The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the primary investigative tool of the United States Department of Justice. According to Section 533 of Title 28 of the United States Code, the Attorney General has the power to "appoint officers to investigate crimes against the United States." Other federal statutes give the FBI the authority and responsibility to investigate specific crimes. The FBI currently has the authority to investigate more than 200 federal crimes. The list of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives has been public since 1930.
The FBI's mission is to investigate violations of federal criminal laws and to support the law. Protects U.S. investigations of foreign intelligence and terrorist activities, provides leadership and law enforcement assistance to federal, state, local, and international agencies, and performs responsibilities responsive to public needs and loyal to the Constitution of the United States.
Each time the FBI investigates intelligence information, it is referred to the appropriate U.S. attorney or U.S. Department of Justice official, who determines whether to authorize prosecution or other action. Of these, five areas affecting society receive the highest priority: counteratrocity, narcotics/organized crime, foreign counterintelligence, violent crime, and white-collar crime.
The FBI has a disgraceful history of supporting and sometimes undermining the law. But in the common impression of most Americans, it is the most effective agency in fighting crime. The number of agents has grown every year and now has more than 11,000 members. Most agents are stationed in foreign countries, working at U.S. embassies as legal attachés to ambassadors. The FBI calls itself "LEGATS."
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