The FBI has been turned “on its head” since its establishment in 1903 after the assassination of
President McKinley in 1901. At its beginning, the FBI primarily targeted crime in large cities,
while now employing 35,000 special agents, support professionals as intelligence analysts,
language, scientists, and information technology specialists.
Since World War II we added many intelligence agencies around the world but few knew until recently
that the FBI is worldwide today. The FBI’s largest presence is at its headquarters in Washington
DC, 56 field offices in our largest cities and more than 350 satellite offices called resident
agencies in cities and towns across America and more than 60 international offices called legal
attachés. Many of the FBI’s responsibilities and priorities stack up with a number of other
enforcement and intelligence agencies. Of the current eight main FBI priorities, the top three are
military applications rather than crime fighting in nature. Their fourth priority is to combat
public corruption. This seems empty to me as I cannot recall one successful case brought by them.
The fifth priority is social rather than criminal, while the 6th is geared to international
activities. Major white-collar crime is number seven which requires the Justice Department to
intervene. However, it is limited to “Health Care Fraud Prevention Enforcement Action Team (HEAT)
raids conducted with state Medicaid Fraud Control Units who target suspect Medicare fraud gangs in
nine designated large cities now mainly over the Internet.” (where is the source for this, I’m not
sure it needs quotations, lets discuss.) The heirs last priority is the FBI’s “back to the future”
list, combats significant violent crime is their last priority!
1. Protect the United States from terrorist attack.
2. Protect the United States against foreign intelligence operations and espionage.
3. Protect the United States against cyber-based attacks and high-technology crimes.
4. Combat public corruption at all levels.
5. Protect civil rights.
6. Combat transnational/national criminal organizations and enterprises.
7. Combat major white-collar crime.
8. Combat significant violent crime.