The Federal Enforcement Hiring Process in the United States
| Date | 01 July 1985 |
| Published date | 01 July 1985 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8505800308 |
| Author | Donald A. Torres |
| Subject Matter | Article |
DONALD A. TORRES, Ph.D.*
THE
FEDERAL
ENFORCEMENT
HIRING
PROCESS IN THE
UNITED STATES
Introduction
The federal government structure is composed of various segments
from the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Within this
diverse federal structure there are various agencies
that
do possess
investigative powers; protect life and property; perform general
police duties; or have all three responsibilities depending on the
duties assigned to them under federal law. Some agencies have
armed special agents or investigators who are concerned with
specific criminal violations; there are others who investigate
criminal violations and illegal activities, but do not carry firearms
or arrest defendants; there are still others who are uniformed and
are armed, who perform police related inquiries and public safety
duties, but do little in the investigative field; and there are some
federal agencies who have
both
an investigator branch for certain
violations and a uniformed segment performing law enforcement
functions.
The federal investigative field is difficult to understand because
there are so many different agencies with law enforcement or
investigative powers, each with their own bailiwick or jurisdiction.
Each federal agency does not have a separate investigative force.
However, most agencies have individuals who do preliminary
investigations
and
refer violations to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) or another investigative agency. The FBI is the
authorized investigative
arm
of the United States Department of
Justice and is responsible for investigating over 200 crimes under
federal statutes (Attorney General, 1982).There are approximately
633 agencies at the federal level with "investigatory," enforcement,
or arrest powers.
It
is clear
that
those not working with or having frequent contact
with a specific federal agency, including police officers, possess little
knowledge concerning how, or the criteria, to be a federal
*Dr. Donald A. Torres is a professor in the Department of Law, Police
Science
and Criminal Justice Administration, John Jay
College
of
CriminalJustice, the City University of NewYork, NewYork City. He has
a B.S. degree in Law Enforcement from Metropolitan State
College,
Denver;
a M.A.
degree
in Criminal Justice from John Jay
College
of
Criminal Justice; and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Fordham University,
Bronx, New York City. He is the author of
several
books and has had
numerous articles published in variouscriminal justicejournals.
July 1985 243
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