FBI - what is and does it exactly?

[Sarxus]

Ok, this might come off as weird, but this actually bugs me since quite a time, so here's the thing: At the moment, I'm quite interested in the topic FBI. It's something presumably everyone knows and everyone has a rough imagination of. It plays a role and is portrayed in lots of american crime series, movies etc. And yeah, to be honest, that is also where my interest in this topic comes from. But I'm interested in learning more about the FBI in reality, of course. I pose the following questions in this board because from what I know, there are many users here from the USA who can maybe tell something more. I'm from Germany and here it's actually difficult to gather useful information about the FBI.

So, what I'm interested in is basically: What exactly does the FBI, or better: When exactly does the FBI investigate in a crime issue and not other police authorities? I researched for this on the internet, but I hardly found something. Let's take New York City as an example: I read that crime issues like bank robberies fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI. So, let's say there's a bank robbery in New York City, why would the FBI investigate and not the NYPD? Or do they both investigate and work together? And if only the FBI investigates in such issues, what is the purpose then of a local police authority such as the NYPD? Is it only responsible for "smaller" issues like, say, domestic violence, theft etc.?

Then I also read that the FBI is responsible for fighting terrorism and that it conducts espionage, surveillance etc. Is that true? Because I would have thought that those matters belong to the CIA as the USA's secret service. Actually this would lead to another field of questions, because frankly I also have no real clue what the CIA exactly is and how it does work exactly. I'm interested in this too, but maybe we stick to the FBI in the first place. But perhaps someone could also explain the difference between FBI and CIA regarding their fields of investigation if both, as it seems to be the case, deal with terrorism etc.

I guess I kinda expose a serious lack of knowledge concerning this things, but well, here in Germany this is not quite what is taught to you. And that's why I'm here after all, in order to gain more information and to eventually know more about it than television is telling As I said already, I especially hope for someone from the USA who could shed some light on this matter, but of course everyone who knows more about this is invited to comment. I'm looking forward to reading some interesting and informative answers

 

[Chaos Descending]

The FBI is the FEDERAL Bureau of Investigation. It's basically the United States' general NATIONAL LEVEL police force, although the Federal government of the United States also has some other dedicated "police" agencies that operate within specific spheres of influence.

It is responsible (mostly) for crimes against Federal Law (as opposed to State Law) and crimes that occur across multiple states (I might be wrong on this count though).

 

[Chaos Descending]

The FBI is kind of like the USA's version of the Bundespolizei and the CIA is kind of like the USA's version of the Bundesnachrichtendienst.

 

[Christopher]

As stated, the FBI is for federal/nationwide crimes instead of state or local ones. Since the US is a federation (essentially) of 50 distinct states, each state has its own government and law enforcement, while the federal government is responsible for the stuff that transcends any one state. The FBI gets involved in local cases if they have aspects that are of interstate or federal concern.

As for bank robbery:

https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/bank-robbery

The FBI has had a primary role in bank robbery investigations since the 1930s, when John Dillinger and his gang were robbing banks and capturing the public’s imagination. In 1934, it became a federal crime to rob any national bank or state member bank of the Federal Reserve System. The law soon expanded to include bank burglary, larceny, and similar crimes, with jurisdiction delegated to the FBI. Today the Bureau, while continuing to provide assistance to state and local partners investigating bank robberies, focuses its investigative resources on those suspects who post the greatest safety threats to the public, including the most violent and/or the most prolific serial offenders who often cross jurisdictional boundaries.

More on what the FBI investigates: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate

Then I also read that the FBI is responsible for fighting terrorism and that it conducts espionage, surveillance etc. Is that true? Because I would have thought that those matters belong to the CIA as the USA's secret service.

The FBI is responsible for domestic law enforcement, and for coordinating with overseas law enforcement agencies. The CIA, conversely, mostly operates abroad and is focused on intelligence gathering rather than having law enforcement authority. So they have complementary roles in fighting terrorism and other crimes. Fiction tends to treat them as interchangeable, but their responsibilities and authority are quite different.

The Secret Service's name is misleading. It was originally founded to fight the rampant counterfeiting after the US Civil War, and though it grew into a domestic intelligence agency, most of that work has been taken over by other agencies, so it's mainly responsible for dealing with financial crimes and its better-known role of providing security for the president, vice president, and their families.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service

 

[Sarxus]

Thanks lot to both of you @Chaos Descending and @Christopher. This is really interesting and helpful, especially also the web links. I think I get a better imagination from this.

Here's another question on that topic: I also had bought myself the book "Enemies: A History of the FBI" written by the US author Tim Weiner, maybe you know it. I read the german version, so I don't know if I translate this precisely, but in this book it's basically said the the FBI is, until nowadays, "without authentification by law". I don't understand this, to be honest. I mean, the FBI is an official agency one can work for (if fulfilling the requirements of course), isn't it? How could it not be authenticated by law?

On a side note concerning this book: I have read the first chapters so far. It's not bad, but it's not really what I expected. It basically tells, as the title gives it away, the history of the FBI. This is actually interesting, especially from my point of view as a history student. But so far, the book doesn't really explain the FBI and how exactly it works today (so precisely the things I had asked in this thread), so I think it lacks basic information about its topic. Plus, it's very tendentious, portraying the FBI in a rather bad light. I'm not gonna say there are no reasons for that, but when I want to inform myself about a certain topic, I prefer a neutral point of view. So the book doesn't really seem to serve my purpose, but I think I'll read through it nonetheless.

 

[J.T.B.]

Good information above. It might be helpful to remember that the US is 50 different systems of state laws, and most criminal laws are state laws. In the 1800s there were few federal crimes, and they mostly involved taxes and the monetary system (like counterfeiting as Christopher mentioned). The other federal law enforcement officials were US marshals, most notably in the territories that were not states, but their authority was limited to the jurisdiction of the federal court they worked for.

When the railroads and automobiles made it easy to move between states, crime also began to move easily between states. A bank robber or bootlegger in a fast car could duck over the state line but the sheriff had to stop. This became a big public concern in the days of Prohibition as organized crime became more of a factor.

The tiny Federal law enforcement agencies that existed began to coordinate and eventually became the FBI in the 1930s. Of course, it was dominated by Director Hoover. He emphasized that it would be a new kind of law enforcement agency: Professional, all college-educated, with the highest standards of ethics and accountability. This was at a time when local police departments were often staffed by relatives and cronies, and corruption was common. Justice Department standards found their way into Federal law, as did the list of crimes that could be prosecuted by the Federal government.

So the FBI had great PR and was seen by the public for many years as a sort of nationwide super-force of investigators who would take on criminals and bad cops and corrupt public officials alike. What later came out was that Hoover had also used the agency for less savory ends: To gather dirt on people to be used to secure his personal position and power in Washington.

Trivia: One of the earliest examples of inter-state law enforcement in the US were the police powers given to railroad companies, whose property and business crossed many states. One of the most highly-respected of the railroad police agencies was that of the Union Pacific, and Hoover borrowed their title of "special agent."

 

[Owain Taggart]

To use James Bond as an example, he belongs to MI6 and they have international interests, but at the same time there's MI5 which deals with internal country matters. The FBI is more like MI5, whie the CIA is more like MI6 with its international concerns. You'll often see Bond interact with the CIA, but hardly the FBI unless a very specific situation requires it. In certain cases, both the CIA and FBI will work together, same with M15 and MI6.

If you go back far enough to the times of the Old West, you'll often hear stories about the Pinkertons which were more or less the precursors to the FBI, and surprisingly they're still around as a private security firm.

 

[Sarxus]

To use James Bond as an example, he belongs to MI6 and they have international interests, but at the same time there's MI5 which deals with internal country matters. The FBI is more like MI5, whie the CIA is more like MI6 with its international concerns. You'll often see Bond interact with the CIA, but hardly the FBI unless a very specific situation requires it. In certain cases, both the CIA and FBI will work together, same with M15 and MI6.

If you go back far enough to the times of the Old West, you'll often hear stories about the Pinkertons which were more or less the precursors to the FBI, and surprisingly they're still around as a private security firm.

Thanks a lot for this interesting thought. Fun fact: I am currently re-watching all James Bond-movies, so your comparison is quite plausible

 

[Sgt_G]

Allegedly, the CIA is legally forbidden from conduction operations inside the USA. The CIA's main mission is to conduct intelligence operations (aka spying) on foreign adversaries. One of the things the FBI is responsible for is counter-intelligence to protect the nation's interests against espionage and sabotage from foreign and domestic sources. Both the FBI and CIA have anti-terrorists missions and thus may work together from time to time.