightly believes that the main thing is not to improve their professional qualifications, but to acquire agents of American influence. And so he does not spare money: in 1996, the US Congress allocated $ 12 million to the FBI for operations in Russia.

Structure of humanity The new order being established on the planet by the Western super-society led by the USA includes the division of humanity into two parts: the West and the Non-West. For the West, integration into a single whole is dominant, for the Non-West -