The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a
federal law enforcement agency under the
Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and visiting heads of state or government.
Until 2003, the Secret Service was part of the
Department of the Treasury, as the agency was founded in 1865 to combat the then-widespread
counterfeiting of U.S. currency.
Primary missions
The Secret Service is mandated by
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
with two distinct and critical national security missions: protecting the nation's leaders and safeguarding the
financial
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
and critical
infrastructure
Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Protective mission
The Secret Service is tasked with ensuring the safety of the
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
, the
vice president of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
, the
president-elect of the United States
The president-elect of the United States is the candidate who has presumptively won the United States presidential election and is awaiting inauguration to become the president. There is no explicit indication in the U.S. Constitution as to when ...
, the
vice president-elect of the United States, and their immediate families;
former presidents, their spouses and their minor children under the age of 16; major presidential and vice-presidential
candidates
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be election, elected to an official, office — in this case a Preselection, candida ...
and their spouses; and visiting foreign heads of state and heads of government. By custom, it also provides protection to the
secretary of the treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
and
secretary of homeland security
The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...
, as well as other persons as directed by the president (usually the
White House chief of staff and
national security advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils.
National sec ...
, among others). By federal statute, the president and vice-president may not refuse this protection. The Secret Service also provides physical security for the
White House Complex
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 ...
; the neighboring
Treasury Department building; the
vice president's residence; the principal private residences of the president, vice president and former presidents; and all foreign diplomatic missions in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
The protective mission includes protective operations to coordinate manpower and logistics with state and local
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...
, protective advances to conduct site and venue assessments for protectees, and protective intelligence to investigate all manners of threats made against protectees. The Secret Service is the lead agency in charge of the planning, coordination, and implementation of security operations for events designated as
National Special Security Events (NSSE). As part of the service's mission of preventing an incident before it occurs, the agency relies on meticulous advance work and threat assessments developed by its Intelligence Division to identify potential risks to protectees.
Investigative mission
The Secret Service is tasked with safeguarding the payment and
financial system
A financial system is a system that allows the exchange of funds between financial market participants such as lenders, investors, and borrowers. Financial systems operate at national and global levels. Financial institutions consist of complex, c ...
s of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
from a wide range of financial and cyber-based crimes. Financial investigations include counterfeit U.S. currency, bank and financial institution fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, illicit financing operations, and major conspiracies. Cyber investigations include
cybercrime
A cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer or a computer network.Moore, R. (2005) "Cyber crime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime," Cleveland, Mississippi: Anderson Publishing. The computer may have been used in committing the ...
, network intrusions,
identity theft
Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was co ...
, access device fraud, credit card fraud, and intellectual property crimes. The Secret Service is also a member of the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
's
Joint Terrorism Task Force
In the United States, the Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) are locally-based multi-agency partnerships between various federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies tasked with investigating terrorism and terrorism-related crimes, led by the ...
(JTTF) which investigates and combats terrorism on a national and international scale. Also, the Secret Service investigates missing and exploited children and is a partner of the
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the Pres ...
(NCMEC).
The Secret Service's initial responsibility was to investigate the counterfeiting of U.S. currency, which was rampant following the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. The agency then evolved into the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
' first domestic intelligence and
counterintelligence
Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...
agency. Many of the agency's missions were later taken over by subsequent agencies such as the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
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, ...
(FBI),
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(CIA),
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...
(DEA),
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...
(ATF), and
IRS Criminal Investigation Division
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the United States federal law enforcement agency responsible for investigating potential criminal violations of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and related financial crimes, such as mone ...
(IRS-CI).
Dual objective
![Secret Service agents conducting investigations](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Secret_Service_agents_conducting_investigations.jpg)
The Secret Service combines the two responsibilities into a unique dual objective. The two core missions of protection and investigation synergize with the other, providing crucial benefits to special agents during the course of their careers. Skills developed during the course of investigations which are also used in an agent's protective duties include but are not limited to:
* Partnerships that are created between field offices and local law enforcement during the course of investigations being used to gather both protective intelligence and in coordinating protection events.
* Tactical operation (e.g. surveillance, arrests, and search warrants) and law enforcement writing (e.g. affidavits, after action reports, and operations plans) skills being applied to both investigative and protective duties.
* Proficiency in analyzing handwriting and forgery techniques being applied in protective investigations of handwritten letters and suspicious package threats.
* Expertise in investigating electronic and financial crimes being applied in protective investigations of threats made against the nation's leaders on the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
.
Protection of the nation's highest elected leaders and other government officials is one of the primary missions of the Secret Service. After the 1901
assassination of President William McKinley,
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
also directed the Secret Service to protect the
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
. The Secret Service investigates thousands of incidents each year of individuals
threatening the president of the United States
Threatening the president of the United States is a federal felony under United States Code Title 18, Section 871. It consists of knowingly and willfully mailing or otherwise making "any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict great ...
.
The Secret Service is authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 3056(a) to protect:
* The president, vice president (or the next individual in the
order of succession
An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.[National Special Security Event
A National Special Security Event (NSSE) is an event of national or international significance deemed by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity. These events have ...]
s", the Secret Service is the lead agency for the design and implementation of operational security plans for events designated a NSSE by the secretary of
homeland security
Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...
.
There have been changes to the protection of former presidents over time. Under the original
Former Presidents Act
The Former Presidents Act (known also as FPA; note (P.L. 85-745)) is a 1958 U.S. federal law that provides several lifetime benefits to former presidents of the United States who have not been removed from office solely pursuant to Article Two ...
, former presidents and their spouses were entitled to lifetime protection, subject to limited exceptions. In 1994, this was amended to reduce the protection period to 10 years after a former president left office, starting with presidents assuming the role after January 1, 1997. On January 10, 2013, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
signed legislation reversing this limit and reinstating lifetime protection to all former presidents. This change impacted Presidents Obama and G.W. Bush, as well as all future presidents.
Protection of government officials is not solely the responsibility of the Secret Service, with many other agencies, such as the
United States Capitol Police
The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States an ...
,
Supreme Court Police
The Supreme Court of the United States Police is a federal law enforcement agency that derives its authority from . The Supreme Court Police enforce federal and District of Columbia laws and regulations, as well as enforce regulations governing ...
and
Diplomatic Security Service
The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS or DS) is a security and law enforcement agency that acts as the operational division of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which is a branch of the United States Department of State. Its primary mission is ...
, providing personal protective services to domestic and foreign officials. However, while these agencies are nominally responsible for services to other officers of the United States and senior dignitaries, the Secret Service provides protective services at the highest-level – i.e. for heads of state and heads of government.
The Secret Service's other primary mission is investigative; to protect the payment and financial systems of the United States from a wide range of financial and electronic-based crimes including counterfeit U.S. currency, bank and financial institution fraud, illicit financing operations, cybercrime, identity theft, intellectual property crimes, and any other violations that may affect the United States economy and financial systems. The agency's key focus is on large, high-dollar economic impact cases involving organized criminal groups. Financial criminals include embezzling bank employees, armed robbers at automatic teller machines, heroin traffickers, and criminal organizations that commit bank fraud on a global scale.
The USSS plays a leading role in facilitating relationships between other law enforcement entities, the private sector, and academia. The service maintains the Electronic Crimes Task Forces, which focus on identifying and locating international cyber criminals connected to cyber intrusions, bank fraud, data breaches, and other computer-related crimes. Additionally, the Secret Service runs the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI), which provides law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges with cyber training and information to combat cybercrime.
In the face of budget pressure, hiring challenges and some high-profile lapses in its protective service role in 2014, the
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...
and some members of Congress are asking whether the agency's focus should shift more to the protective mission, leaving more of its original mission to other agencies.
History
Early years
![Logo of the United States Secret Service](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Logo_of_the_United_States_Secret_Service.svg)
With a reported one third of the currency in circulation being counterfeit at the time,
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
established a commission to make recommendations to remedy the problem. The Secret Service was later established on July 5, 1865, in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, to suppress counterfeit currency. Chief
William P. Wood
William Patrick Wood (March 11, 1820 – March 20, 1903) was a colonel in the United States Army and the first Director of the United States Secret Service. He was born to James Wood and Margaret Turner in Alexandria, Virginia.
Wood enlisted in th ...
was sworn in by
Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
Hugh McCulloch
Hugh McCulloch (December 7, 1808 – May 24, 1895) was an American financier who played a central role in financing the American Civil War. He served two non-consecutive terms as U.S. Treasury Secretary under three presidents. He was originally ...
. It was commissioned in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
as the "Secret Service Division" of the Department of the Treasury with the mission of suppressing counterfeiting. At the time, the only other federal law enforcement agencies were the
United States Customs Service
The United States Customs Service was the very first federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted c ...
, the
United States Park Police
The United States Park Police (USPP) is one of the oldest uniformed federal law enforcement agencies in the United States. It functions as a full-service law enforcement agency with responsibilities and jurisdiction in those National Park Servic ...
, the
U.S. Post Office Department
The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postma ...
's Office of Instructions and Mail Depredations (now known as the
United States Postal Inspection Service
The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), or the Postal Inspectors, is the law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service. It supports and protects the U.S. Postal Service, its employees, infrastructure, and customers by enfor ...
), and the
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...
. The Marshals did not have the manpower to investigate all crime under federal jurisdiction, so the Secret Service began investigating a wide range of crimes from murder to bank robbery to illegal gambling.
20th century
After the
assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
of President
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
in 1901,
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
informally requested that the Secret Service provide presidential protection. A year later, the Secret Service assumed full-time responsibility for presidential protection. In 1902,
William Craig became the first Secret Service agent to die while on duty, in a road accident while riding in the presidential carriage.
The Secret Service was the first U.S. domestic intelligence and counterintelligence agency. Domestic intelligence collection and counterintelligence responsibilities were later vested in the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
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, ...
(FBI) upon the FBI's creation in 1908.
Taft Mexican Summit (1909)
In 1909, President
William H. Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
agreed to meet with Mexican president
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
in
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
and
Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Ciudad () is the Spanish word for City
Ciudad may also refer to:
*La Ciudad (archaeological site), Hohokam ruins in Phoenix, Arizona
*La Ciudad, district of Durango City, Mexico
*''La ciudad'', novel by Mario Levrero 1970
*La Ciudad ''The City'' ...
, the first meeting between a U.S. and a Mexican president and also the first time an American president visited Mexico. But the historic summit resulted in serious assassination threats and other security concerns for the then small Secret Service, so the
Texas Rangers, 4,000 U.S. and Mexican troops,
BOI agents, U.S. Marshals, and an additional 250-man private security detail led by
Frederick Russell Burnham
Frederick Russell Burnham DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to the British Army in colonial Africa, and for teach ...
, the celebrated scout, were all called in by Chief
John Wilkie
John Elbert Wilkie (1860 – December 13, 1934) was an American journalist and Chief of the United States Secret Service from 1898 to 1911.
Journalist
At age 19, Wilkie joined the staff of the '' Chicago Times'' as a reporter. His father, Fran ...
to provide added security. On October 16, the day of the summit, Burnham discovered a man holding a concealed
palm pistol standing at the El Paso Chamber of Commerce building along the procession route. The man was captured and disarmed only a few feet from Díaz and Taft.
1940s
The Secret Service assisted in arresting Japanese American leaders and in the
Japanese American internment
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
1950s
In 1950, President
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
was residing in
Blair House
Blair House, also known as The President's Guest House, is an official residence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The President's Guest House has been called "the world's most exclusive hotel" because it is primarily used ...
while the White House, across the street, was undergoing renovations. On November 1, 1950, two
Puerto Rican nationalists,
Oscar Collazo
Oscar Collazo (January 20, 1914 – February 21, 1994) was one of two Puerto Rican militants of the Nationalist Party who on November 1, 1950, attempted to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman in Washington, DC. He had been living i ...
and
Griselio Torresola
Griselio Torresola Roura (July 19, 1925 – November 1, 1950) born in Jayuya, Puerto Rico, was one of two Puerto Rican nationalists from New York City who attempted to assassinate United States President Harry Truman on November 1, 1950. Torr ...
, approached Blair House with the intent to
assassinate President Truman. Collazo and Torresola opened fire on Private
Leslie Coffelt
Leslie William Coffelt (August 15, 1910 – November 1, 1950) was an officer of the White House Police Force, White House Police, a branch of the United States Secret Service, Secret Service, who was killed while successfully defending President o ...
and other White House Police officers. Though mortally wounded by three shots from a
9 mm
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
German
Luger to his chest and abdomen, Private Coffelt returned fire, killing Torresola with a single shot to his head. Collazo was also shot, but survived his injuries and served 29 years in prison before returning to Puerto Rico in late 1979. Coffelt is the only member of the Secret Service killed while protecting a US president against an assassination attempt (Special Agent
Tim McCarthy
Timothy J. McCarthy (born June 20, 1949) is an American former policeman and special agent in the United States Secret Service. McCarthy is best known for defending President Ronald Reagan during the assassination attempt on Reagan's life on M ...
stepped in front of President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
during the
assassination attempt
This is a list of survivors of assassination attempts, listed chronologically. It does ''not'' include those who were heads of state or government at the time of the assassination attempt. See List of heads of state and government who survived as ...
of March 30, 1981, and took a bullet to the chest but made a full recovery).
1960s
In 1968, as a result of
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...
's assassination, Congress authorized protection of major presidential and vice presidential candidates and nominees. In 1965 and 1968, Congress also authorized lifetime protection of the spouses of deceased presidents unless they remarry and of the children of former presidents until age 16.
1980s
![Secret Service analyst examining counterfeit documents](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Secret_Service_analyst_examining_counterfeit_documents.png)
In 1984, the US Congress passed the
Comprehensive Crime Control Act
Comprehensive may refer to:
*Comprehensive layout, the page layout of a proposed design as initially presented by the designer to a client.
* Comprehensive school, a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement ...
, which extended the Secret Service's jurisdiction over credit card fraud and computer fraud.
1990s
In 1990, the Secret Service initiated
Operation Sundevil
Operation Sundevil was a 1990 nationwide United States Secret Service crackdown on "illegal computer hacking activities." It involved raids in approximately fifteen different cities and resulted in three arrests and the confiscation of computers, ...
, which they originally intended as a sting against malicious
hackers
A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
, allegedly responsible for disrupting telephone services across the entire United States. The operation, which was later described by
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre.
Sterling's first ...
in his book ''
The Hacker Crackdown
''The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier'' is a work of nonfiction by Bruce Sterling first published in 1992.
The book discusses watershed events in the hacker subculture in the early 1990s. The most notable topic covere ...
'', affected a great number of people unrelated to hacking, and led to no convictions. The Secret Service, however, was sued and required to pay damages. On March 1, 1990, the Secret Service served a search warrant on
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''.
History
Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...
, a small company in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
, seizing three computers and over 300 floppy disks. In the subsequent lawsuit, the judge reprimanded the Secret Service, calling their warrant preparation "sloppy."
In 1994 and 1995, it ran an undercover sting called
Operation Cybersnare
Operation Cybersnare was a United States Secret Service operation in 1995 targeted at hacker (computer security), computer hackers.
In January 1995, the Secret Service set up an undercover bulletin board system in Bergen County, New Jersey. This ...
. The Secret Service has concurrent jurisdiction with the FBI over certain violations of federal computer crime laws. They have created 24 Electronic Crimes Task Forces (ECTFs) across the United States. These task forces are partnerships between the service, federal/state and local law enforcement, the private sector and academia aimed at combating technology-based crimes.
In 1998, President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
signed
Presidential Decision Directive 62
A National Special Security Event (NSSE) is an event of national or international significance deemed by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity. These events have ...
, which established
National Special Security Event
A National Special Security Event (NSSE) is an event of national or international significance deemed by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity. These events have ...
s (NSSE). That directive made the Secret Service responsible for security at designated events. In 1999, the United States Secret Service Memorial Building was dedicated in DC, granting the agency its first headquarters. Prior to this, the agency's different departments were based in office space around the DC area.
21st century
2000s
=September 11 attacks
=
The New York City Field office was located at
7 World Trade Center
7 World Trade Center (7 WTC, WTC-7, or Tower 7) refers to two buildings that have existed at the same location within the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The original structure, part of the original World Trade Cent ...
. Immediately after the
World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may refer to:
Buildings
* List of World Trade Centers
* World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
was attacked as part of the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, Special Agents and other New York Field office employees were among the first to respond with first aid. Sixty-seven Special Agents in New York City, at and near the New York Field Office, helped to set up
triage
In medicine, triage () is a practice invoked when acute care cannot be provided for lack of resources. The process rations care towards those who are most in need of immediate care, and who benefit most from it. More generally it refers to prio ...
areas and evacuate the towers. One Secret Service employee, Master Special Officer Craig Miller, died during the rescue efforts. On August 20, 2002, Director
Brian L. Stafford
Brian L. Stafford was the 20th Director of the United States Secret Service. Preceded by Lewis C. Merletti, he was sworn in on March 4, 1999 by the then Secretary of the Treasury, Robert E. Rubin. He was succeeded by W. Ralph Basham.
Education
S ...
awarded the Director's Valor Award to employees who assisted in the rescue attempts.
=Domestic expansion
=
![Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force (ECTF)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Secret_Service_Electronic_Crimes_Task_Force_%28ECTF%29.jpg)
Effective March 1, 2003, the Secret Service transferred from the Treasury to the newly established Department of Homeland Security.
The
USA Patriot Act
The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of Congress, Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President of the United States, President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniti ...
, signed into law by President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on October 26, 2001, mandated the Secret Service to establish a nationwide network of ECTFs in addition to the one already active in New York. As such, this mandate expanded on the agency's first ECTF—the New York Electronic Crimes Task Force, formed in 1995—which brought together federal, state and local law enforcement, prosecutors, private-industry companies, and academia. These bodies collectively provide necessary support and resources to field investigations that meet any one of the following criteria: significant economic or community impact; participation of organized criminal groups involving multiple districts or transnational organizations; or use of schemes involving new technology.
The network prioritizes investigations that meet the following criteria:
* Significant economic or community impact,
* Participation of multiple-district or transnational organized criminal groups,
* Use of new technology as a means to commit crime.
Investigations conducted by ECTFs include crimes such as computer generated counterfeit currency; bank fraud; virus and worm proliferation; access device fraud; telecommunications fraud; Internet threats; computer system intrusions and cyberattacks; phishing/spoofing; assistance with Internet-related child pornography and exploitation; and identity theft.
=International expansion
=
![Secret Service Cyber Intelligence Center (CIS)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Secret_Service_Cyber_Intelligence_Center_%28CIS%29.jpg)
On July 6, 2009, the U.S. Secret Service expanded its fight on
cybercrime
A cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer or a computer network.Moore, R. (2005) "Cyber crime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime," Cleveland, Mississippi: Anderson Publishing. The computer may have been used in committing the ...
by creating the first
European Electronic Crime Task Force
The European Electronic Crime Task Force (EECTF) is an information sharing initiative, created in 2009 by an agreement between the United States Secret Service, the Ministry of Interior (Italy), Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs and Poste Ital ...
, based on the successful U.S. domestic model, through a memorandum of understanding with Italian police and postal officials. Over a year later, on August 9, 2010, the agency expanded its European involvement by creating its second overseas ECTF in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
Both task forces are said to concentrate on a wide range of "computer-based criminal activity," including:
*
Identity theft
Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was co ...
*
Network intrusions
* Other computer-related crimes affecting financial and other critical infrastructures.
2010s
As of 2010, the service had over 6,500 employees: 3,200 Special Agents, 1,300 Uniformed Division Officers, and 2,000 technical and administrative employees. Special agents serve on protective details and investigate financial, cyber, and
homeland security
Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...
-related crimes.
In September 2014, the United States Secret Service came under criticism following two high-profile incidents involving intruders at the White House.
One such intruder entered the East Room of the White House through an unlocked door.
2020s
On April 15, 2020, the ICE Homeland Security Investigations unit
launched "Operation Stolen Promise" that targets
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
related
fraud
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
. The operation conscripted resources from various branches of law enforcement and the government, including the U.S. Secret Service.
About $2 trillion in the relief package known as the
CARES Act
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a $2.2trillion Stimulus (economics), economic stimulus bill passed by the 116th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2 ...
were earmarked by law in March 2020, bringing
unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a compu ...
s and loans to millions of Americans. However, as Secret Service spokesmen subsequently pointed out, the Act also opened up opportunities for criminals to fraudulently apply for aid. By the end of 2021, nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Secret Service had seized more than $1.2 billion in relief funds appropriated by fraudsters.
On June 1, 2020, during a peaceful protest outside
Lafayette Square, the U.S. Secret Service acted contrary to an operational plan and began advancing seven minutes before U.S. Park Police gave any dispersal warnings.
This early deployment increased tensions between law enforcement and the protesters.
They faced resistance and used pepper spray in response to eggs and bottles being thrown.
Attorney General
William Barr
William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump.
Born and raised in New York City, Barr ...
spoke with the U.S. Park Police operational commander seven minutes before the Secret Service began advancing, and again later,
before President Trump visited a nearby Parish House to pose for a photo while holding a bible.
The U.S. Secret Service later apologized
but Joseph Cuffari, the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, prevented career officials from investigating the role U.S. Secret Service played in the Trump administration’s controversial use of force to remove protesters that day.
In August 2020, a Secret Service officer shot a man once in the chest at the corner of 17th street and Pennsylvania during one of then-President Trump’s press conferences. The President was evacuated but returned later and told the White House press corps that the man had a gun. However, according to court documents, the man was actually holding a comb, told the officers he was armed and took a shooting stance before being shot. The man is schizophrenic and was charged with simple assault of a law enforcement officer.
A day before the
January 6 United States Capitol attack
On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...
in 2021, the Secret Service warned
Capitol Police of threats of violence that Capitol Police officers could face violence at the hands of supporters of President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. On January 6, Secret Service agents provided security in and around the
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...
, as well as evacuating Vice President
Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
during the riot. Testimony in Congress indicates Pence was concerned his security detail would remove him from the Capitol, stopping him from completing his duty to oversee the final count of electoral college votes. At the center of the controversy surrounding the Secret Service and January 6 investigations is
Anthony M. Ornato
Anthony M. Ornato is the former assistant director of the United States Secret Service Office of Training. He was the service's deputy assistant director who headed the security detail of president Donald Trump until taking a leave of absence when ...
, who had been the head of Trump's security detail, but took the unprecedented step of leaving the Secret Service to become deputy White House chief of staff and becoming a "key part of Trump’s effort to get reelected."
The Secret Service assisted in the seizure of hacker forum
RaidForums
RaidForums was an English-language black hat hacking internet forum active from 2015 until 2022. The website facilitated the discussion of a variety of hacking topics and was a notable distributor of various data breaches, hacking tools, and por ...
in 2022.
In April 2022, four Secret Service agents, one of whom was assigned to First Lady Jill Biden, were placed on leave after accepting lavish gifts, rent free apartments, and other bribes from 2 men ultimately convicted of impersonating federal officers.
On August 24, 2022, President
Joe Biden named
Kim Cheatle, an official with
PepsiCo
PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...
, as the agency's new director. Cheatle was in the Secret Service for 27 years and became the first woman to serve as assistant director of protective operations, a department tasked with protecting the president and dignitaries.
Attacks on presidents
![Reagan assassination attempt 4 crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Reagan_assassination_attempt_4_crop.jpg)
Since the 1960s, presidents
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
(killed),
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
(twice attacked, but uninjured) and
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
(seriously wounded) have been attacked while appearing in public. Agents on scene, though not injured, during attacks on presidents include
William Greer
William Robert Greer (September 22, 1909 – February 23, 1985) was an agent of the U.S. Secret Service, best known as being the driver of President John F. Kennedy's SS-100-X, presidential limousine in the motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Da ...
and
Roy Kellerman
Roy Herman Kellerman (March 14, 1915 – March 22, 1984) was a U.S. Secret Service senior agent who was assigned to protect United States President John F. Kennedy when he was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas. In his reports, later tes ...
. One of the agents was
Robert DeProspero
Robert Lee "Bob" DeProspero (December 31, 1938 – March 4, 2019) was a United States Secret Service special agent who served from 1965 to 1986.
Life
DeProspero attended West Virginia University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in phys ...
, the Special Agent In Charge (SAIC) of Reagan's Presidential Protective Division (PPD) from January 1982 to April 1985. DeProspero was deputy to
Jerry Parr
Jerry S. Parr (September 16, 1930 – October 9, 2015) was a United States Secret Service special agent who is best known for defending President Ronald Reagan during the Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, attempt on the president's life o ...
, the SAIC of PPD during the Reagan assassination attempt on March 30, 1981.
![President George W](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/President_George_W._Bush_greets_troops_guarded_by_Secret_Service.jpg)
The
Kennedy assassination
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 un ...
spotlighted the bravery of two Secret Service agents. First, an agent protecting Mrs. Kennedy,
Clint Hill, was riding in the car directly behind the presidential limousine when the attack began. While the shooting continued, Hill leaped from the running board of the car he was riding on and jumped onto the back of the president's moving car and guided Mrs. Kennedy from the trunk back into the rear seat of the car. He then shielded the president and the first lady with his body until the car arrived at the hospital.
Rufus Youngblood
Rufus Wayne Youngblood, Jr. (January 13, 1924 – October 2, 1996) was a United States Secret Service agent best known for using his body to shield Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson during the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on ...
was riding in the vice-presidential car. When the shots were fired, he vaulted over the front seat and threw his body over Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
. That evening, Johnson called Secret Service Chief
James J. Rowley
James Joseph Rowley (October 14, 1908 – November 1, 1992) was the head of the United States Secret Service between 1961 and 1973, under Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon.
Rowley was born in Bronx County, New York to James J. Rowley and Br ...
and cited Youngblood's bravery. Youngblood would later recall some of this in his memoir, ''Twenty Years in the Secret Service''.
The period following the Kennedy assassination was the most difficult in the modern history of the agency. Press reports indicated that morale among the agents was "low" for months following the assassination. The agency overhauled its procedures in the wake of the Kennedy killing. Training, which until that time had been confined largely to "on-the-job" efforts, was systematized and regularized.
The
Reagan assassination attempt
On March 30, 1981, President of the United States Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C. as he was returning to his limousine after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton. Hinckley believed the attac ...
also involved several Secret Service agents, particularly agent
Tim McCarthy
Timothy J. McCarthy (born June 20, 1949) is an American former policeman and special agent in the United States Secret Service. McCarthy is best known for defending President Ronald Reagan during the assassination attempt on Reagan's life on M ...
, who spread his stance to protect Reagan as six bullets were being fired by the would-be assassin,
John Hinckley Jr.
John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinck ...
McCarthy survived a .22-caliber round in the abdomen. For his bravery, McCarthy received the
NCAA Award of Valor
The NCAA Award of Valor is presented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to recognize "courageous action or noteworthy bravery" by persons involved with intercollegiate athletics.
Potential recipients of the Award of Valor are c ...
in 1982.
Jerry Parr
Jerry S. Parr (September 16, 1930 – October 9, 2015) was a United States Secret Service special agent who is best known for defending President Ronald Reagan during the Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, attempt on the president's life o ...
, the agent who pushed President Reagan into the limousine, and made the critical decision to divert the presidential motorcade to George Washington University Hospital instead of returning to the White House, was also honored with U.S. Congress commendations for his actions that day.
Significant investigations
Arrest and indictment of
Max Ray Butler, co-founder of the Carders Market
carding
Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving su ...
website. Butler was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after his September 5, 2007, arrest, on wire fraud and identity theft charges. According to the indictment, Butler hacked over the Internet into computers at financial institutions and credit card processing centers and sold the tens of thousands of credit card numbers that he acquired in the process.
Operation Firewall
Carding is a term describing the trafficking and unauthorized use of credit cards. The stolen credit cards or credit card numbers are then used to buy prepaid gift cards to cover up the tracks. Activities also encompass exploitation of persona ...
: In October 2004, 28 suspects—located across eight U.S. states and six countries—were arrested on charges of identity theft, computer fraud, credit-card fraud, and conspiracy. Nearly 30 national and foreign field offices of the U.S. Secret Service, including the newly established national ECTFs, and countless local enforcement agencies from around the globe, were involved in this operation. Collectively, the arrested suspects trafficked in at least 1.7 million stolen credit card numbers, which amounted to $4.3 million of losses to financial institutions. However, authorities estimated that prevented loss to the industry was in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The operation, which started in July 2003 and lasted for more than a year, led investigators to identify three cybercriminal groups:
Shadowcrew
ShadowCrew was a cybercrime forum that operated under the domain name ShadowCrew.com between August 2002 and November 2004.
Origins
The concept of the ShadowCrew was developed in early 2002 during a series of chat sessions between Brett Johnso ...
, Carderplanet, and Darkprofits.
Arrest and indictment of
Albert Gonzalez
Albert Gonzalez (born 1981) is an American computer hacker and computer criminal who is accused of masterminding the combined credit card theft and subsequent reselling of more than 170 million card and ATM numbers from 2005 to 2007: the bigge ...
and 11 individuals; three U.S. citizens, one from Estonia, three from Ukraine, two from the People's Republic of China, one from Belarus, and one known only by an online alias. They were arrested on August 5, 2008, for the theft and sale of more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers from major U.S. retailers, including
TJX Companies
The TJX Companies, Inc. (abbreviated TJX) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Discount store, off-price department store corporation, headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. It was formed as a subsidiary of Zayre, Zayre ...
,
BJ's Wholesale Club
BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc., commonly referred as BJ's, is an American membership-only warehouse club chain based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, operating on the East Coast of the United States in addition to Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. ...
,
OfficeMax
OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. It is now a subsidiary of The ODP Corporation, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. As of December 2012, OfficeMax operated 941 stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S ...
,
Boston Market
Boston Market Corporation, known as Boston Chicken until 1995, is an American fast casual restaurant chain headquartered in Golden, Colorado. It is owned by the Rohan Group.
Boston Market has its greatest presence in the Northeastern and Midweste ...
,
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
,
Sports Authority
Sports Authority, Inc. (formerly The Sports Authority) was an American sports retailer. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commerce platform and supported the reta ...
,
Forever 21
Forever 21 is a multinational fast fashion retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. Originally founded as the store Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984,Forever 21History & Facts, n.d. Retrieved 27 April 2014 ...
, and
DSW. Gonzalez, the main organizer of the scheme, was charged with computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy for his leading role in the crime.
Personnel
Special Agent
![Secret Service agents executing a protective operation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Secret_Service_agents_executing_a_protective_operation.png)
The Secret Service special agent position is highly competitive. In 2011, the service accepted less than 1% of its 15,600 special agent applicants.
At a minimum, a prospective agent must be a U.S. citizen, possess a current valid driver's license, be in excellent health and physical condition, possess visual acuity no worse than 20/100 uncorrected or correctable to 20/20 in each eye, and be between age 21–37 at the time of appointment,
[ ] but eligible veterans may apply past age 37. In 2009, the Office of Personnel Management issued implementation guidance on the ''Isabella v. Department of State'' court decision: OPM Letter.
Prospective agents must also qualify for a TS/SCI (Top Secret /
Sensitive Compartmented Information) clearance, and undergo an extensive background investigation, to include in-depth interviews, drug screening, medical diagnosis, and full-scope polygraph examination.
Special agents receive training in two locations, totaling approximately 31 weeks. The first phase, the Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP) is conducted at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's
Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) serves as an interagency law enforcement training body for 105 United States government federal law enforcement agencies. The stated mission of FLETC is to "...train those who protect our home ...
(FLETC) in
Glynco, Georgia
Glynco is an area in Glynn County, Georgia located on the northwestern edge of Brunswick, Georgia. Glynco is a portmanteau of the words "Glynn County". History
In 1942 the Naval Air Station Glynco was established on the area now known as Glynco. ...
, lasting approximately 13 weeks. The second phase, the Special Agent Training Course (SATC) is conducted at the Secret Service Academy,
James J. Rowley Training Center (JJRTC), just outside
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
in
Laurel, Maryland
Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While the city limits are entirely in northern Prince George's County, outlying developments extend into Anne Arunde ...
, lasting approximately 18 weeks.
![Secret Service agent trainees practice executing a search warrant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Secret_Service_agent_trainees_practice_executing_a_search_warrant.jpg)
A typical special agent career path, depending upon performance and promotions that affect individual assignments, begins with the first six to eight years on the job assigned to a field office. Applicants are directed to list their office location preference during the application process, and upon receiving a final job offer, usually have several locations to choose from.
After their field office experience, agents are usually transferred to a protective assignment where they will stay for three to five years. Following their protective assignment, many agents return to a field office for the rest of their careers, or opt for a headquarters based assignment located in Washington, D.C. During their careers, agents also have the opportunity to work overseas in one of the agency's international field offices. This typically requires foreign language training to ensure language proficiency when working alongside the agency's foreign law enforcement counterparts.
Special agents are hired at the
GL-07, GL-09, or GS-11 grade level, depending on individual qualifications and/or education.
Agents are eligible for promotion on a yearly basis, from GL-07, to GL-09, to GS-11, to GS-12, to GS-13. The full performance grade level for a journeyman field agent is GS-13, which a GL-07, GL-09, or GS-11 agent may reach in as little as four, three, or two years respectively. GS-13 agents are eligible for competitive promotion to supervisory positions, which encompasses the GS-14, GS-15, and SES grade levels. GS-13 agents who wish to remain as journeyman field agents, will continue to advance the GS-13 step level, capping at GS-13 Step 10.
Special agents also receive Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP), a type of premium overtime pay which provides them with an additional 25% bonus pay on top of their salary, as agents are required to work an average workweek of 50 hours as opposed to 40. Therefore an agent living in the Greater New York City area (NY, NJ, CT) will earn an annual salary of $73,666 (GL-07), $82,162 (GL-09), $96,201 (GS-11), $115,306 (GS-12), $137,112 (GS-13), $162,026 (GS-14), and $176,300 (GS-15). Journeyman field agents at GS-13 Step 10 are also paid a salary of $176,300.
Due to the nature of their work and unique among their federal law enforcement counterparts (e.g. FBI, DEA, ATF, ICE), Secret Service agents are regularly eligible for scheduled overtime pay (in addition to LEAP), and enjoy a raised statutory pay cap of $203,700 per year (Level II of the Executive Schedule) as opposed to the standard pay cap of $176,300 per year (Level IV of the Executive Schedule).
Uniformed Division Officer
![Secret Service officer and his police dog as part of the Emergency Response Team (ERT)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Secret_Service_officer_and_his_police_dog_as_part_of_the_Emergency_Response_Team_%28ERT%29.png)
The Secret Service Uniformed Division is a
security police
Security police officers are employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations to provide security service security services to those properties.
Security police protect facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and enforce cer ...
similar to the
U.S. Capitol Police or
DHS Federal Protective Service and is in charge of protecting the physical
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
grounds and foreign diplomatic missions in the
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
area. Established in 1922 as the
White House Police, this organization was fully integrated into the Secret Service in 1930. In 1970, the protection of foreign diplomatic missions was added to the force's responsibilities, and its name was changed to the Executive Protective Service. The name United States Secret Service Uniformed Division was adopted in 1977.
Secret Service Uniformed Division officers provide protection for the White House Complex, the vice president's residence, the main Treasury Building and Annex, and foreign diplomatic missions and embassies in the Washington, D.C., area. Additionally, Uniformed Division officers travel in support of presidential, vice presidential and foreign head of state government missions.
Officers may, as their careers progress, be selected to participate in one of several specialized units, including the:
* Canine Unit: Performing security sweeps and responding to bomb threats and suspicious packages.
* Emergency Response Team: Providing a coordinated tactical response for the White House and other protected facilities.
* Counter-sniper Team: Utilizing observation, sighting equipment and high-performance weapons to provide a secure environment for protectees.
* Motorcade Support Unit: Providing motorcycle tactical support for official movements of motorcades.
* Crime Scene Search Unit: Photographing, collecting and processing physical and latent evidence.
* Office of Training: Serving as firearms and classroom instructors or recruiters.
* Special Operations Section: Handling special duties and functions at the White House Complex, including conducting the daily congressional and public tours of the White House.
[ ]
Weapons and equipment
![Snipers Perched](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Snipers_Perched.jpg)
Since the agency's inception, a variety of weapons have been carried by its agents.
Weapons
Agents and officers are trained on standard shoulder weapons that include the
FN P90
The FN P90 is a compact 5.7×28mm personal defense weapon designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. It can also be considered a submachine gun. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum firearms, t ...
submachine gun, the 9mm
Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...
submachine gun, and the 12-gauge
Remington 870
The Remington Model 870 is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, LLC. It is widely used by the public for shooting sports, hunting and self-defense, as well as by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.
De ...
shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...
.
[Jones, Richard D. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010''. Jane's Information Group; 35th edition (January 27, 2009). .]
![Secret Service on White House roof](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Secret_Service_on_White_House_roof.jpg)
As a
non-lethal
Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventional ...
option, Special Agents, Special Officers, and Uniformed Division Officers are armed with the ASP 16" expandable
baton
Baton may refer to:
Stick-like objects
*Baton, a type of club
*Baton (law enforcement)
*Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts
*Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people
*Baton (conductin ...
, and Uniformed Division officers also carry
pepper spray
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, cr ...
.
Special Operations Division (SOD) units are authorized to use a variety of non-standard weapons. The
Counter Assault Team (CAT) and the Emergency Response Team (ERT) both use the 5.56mm Knight's Armament Company SR-16 CQB assault rifle in an 11.5" configuration. CAT also deploys 12 gauge Remington 870 MCS breaching shotguns. Uniform Division technicians assigned to the Counter Sniper (CS) team use custom built
.300 Winchester Magnum
The .300 Winchester Magnum (also known as .300 Win Mag or .300 WM) (7.62×67mmB, 7.62x66BR) is a belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a m ...
-chambered bolt-action rifles referred to as JARs ("Just Another Rifle"). These rifles are built with Remington 700 long actions in Accuracy International stocks and use Schmidt & Bender optics. CS technicians also use the 7.62mm KAC SR-25/Mk11 Mod 0 semi-automatic sniper rifle with a Trijicon 5.5× ACOG optic.
Sidearms
The Secret Service's current duty sidearm, the
SIG-Sauer P229 double-action/single-action pistol chambered
.357 SIG
The .357 SIG (designated as the 357 Sig by the SAAMI and 357 SIG by the C.I.P. or 9×22mm in unofficial metric notation) is a bottlenecked rimless centerfire handgun cartridge developed by the Swiss- German firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer, ...
, entered service in 1999. It is the issued handgun to all special agents as well as officers of the Uniformed Division. As of 2019, the SIG-Sauer P229 is scheduled to be replaced with
Glock
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
9mm pistols. Most special agents will be issued the
Glock
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
19 Gen 5 MOS with forward slide serrations, Ameriglo Bold night sights, and a Streamlight TLR-7A weapon light. US Secret Service's Special Operations will be issued the Glock 47 with Ameriglo Bold sights and a Surefire X300 Ultra weapon light.
Badges
File:Badge of the United States Secret Service (1875–1890).png, Secret Service badge (1875–1890)
File:Badge of the United States Secret Service (1890–1971).png, Secret Service badge (1890–1971)
File:Badge of the United States Secret Service (1971–2003).png, Secret Service badge (1971–2003)
File:Badge of the United States Secret Service.png, Secret Service badge (2003–present)
Attire
![2010SecretServiceMN](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/2010SecretServiceMN.jpg)
Special agents and special officers of the Secret Service wear attire that is appropriate for their surroundings, in order to blend in as much as possible. In most circumstances, the attire of a close protection shift is a conservative suit, but it can range from a tuxedo to casual clothing as required by the environment. Stereotypically, Secret Service agents are often portrayed wearing reflective sunglasses and a communication earpiece. Often their attire is customized to conceal the wide array of equipment worn in service. Agents wear a distinctive
lapel pin
A lapel pin, also known as an enamel pin, is a small pin worn on clothing, often on the lapel of a jacket, attached to a bag, or displayed on a piece of fabric. Lapel pins can be ornamental or can indicate the wearer's affiliation with an organiza ...
that identifies them to other agents.
The attire for Uniformed Division Officers includes standard police uniforms or
utility uniform
A combat uniform, also called field uniform, battledress or military fatigues, is a casual type of uniform used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday fieldwork and combat duty purposes, as opposed to dress ...
s and ballistic/identification vests for members of the counter-sniper team, Emergency Response Team (ERT), and canine officers. The
shoulder patch
A shoulder sleeve insignia (often abbreviated SSI) is an embroidered patch worn on some uniforms of the United States Army. It is used by major formations of the U.S. Army; each formation has a unique formation patch. The U.S. Army is unique amon ...
of the Uniformed Division consists of the U.S. coat of arms on white or black, depending on the garment. Also, the shoulder patch is embroidered with "U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division Police" around the emblem.
Vehicles
![Allegheny County PD K9 screening a Secret Service vehicle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Allegheny_County_PD_K9_screening_a_Secret_Service_vehicle.jpg)
When transporting the president in a motorcade, the Secret Service uses a fleet of custom-built armored Cadillac Limousines, the newest and largest version of which is known as "
The Beast". Armored Chevrolet Suburbans are also used when logistics require such a vehicle or when a more low-profile appearance is required. For official movement, the limousine is affixed with U.S. and presidential flags and the presidential seal on the rear doors. For unofficial events, the vehicles are left sterile and unadorned.
Field offices
![Secret Service Field Office Locations](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Secret_Service_Field_Office_Locations.png)
The Secret Service has agents assigned to 136 field offices and field agencies, and the headquarters in Washington, D.C. The service's offices are located in cities throughout the United States and the world. The offices in Lyon and The Hague are respectively responsible for liaison with the headquarters of
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
and
Europol, located in those cities.
Misconduct
On April 14, 2012, the U.S. Secret Service placed 11 agents on administrative leave as the agency investigated allegations that the men brought prostitutes to their hotel rooms in Cartagena, Colombia, while on assignment to protect President Obama and that a dispute ensued with one of the women over payment the following morning.
After the incident was publicized, the Secret Service implemented new rules for its personnel.
The rules prohibit personnel from visiting "non-reputable establishments"
and from consuming alcohol less than ten hours before starting work. Additionally, they restrict who is allowed in hotel rooms.
In 2015, two inebriated senior Secret Service agents drove an official car into the White House complex and collided with a barrier. One of the congressmen in the
that investigated that incident was
Jason Chaffetz
Jason E. Chaffetz (; born March 26, 1967) is an American retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until his resignation in 2017. He chaired the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2015 until 2017.
Ch ...
. In September 2015, it was revealed that 18 Secret Service employees or supervisors, including Assistant Director Ed Lowery, accessed an unsuccessful 2003 application by Chaffetz for employment with the agency and discussed leaking the information to the media in retaliation for Chaffetz' investigations of agency misconduct. The confidential personal information was later leaked to ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
''. Agency Director Joe Clancy apologized to Chaffetz and said that disciplinary action would be taken against those responsible.
In March 2017, a member of Vice President
Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
's detail was suspended after the agent was caught visiting a prostitute at a hotel in Maryland.
In July 2022, during President Biden's trip to the Middle East, a Secret Service agent was sent back to the United States from Israel after assaulting a woman at a bar in
Machane Yehuda
Mahane Yehuda Market ( he, שוק מחנה יהודה, ''Shuk Mahane Yehuda''), often referred to as "The Shuk" ( he, השוק, HaShuq), is a marketplace (originally open-air, but now partially covered) in Jerusalem. Popular with locals and touris ...
. A Secret Service spokesman said in a statement that the agency was informed of the encounter, and the agent, who was working in Israel, was "briefly detained and questioned by Israeli police, who released him without charges."
On July 15, 2022, ''
The Intercept
''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing news website founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Poitras and funded by billionaire eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Its current editor is Betsy Reed. The publication initially reported ...
'' reported that a letter from the Department of Homeland Security revealed the Secret Service had erased text messages from the day before and day of the January 6 insurrection, shortly after those messages were requested by oversight officials investigating the agency’s response to the US Capitol riots. The agency claimed that the messages “were erased as part of a device-replacement program,” although the agency is bound by regulation to preserve all records of its activity (including text messages, emails, and other electronic communications). According to ''
Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' on July 19, 2022, as new material becomes available to the
United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack
The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (the January 6th Committee) is a bipartisan Select or special committee (United States Congress), select committee of the U.S. House of ...
, "a potential
second round of hearings gets slated for the fall
f 2022
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
.
Such related new materials may include further details regarding “the potential unauthorized deletion” of text messages, particularly those from around January 5 and 6, 2021, by the Secret Service, then headed by Director
James M. Murray
James M. Murray is an American law enforcement officer who served as the 26th director of the United States Secret Service.
Early life and education
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Murray attended St. Rose High School. Murray earned a bach ...
, an appointee by then-President Trump in 2019.
The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has initiated a criminal investigation into the erasure of text messages exchanged by Secret Service agents relating to the January 6 Capitol riot.
[Forbes, "Secret Service Under Criminal Investigation For Deleting Jan. 6 Texts", July 21, 202]
/ref>
Other U.S. federal law enforcement agencies
* Federal Bureau of Investigation
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, ...
(FBI)
* Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...
(DEA)
* Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)
* U.S. Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...
(USMS)
* Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
(ICE)
* Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
* Law Enforcement in the U.S. Military (DOD)
See also
* Bodyguard
A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...
* Commander-in-Chief's Guard
The Commander-in-Chief's Guard, commonly known as Washington's Life Guard, was a unit of the Continental Army that protected General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Formed in 1776, the Guard was with Washington in all o ...
– the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
unit that also had the dual responsibilities of protecting the Commander-in-Chief and the Continental Army's money
* List of protective service agencies
This is a list of government security police and bodyguard organizations.
Albania
* Republican Guard (Albania)
Austria
* Bundeskriminalamt
* Bundespolizei
*EKO Cobra
Bangladesh
* Special Security Force
* President Guard Regiment
* Special ...
* Secret Service codename
The United States Secret Service uses code names for U.S. presidents, first ladies, and other prominent persons and locations. The use of such names was originally for security purposes and dates to a time when sensitive electronic communicati ...
* ''Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service
''Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service'', 816 F. Supp. 432 (W.D. Tex. 1993), was a lawsuit arising from a 1990 raid by the United States Secret Service on the headquarters of Steve Jackson Games (SJG) in Austin, Texas. The rai ...
''
* Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations CFR Title 31 - Money and Finance: Treasury is one of fifty titles comprising the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Title 31 is the principal set of rules and regulations issued by federal agencies of the United States regarding money ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
"Protecting the U.S. President abroad"
by BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
"Inside the Secret Service"
slide show by ''Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
''
{{authority control
1865 establishments in the United States
Assassination of William McKinley
Financial crimes
Law enforcement agencies of the District of Columbia
Money forgery
Protective security units
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...