The Immigration and Naturalization Service has the largest number of officers with firearm authority (17,654), followed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (13,557) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (11,523). Has the war against drugs shaped employment in any way? From 1998 to 2000, the Drug Enforcement Administration saw a 26% increase in officers, the largest of all the agencies.
Women accounted for 14.4% of Federal officers in 2000, or 1 in 7 of all officers with arrest and firearm authority. Their presence varies by agency. The highest percentages of women were found in the Internal Revenue Service (27.3%), the U.S. Customs Service (19.1%), the U.S. Capitol Police (17.8%), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (17.1%). The 17.1% of women in the FBI is up 21% from the 14.5% they represented in 1996. It's the largest increase in female enrollment among federal agencies. Is this by chance? Did the FBI recruit women more aggressively? Or did the agency reap some benefit from fans of FBI Agent Clarice Starling of Silence of the Lambs or Agent Dana Scully of the X-Files ? It's difficult to say. (But the truth is out there!)
Minority representation has increased also, from 28% in 1996 to 29.5% in 1998 to 30.5% in 2000. Hispanics and Latino officers comprised 15% of the force in 2000. Non-Hispanic blacks followed with 11.7%, Asians and Pacific Islanders with 2.2% and American Indians with 1.2%.
Percent of Federal Officers by Race
| 1996 | 2000 | |
| Whites | 72.0 | 69.5 |
| Hispanics or Latinos (any race) | 13.0 | 15.2 |
| Blacks, non-Hispanic | 12.0 | 11.7 |
| Asians/Pacific Islanders | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| American Indians | 1.0 | 1.2 |
Among the leading agencies, the Federal Protective Service has the largest share of minority workers (44.4%), an organization that provides security to government buildings. Other agencies with a sizeable minority presence included the INS (41.4%), the Bureau of Prisons (39.2%), and the Postal Inspection Service (35.7%). The highest percentage of black officers were at the Federal Protective Service (32.4%) and the U.S. Capitol Police (28.8%). The INS (33.2%) and U.S. Customs (23.8%) had the most Hispanic officers. The U.S. Forest Service employed the highest percentage of American Indians (8%). The Postal Inspection Service had the highest percentage of Asians (3.6%).
Where are minorities least visible? The Bureau of Diplomatic Security (7.1%) and the National Park Service, Ranger Division (10.6%). Where are female officers least likely to be found? The Drug Enforcement Administration. Their agents are 91.6% male.
What effect has terrorism had on government agencies? As of November 2002, the final effect remains to be seen, of course. The INS received negative attention after the September 11 attacks for its inability to track foreigners who enter the country. Six months after the September 11 attacks, the organization approved student visas for two of the hijackers. After the incident, an INS spokesman pointed to the current INS systems for tracking non-immigrants as "antiquated, outdated, inaccurate and untimely." New plans call for all foreign visitors to the country to be photographed and fingerprinted — a policy that has already stirred protests in some circles. Keeping America's borders safe is a critical issue; the INS Border Patrol is now more than double in size compared to its 1993 level.
The FBI and CIA had to share blame for the intelligence failures that led to the September attacks. The two organizations are reportedly sharing information with each other, although some members of these groups say the territoriality that plagued these agencies before the attacks is returning. In January 2002, the FBI put out a call for 900 new special agents to bolster its ranks.
The number of officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms grew 14% from 1998 to 2000. The group assisted in investigating the 1993 World Trade Center bombing case and the 1995 Oklahoma bombing. Since September 11, it has tightened laws around foreigners' ability to purchase guns.
The Secret Service has roughly 4,000 officers. The number of those with Secret Service protection increased from 17 to 38 after September 11, according to U.S. News & World Report. The number currently stands at 22. Not only has the organization been asked to guard more people, but the levels of security that surround these people are being reduced. The Secret Service has cut the number of posts where agents and officers stand guard, eliminated technical assistance such as ballistic glass and armored plating, and withdrawn counter sniper and surveillance squads. One veteran agent offered this analysis for the article: "Basically, what we are doing now and what we were trained to do are at different ends of the spectrum." Many agents are being overworked. They average 81 overtime hours a month. More than 250 uniformed agents have left the Secret Service from October 2001 to September 2002. The loss of manpower is disturbing; equally unsettling, the article points out, is the experience that leaves with them.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 1996 and 2000, published January 1998 and July 2001. Potter, Mark and Rich Philipps. "Six months after Sept. 11 hijackers' visa approval letters received." Available from http://www.cnn.com; Chitra Ragavan. "Safety First." U.S. News & World Report, September 9, 2002, p. 16.
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