Role of the FBI in the United States Criminal Justice System - Research Paper Example

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Teacher               The Federal Bureau of Investigation According to FBI.gov, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the FBI, is an “intelligence-driven, threat-focused national security and law enforcement organization” (“Overview,” 2012). Since 1908 up to the present, the FBI has handled countless investigations on criminal cases that threatened federal law and national security. The FBI’s mission begins with the definition of heir organization as stated above.

Specifically, the FBI seeks to protect the United States against threats from terrorists and other foreign organizations bent on either violating the rights of the country or disrupting national peace through crimes. Moreover, the FBI may also conduct investigations abroad but only if possible and if permitted by the government of the country in which it will conduct its investigation. The main concern of the FBI and the core of its mission is providing “criminal justice services to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies and partners” (“Overview,” 2012).

This means that the role of the FBI encompasses and overlaps that of any law enforcement agency of the United States provided such a case is of a federal or national concern.The history of FBI began in July 1908 when then Attorney General Charles Bonaparte called for a small group of investigators that will report directly to the Department of Justice. This small group became known as the Bureau of Investigation or the BOI, and the first types of cases handled by the BOI included land fraud, copyright violations, prostitution, auto theft and other less serious crimes.

In World War I, President Woodrow Wilson ordered the BOI to include among its tasks he investigations of possible espionage, sedition and sabotage. In 1924, when the BOI was under Director John Edgar Hoover, there was intensive demand for strict professionalism within the organization and this system of discipline has been implemented until now. In 1935, the BOI was renamed as the Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI, and it was then that its tasks included the investigation of kidnapping cases and the new provision provided for FBI officials to carry weapons and make arrests.

In the 1950s, the FBI became very active in the suppression and control of riots and organized crimes during the Civil Rights Movement. However, it was only in 1995, after the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, that the FBI began its work against domestic and international terrorism for the purpose of national security of the United States. In December 2004, the DI or Directorate of Intelligence was established as an organization to monitor and synchronize collection, dessimination and investigation tasks of the FBI (“Overview,” 2012).

Despite the wide range of tasks that the FBI conducts, it still differs from the police or the local law enforcement units. One of the differences is that while the FBI handles interstate and federal cases that involve the welfare of the United States as a whole, police work mainly focus on local cases that involve only the state at most. Secondly, the police help prevent he crime, protect the innocent and do minor detective work on local cases, while the FBI does not function as a preventive unit for the local government unit.

Police are preventive such as the Postal Police, the Coast Guard, the MTA Police, and the Park Police. Thirdly, major cases are usually handled by the FBI especially those that threaten national security such as a plague or virus, terrorists or even serial killers that move from one state to another. Fourthly, although the police may do dangerous and specialized tasks like those done by the bomb squad units, cyber crime investigators, homicide investigators, and other specialized police units, the fact remains that the FBI arrives at the scene only if the situation becomes a matter of national concern or if the victims are from another state or another country.

The differences between the FBI and the police, however, do not prevent them from providing each other with technical assistance whenever it is needed. For example, the FBI could always provide the police with the former’s highly sophisticated laboratory facilities if a more in-depth investigation of a local crime is needed (“Difference Between,” 2012).References“Difference Between FBI and Police.” (2012). Retrieved June 7, 2012 from the DifferenceBetween.net: http://www.differencebetween.

net/miscellaneous/difference-between-fbi-and-police/“Overview.” (2012). Retrieved June 6, 2012 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov/