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Federal Bureau of Investigation facts for kids

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FBISeal
The seal of the FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is an agency of the United States Government. It investigates crime across the country. It is dedicated to national security and law enforcement. The Bureau of Investigation was founded in 1908. It was renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI for short, in 1935. J. Edgar Hoover was the Director of the Bureau from its start, and continued as Director of the FBI until his death in 1972. Although the FBI work worldwide, their headquarters is in Washington DC. They have 56 main offices in cities throughout the United States.

History

In 1896, the National Bureau of Criminal Identification was founded, providing agencies across the country with information to identify known criminals. The 1901 assassination of President William McKinley created a perception that the United States was under threat from anarchists. The Departments of Justice and Labor had been keeping records on anarchists for years, but President Theodore Roosevelt wanted more power to monitor them.

The Justice Department had been tasked with the regulation of interstate commerce since 1887, though it lacked the staff to do so. It had made little effort to relieve its staff shortage until the Oregon land fraud scandal at the turn of the 20th century. President Roosevelt instructed Attorney General Charles Bonaparte to organize an autonomous investigative service that would report only to the Attorney General.

Bonaparte contacted other agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service, for personnel, investigators in particular. On May 27, 1908, Congress forbade this use of Treasury employees by the Justice Department, citing fears that the new agency would serve as a secret police department. Again at Roosevelt's urging, Bonaparte moved to organize a formal Bureau of Investigation, which would then have its own staff of special agents.

The Bureau of Investigation (BOI) was created on July 26, 1908. Attorney General Bonaparte, using Department of Justice expense funds, hired thirty-four people, including some veterans of the Secret Service, to work for a new investigative agency. Its first "chief" (the title is now "director") was Stanley Finch. Bonaparte notified the Congress of these actions in December 1908.

The bureau's first official task was visiting and making surveys of the houses of prostitution in preparation for enforcing the "White Slave Traffic Act" or Mann Act, passed on June 25, 1910. In 1932, the bureau was renamed the United States Bureau of Investigation.

The following year, 1933, the BOI was linked to the Bureau of Prohibition and rechristened the Division of Investigation (DOI); it became an independent service within the Department of Justice in 1935. In the same year, its name was officially changed from the Division of Investigation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Mission and priorities

Fbi mobile command center 2
FBI Mobile Command Center, Washington Field Office

The FBI's mission is to protect the USA and maintain justice. They do this in many ways:

  • They protect the United States from terrorist attacks.
  • They protect the United States against foreign intelligence operations and espionage.
  • They protect the United States against cyber-based attacks and high-technology crimes like hacking.
  • They protect civil rights.
  • They combat all national and international criminal organizations.
  • They combat major white-collar crime and fraud.
  • They combat important violent crime.
  • They also support international partners.

Organization

Organizational structure

FBI organizational chart - 2014
Organization chart for the FBI as of July 15, 2014

The FBI is organized into branches and the Office of the Director. This office contains most administrative offices. An executive assistant director manages each branch. Each branch is then divided into offices and divisions. Each division is headed by an assistant director. The various divisions are further divided into sub-branches. Each sub-branch is led by deputy assistant directors. Within these sub-branches there are various sections headed by section chiefs. Section chiefs are ranked analogous to special agents in charge.

Four of the branches report to the deputy director while two report to the associate director. The functions branches of the FBI are:

  • FBI Intelligence Branch
  • FBI National Security Branch
  • FBI Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch
  • FBI Science and Technology Branch
  • FBI Information and Technology Branch
  • FBI Human Resources Branch

FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit

The FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit (FCNU) is a 24/7 operational response to crisis and to negotiate person(s) who are threatening to commit suicide or other harmful situations after a crime has been committed. The FBI's lead negotiator contacts the person(s) involved, with a hard-wire phone line to communicate with the person(s) to try convincing them to give themselves up to local police who are on stand-by.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: FBI para niños

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