FBIs Unique Role in the United States Law Enforcement Community Essay

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a unique role in the United States law enforcement community. The FBI is not a national police force, unlike other nations (such as France, Italy, Spain and Columbia) where patrol units and first responders are organized under the national government. The FBI is purely an investigative and intelligence agency and focuses on cross jurisdictional crimes and national security issues. Its stated mission is â€Å"To protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats, to uphold and enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and to provide leadership and criminal justice services to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies and partners† (FBI.gov). To accomplish its mission, the FBI does not have the relative manpower of the national police forces of other nations and even of some local police forces in the United States – the New York City Police Department has an authorize d strength of 37,838 uniformed officers (NYC.gov) whereas the FBI only has 33,652 employees nationwide (of which only 13,412 are special agents) (FBI.gov). Due to this manpower issue, the bureau must focus its limited resources on those areas where there is the most need and where its services will provide the most utility. For this, the FBI creates a strategic plan every five years to identify and prioritize its areas of focus. The FBI’s strategy is developed based on the changing threat environment and other â€Å"drivers† such as global and domestic demographics, economics, foreign policy, technology developments, new laws and the changing role of the state (FBI). The latest strategic plan published in 2004 laid out the following 8 ranked priorities (FBI): 1. Protect ... ...ps, that the FBI should place a greater emphasis on doing so, especially when illicit criminal enterprises are responsible for much of the other crime listed as FBI priorities. Works Cited FBI. (2004). Strategic Plan 2004 – 2009. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/publications/strategicplan/strategicplanfull.pdf FBI.gov. (2010). About Us – Quick Facts. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/quickfacts.htm Jiminez, David, (2010). Week 2 Added Material Mueller, Robert. FBI Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://anchorage.fbi.gov/mission.htm NYC.gov. (2010). Frequently Asked Questions | Police Administration. Retrieved from http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/faq/faq_police.shtml#1 Poteat, Eugene. (2001).The Attack on America’s Intellectual Property: Espionage after the Cold War. Retrieved from http://www.tbp.org/pages/publications/Bent/Features/W01Poteat.pdf