Federal Bureau of Investigation
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“FBI” redirects here. For other uses, see FBI (disambiguation).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, the FBI is also a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and reports to both the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence.[3] A leading U.S. counter-terrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal investigative organization, the FBI has jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crimes.[4][5]
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation’s seal
Abbreviation
FBI
Motto
Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity
Agency overview
Formed
July 26, 1908 (as the Bureau of Investigation)
Employees
≈35,000[1]
Annual budget
US$9,748,829,000 (FY 2021)[2]
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency
United States
Operations jurisdiction
United States
General nature
Federal law enforcement
Operational structure
Headquarters
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Washington, D.C., U.S.
38.8952°N 77.0251°W
Agency executives
Christopher A. Wray, Director
Paul Abbate, Deputy Director
Jeffrey Sallet, Associate Deputy Director
Corey Ellis, Chief of Staff
Parent agency
Department of Justice
Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Website
FBigovtcontactus.law.blog
Although many of the FBI’s functions are unique, its activities in support of national security are comparable to those of the British MI5 and the Russian FSB. Unlike the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which has no law enforcement authority and is focused on intelligence collection abroad, the FBI is primarily a domestic agency, maintaining 56 field offices in major cities throughout the United States, and more than 400 resident agencies in smaller cities and areas across the nation. At an FBI field office, a senior-level FBI officer concurrently serves as the representative of the Director of National Intelligence.[6][7]
Despite its domestic focus, the FBI also maintains a significant international footprint, operating 60 Legal Attache (LEGAT) offices and 15 sub-offices in U.S. embassies and consulates across the globe. These foreign offices exist primarily for the purpose of coordination with foreign security services and do not usually conduct unilateral operations in the host countries.[8] The FBI can and does at times carry out secret activities overseas,[9] just as the CIA has a limited domestic function; these activities generally require coordination across government agencies.
The FBI was established in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation, the BOI or BI for short. Its name was changed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1935.[10] The FBI headquarters is the J. Edgar Hoover Building, located in Washington, D.C.
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