The Federal Bureau of Investigation's evolution and expanding mission

Growth of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is an investigative agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ) which acts as the security service and domestic intelligence of the U.S., and at the same time functions as the main federal law enforcement organization. Established by congress in 1908, it has always been committed to upholding the nation's criminal laws, defending and protecting it against foreign and terror threats; providing criminal justice and leadership services to municipal, federal, state and international partners; and adhering to the needs of the public as outlined by the U.S. Constitution (DOJ, 2015).

Scope of services provided to the public by the FBI

According to the DOJ (2015), the main priorities of the FBI are to protect the U.S. from terrorism and cyber based attacks, to combat public corruption, to guard against foreign intelligence operations and espionage, and to put a stop to all forms of public corruption. It is also intent on protecting the public's civil rights, combating white collar and violent crime, and utilizing technology for more effective delivery of services. Miller (2008) states it is tasked with the responsibility of conducting professional criminal investigations and intelligence collection to deal with all forms of crime, and to provide relevant and timely criminal justice information to task forces. It provides high quality services in support of national security and, hence, it can be accurately referred to as the lead organization in counter intelligence, counterterrorism, and criminal investigations in the U.S.

Growth of the FBI

In the early 1930s, the FBI, then referred to as the Bureau of Investigation, was primarily concerned with investigating violations of laws in regard to land fraud, espionage, bankruptcy, national banking and antitrust (FBI, 2015). However, after the great depression, it became more publicized for its war against any form of crime and had opened offices in more than 42 cities and employed more than 654 special agents. By 1932 it had established its first technical laboratory. The rise of international crimes in the 1980s also saw an increase in terrorism incidences that prompted the agency to acknowledge counter terrorism as a national priority. The National center for the Analysis of Violent Crime was then created and the FBI expanded its jurisdiction to white collar crime, foreign counterintelligence, and organized crime (FBI, 2015). By 1990, it had strengthened its response to all the crimes and it changed its approach from protection against hostile intelligence agencies to protecting U.S. information and technologies.

Significant changes in the last 25 years

The FBI has undergone immense changes during the last 25 years, most of which can be attributed to the advent of information technology. The FBI (2015) states that by 1995, it had sharpened joint efforts against terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime - and it had also expanded its international presence immensely by 21 new offices overseas. The most profound transformation, however, occurred after September 11 terrorist attacks were launched in 2001 against New York and Washington; and the main focus of the agency changed to intelligence and terrorism related matters. In addition to counter intelligence and counter terrorism becoming its top two investigative priorities; there was a transfer of more than 500 agents from criminal areas to terrorism related activities (DOJ, 2005). It changed into a more intelligence driven and proactive agency that was intent on preventing terrorism activities against the nation and its citizens. Therefore, terrorism threats were responsible for the Bureau's change in mission, the reengineering of the FBI structure, and its newly articulated strategic priorities. In the words of Konrad Motyka, the president of the FBI Agents association, it transformed from being a law enforcement agency with intelligence capabilities to an intelligence agency with responsibilities in domestic law enforcement (FBI, 2015)