A Glimpse Into 30,000 Federal Officers and Agents Across 65 Agencies
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The prompt for this round of the FEDforum is: What is a day in the life for a member of your organization?This week, hear from Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA).
FLEOA is proud to represent over 30,000 federal law enforcement officers and agents across 65 federal agencies. Federal law enforcement work in every corner of our nation and the world. Here is a glimpse into the lives of a few:
Environmental Protect Agency Criminal Investigations Division
The Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigations Division (EPA CID) is a unique cadre of special agents trained in protecting our environment, specifically our nation’s air, land, and water resources. While the EPA enforces a wide range of environmental violations, CID is brought in to address the most egregious and deliberate allegations of criminal activity that often undermine public health and wellbeing as well.
EPA CID agents conduct both long-term and short-term investigations into environmental abuse. CID agents are full-fledged law enforcement officers with arrest authority to investigate and apprehend suspects. These agents spend their days combing through records, testing water samples, and reviewing company activity to ensure laws are enforced. CID agents work with law enforcement organizations at all levels to provide specific expertise in environmental crimes. CID combines investigative expertise with the legal knowledge and the science and technical understanding to bring cases to prosecution.
For a closer look at one EPA CID Special Agent’s day on the job, watch this video: Andrea Abat: Special Agent for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - YouTube
Homeland Security Investigations
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents are the primary investigative agents of the Department of Homeland Security. They are responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats against the U.S. Agents work to combat criminal organizations that exploit international trade, travel, and finance. Today, there are more than 7,000 HSI Special Agents are stationed across 225 cities and work closely with more than 2,800 task force officers from other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. HSI also has the largest international footprint of any U.S. law enforcement agency.
For an inside look in one HSI agents work as an undercover agent, check out this video: Day in the Life: HSI Special Agent Aegeda Fountaine - YouTube
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
A critical component of federal law enforcement includes safeguarding our nation’s national treasures. At the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, officers work to protect wildlife and plant resources through the effective enforcement of federal laws. Officers sometimes lives on national refuges patrolling the areas to ensure wildlife is protected while visiting members of the public enjoy the scenery. These officers make sure the area is being appreciated and visitors fishing or hunting are following proper protocols. When patrolling these large areas, officers use tools like camouflage cameras to ensure the area is safe even when they’re not around.
Officers work closely with other federal agencies as well as state, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement partners to prevent the spread of invasive species, recover and conserve endangered species, and combat wildlife trafficking.
The law enforcement arm of the Fish and Wildlife Service includes over 261 special agent and some 140 wildlife inspectors who report through eight regional wildlife offices. These law enforcement officers are also dedicated to educating the public – the Office of Law Enforcement maintains a National Wildlife Property Repository, which supplies abandoned and forfeited wildlife items to schools, universities, museums, and non-government organizations for public education. The Office also operates the National Eagle Repository, which meets the needs of Native Americans for eagles and eagle feathers for religious use.
This column from Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) is part of the FEDforum, an initiative to unite voices across the federal community. The FEDforum is a space for federal employee and law enforcement groups to share their organizations’ initiatives and activities with the FEDagent audience.
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