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Crime and Punishment in the U.S. The U.S. Secret Service Identification: Federal law-enforcement agency that performs both investigative and protective tasks Date: Founded in 1865 Criminal Justice Issues: Business and financial crime; federal law; investigation Significance: With their dual responsibilities of protecting federal government officials and investigating financial and other federal-government-related crimes, the men and women of the Secret Service are central figures in U.S. law-enforcement work. During the U.S. Civil War, more than seven thousand varieties of paper currency circulated in the United States. Confusion over these currencies allowed counterfeiting to flourish. After the war, the federal government responded after the war by creating the Secret Service to prevent the counterfeiting and dissemination of fake treasury notes and currencies. President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill creating the agency on April 14, 1865--the same day on which he was to be shot by John Wilkes Booth. The new agency fell under the auspices of the Department of the Treasury. Throughout the rest of the nineteenth century, government currency remained in disarray, and money markets were rife with corruption and illicit activity. At one point, every individual state had its own coin and paper currency. Meanwhile, more than one-third of all paper currency in circulation in the United States was believed to be fake. Through its first few decades of operation, the Secret Service shut down hundreds of illegal money operations throughout the country. However, the agency was also required to investigate many cases that fell outside its narrow investigative realm. For example, presidents directed the Secret Service to investigate persons associated with the Teapot Dome scandal during the 1920's, frauds committed by members of the government, and various people who might pose threats to the government and the citizens of the United States. The most frequently targeted groups by the Secret Service were members of groups that exhibited antigovernment sentiment, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Responsibilities The primary investigative responsibility of the Secret Service has been and continues to be counterfeiting and other financial crimes. Along with hundreds of support personnel, special agents are assigned to carry out these investigations. During the early 1980's, Congress began expanding the investigative responsibilities of the Secret Service. The agency's responsibilities now encompass credit card fraud; crimes involving specific types of forgery; fraud stemming from false identification; cybercrime; all crimes relating to U.S. financial institutions; certain crimes relating to terrorism, especially issues of school violence and domestic hate groups; certain types of money laundering; and major identity theft cases. In fact, the Secret Service is the only federal agency that has explicit federal investigative power over identity theft cases. By a tragic irony, President Lincoln was shot the same day that he signed the bill creating the Secret Service, which would later take on the task of protecting presidents. Outraged citizens petitioned Congress to find ways to protect future presidents. However, Congress waited thirty-six years before it responded. Meanwhile, two more presidents would be assassinated: James A. Garfield in 1881 and William McKinley in 1901. In 1906, five years after McKinley's assassination, Congress passed a law giving the Secret Service responsibility for protecting presidents. In 1917, Congress expanded on this protection by making verbal and written threat against presidents and members of their families federal offenses. This law was further broadened in 1951 to protect vice presidents and their families. The protective responsibilities of the twenty-first century Secret Service have grown exponentially. Two divisions of Secret Service personnel are responsible for various protective assignments. The first are special nonuniformed agents who act as personal bodyguards for governmental dignitaries. Many years of guided training are required before agents are assigned to special protective duties. The second division consists of uniformed Secret Service officers who carry out their duties much like regular police officers. Created by President Warren G. Harding in 1922, the uniformed officers provide a visible security presence in places such as the White House, the vice president's residence, buildings in which presidential offices are located, all U.S. Treasury buildings, all foreign embassies in Washington, D.C., and other federal facilities throughout the United States that the president deems necessary to protect. The Secret Service Today The Secret Service now employs approximately 5,000 people in field offices in both the United States and overseas. Approximately 1,200 of these people are uniformed officers assigned to protect federal facilities affiliated with the president, vice president, 170 foreign embassies, and the Treasury Department. Most facilities that these officers are assigned to protect are located in the metropolitan District of Columbia area. An additional 2,100 employees are special agents who are assigned to investigative and protective duties in Washington D.C., throughout the continental United States, and overseas. Special agent are trained for both protective and investigative capacities and are expected to be able to perform the duties and responsibilities of both roles at any time and any place. Paul M. Klenowski Further ReadingMelanson, Philip H., and Peter F. Stevens. The Secret Service: The Hidden History of an Enigmatic Agency. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2002. This work gives the most complete and accurate look at the history of the United States Secret Service. Motto, Carmine J. In Crime's Way: A Generation of Secret Service Adventures. Boca Baton, Fla.: CRC Press, 1999. Firsthand stories by a retired Secret Service agent who specialized in counterfeiting investigations. Petro, Joseph, and Jeffrey Robinson. Standing Next to History: An Agent's Life Inside the Secret Service. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2005. Rich, anecdotal memoir of Petro's twenty-three-year career in the Secret Service, during almost half of which he protected presidents and vice presidents Seidman, David. Secret Service Agents: Life Protecting the President. New York: Rosen, 2003. Part of a series of books on "extreme careers" written for young adults, this book discusses the history and duties of the Secret Service and the education and preparation required for prospective agents. See Also Counterfeiting; Cybercrime; Homeland Security Department; Identity theft; Justice Department, U.S.; Money laundering. |
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