To uphold the law through the investigation of violations of federal
criminal law; to protect the U.S. 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 constitution of the U.S.: this is the mission of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The agency now known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation was founded in
1908 when the Attorney General appointed an unnamed force of Special Agents
to be the investigative force of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Before
that time, the DOJ had to borrow Agents from the U.S. Secret Service to
investigate violations of federal criminal laws within its jurisdiction. In
1909, the Special Agent Force was renamed the Bureau of Investigation, and
after a series of name changes, it received its present official name in
1935.
During the early period of the FBIs history, its agents investigated
violations of mainly bankruptcy frauds, antitrust crime, and neutrality
violation. During World War One, the Bureau was given the responsibility of
investigating espionage, sabotage, sedition (resistance against lawful
authority), and draft violations. The passage of the National Motor Vehicle
Theft Act in 1919 further broadened the Bureau's jurisdiction.
After the passage of Prohibition in 1920, the gangster era began, bringing
about a whole new type of crime. Criminals engaged in kidnapping and bank
robbery, which were not federal crimes at that time. This changed in 1932
with the passage of a federal kidnapping statute. In 1934, many other
federal criminal statutes were passed, and Congress gave Special Agents the
authority to make arrests and to carry firearms.
The FBIs size and jurisdiction during the second World War...
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