Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is the chief agency that is responsible for investigations on the federal level. The organ is responsible for making investigations where the federal laws, as spelled out in the constitution of the United States, have been violated. The FBI remains at the heart of the nation in ensuring the security of the United States at large and enforcing the law. It uses, collects, and shares intelligence in a bid to keep the nation prepared of the key threats such as terrorism, persistent criminal threats, national security, and the wellness of the nation at large. The mission of the FBI is to protect the people of the United States of America and uphold the constitution of the nation, which makes the body very endearing to every American citizen (Department of Justice, 2014). The FBI is faced with myriad problems regarding the handling of terrorism, containing intelligence reports more effectively, partnering with other agencies, and addressing the evolving crimes which, if solved, would enable the agency to realize its mission in a more fulfilling way.

One of the main reasons why the FBI was established was that there was such a huge identifiable risk of the United States being threatened by some other powers which necessarily were not governments but also terrorist groups.  Therefore, countering terrorism has been one of the major duties that the FBI has been undertaking. The organization is expected to conduct investigations and make use of intelligence collection mechanisms to denote terrorist threats that may be posed by local and international terrorists (Department of Justice, 2014). Over time, the FBI has been witnessed curtailing several terrorist attempts. Their counterterrorism initiatives have been effective and have helped the nation swing into action in case terrorist threats are imminent. Stopping such events from happening has saved so many lives in the United States.

Another duty of the FBI is to protect the United States from being spied on by foreign intelligence organizations. The establishment of the FBI came at a time when there was a loaming and intense distrust among different nations based on the rising levels of espionage between countries. Therefore, the United States wanted to ensure that their intelligence information was not leaked and the only mechanism to ensure so, was to erect a body that would be super effective in counterintelligence and would ensure that no information regarding the management of the affairs of the United States went to different powers that were spying (Department of Justice, 2014). Over their stay, the FBI has been effective in protecting the nation from espionage, with only a few cases being denoted recently.

The FBI is also responsible for protecting the civil rights of the people, some of the basic approaches being ensuring that they are protected from cyber-based attacks and high-technology crimes. The FBI has been of help in apprehending cybercriminals who hide behind technology to extort people or abuse people using technology (Mueller, 2009). Many other cybercrimes, including white-collar crimes, have been managed under the leadership of the FBI, which proves that the organization befits the needs of the advanced world of security.

The FBI is also given any other investigative duty that involves an action whereby the federal law of the United States has been violated. The organization is charged with the duty of handling corruption at all levels. Also, it is expected to combat investigations and present informative details about violent crimes in different areas across the United States. Also, the organ combats transnational criminal gangs and links (Department of Justice, 2014). Therefore, the investigative role of the FBI is in a hefty way, directed towards making investigations and liaising with different departments to ensure that the United States is free of crime, and is a safe haven for its inhabitants.

Based on the duties and responsibilities that are placed upon the FBI, the organization is faced with scores of challenges. One of the basic challenges facing the agency is that its quest to handle terrorist networks requires going beyond the borders of the nation. Handling international terrorists has been an issue facing the FBI for quite a while and has affected the way that the organization faces terrorist networks who risk the lives of millions of the citizens of the United States (Mueller, 2009). Arresting and charging terrorists beyond the borders has been a heavy task for the FBI and has made them almost to be considered ineffective in some way. Also, though the FBI has been effective in the management of intelligence information in the country, there is still a feeling that information has been leaking in such an effective way to the people who are not authorized. In most instances, improper handling of intelligence has led to the destruction of evidence by the interested parties and even concealing of terrorist networks to the extent that the law enforcement cannot handle the problems as effectively as expected.

Another issue that has been noted with the FBI is that the unit does not have those solid relationships with other departments. Reportedly, the FBI is seen as a superior organ. Based on this notion, the organization has been seen working alone, sometimes infringing on the jurisdiction of some other departments such as the local homeland police (Horowitz, 2018). More partnerships with other departments are necessary if at all, the FBI will be more transformative, and minor collisions with other departments will offer convenience to the agency.

Lastly, a substantial challenge that faces the FBI and affects the way that the agency operates is the changing face of crime. The FBI was founded ideally to face some traditional crimes such as hate, rapes, and murders, which they were outstanding in investigating. However, in modern times, the department has been faced by changing criminal engagements such as the rise of cybercrime and the increase in white-collar crime. These changes, to some extent, have caught the department by surprise, and seemingly, they are hard to investigate and persecute (Mueller, 2009). There are new needs that call for the organization to have a more secure and enhanced technology of solving such crimes.

The problems that face the FBI can, however, be strictly followed and addressed. For instance, the issue of handling terrorists who are beyond the reach of the nation can be realized if the nation seeks to form partnerships with governments of the host countries such that the host nations can help the force to apprehend and stop the operations of the terrorist organizations. Preventatively, the agency may work with the governments where the terrorist groups are located to ensure that they do not just apprehend the current but also prevent future radicalization and recruitment to the extent that the terrorist groups become almost unmanageable.

To handle intelligence more efficiently, the agency will have to develop a structured flow of information, which gives limited access to the information as the hierarchy goes lower. Lower access levels to intelligence explicate lesser chances for pertinent information to get leaked (Department of Justice, 2014). Though this mechanism would make some officers in the FBI to feel sidelined, it is a necessary step that would restore the perfect flow of information in a manner that would not risk the information trickling on to irresponsible quotas. Such measures consequently would allow the agency to follow up cases until the desired results are realized.

To be more effective as an organization and as part of the larger criminal justice system of the United States, the FBI will need to consider the partnerships between it and other agencies (Horowitz, 2018). Whereas the agency may be super useful in making investigations that address many of the security problems faced by the nation, the realization of the goals of the organization would be more galvanized if it worked with other departments such as local homeland police departments. Such an action would make the organization present itself, not as competitive to the other enforcement agencies, but as complementing them, causing them to work closer and better realization of desired results.

Also, the FBI must have a change in perspective. Even when the infrastructure of the agency has been modernized, and they can investigate modern crimes such as cybercrimes and white-collar crimes, the agency must build upon their human capital more effectively to make the workforce realize that advancements in understanding the dynamics of such crimes are necessary (Horowitz, 2018). Equipping the new and established detectives with a clear understanding of how to follow up the modern crimes will be a better way to ensure better litigation of such crimes in the era that they are almost becoming common.

The FBI is a department that has been entrusted with the federal security and investigations of the United States in such an instrumental manner. The department safeguards the nation from terrorist attacks, espionage, public corruption, white-collar crime, and transnational criminal activities. However, the department has been facing problems with handling international terrorists, preventing leakage of intelligence information, forming partnerships with other enforcement agencies, and addressing the changing crimes of the modern-day. Solving these problems using the provided solutions in the text will make the agency more effective in protecting the people of the United States.

References

Department of Justice. (2014). The organization, Mission, and Functions Manual: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/jmd/organization-mission-and-functions-manual-federal-bureau-investigation

Horowitz, M. (2018). Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Department of Justice. Department of Justice. Retrieved from, https://oig.justice.gov/challenges/2018.pdf

Mueller, R. (2009). Statement before the House Judiciary Committee Washington, DC. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved from https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/testimony/fbi-priorities-changes-and-challenges