The U.S. Federal Reserve Police is the law enforcement unit of the

Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after ...

, the central banking system 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

History

Federal Reserve System Law Enforcement Officers derive their authority from Section 11(q) of the

Federal Reserve Act The Federal Reserve Act was passed by the 63rd United States Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on December 23, 1913. The law created the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. The Pani ...

, codified at . Similar to other federal agencies, Federal Reserve officers are able to arrest without warrant for any federal felony or misdemeanor committed in their presence, or for federal felonies with probable cause anywhere within the United States. Prior to designation as federal law enforcement officers, system protection personnel operated as protection or special police officers in their respective states and were generally regulated to exercising authority on Federal Reserve property, with variances dependent on specific district regulations. Prior to federal law enforcement designation, there were no plainclothes or specialized units in the System.

Functions

Each Federal Reserve law enforcement office in the twelve regional districts is an independent law enforcement unit, though governed loosely out of Washington, D.C.. The primary duty of uniformed division officers is to provide security and general law enforcement services for Federal Reserve facilities, personnel and operations. Each Federal Reserve district operates a 24/7 emergency communications (command) center. Some Federal Reserve districts employ sworn officer intelligence analysts while others utilize non-sworn civilians. There are five Special Response Teams (SRT) based in

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Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

, as well as

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, which are designed to respond nationwide. Additionally, Explosive Detector Dog teams are utilized at several facilities. Each district maintains Executive Protection personnel, capable of safeguarding Federal Reserve executives throughout the United States. Each branch, or field office, also maintains officers authorized by federal or state agencies (POST) to provide defensive tactics, firearms, and general instructor capabilities to their respective units.

Equipment

Officers are certified to carry a variety of weapons systems, including

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actu ...

s, assault rifles, and

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

s. They also carry

less lethal weapon 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 ...

s including

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, ...

, batons,

taser A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended t ...

s, and other standard police equipment. Officers also wear

body armor Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...

in both covert and overt forms. Federal Reserve Police car

On October 12, 2010, 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 (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

signed into law S.B. 1132 "Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act Improvements Act", which states that law enforcement officers of the Federal Reserve are "qualified law enforcement officers" and thus are authorized to carry a firearm off-duty. This update to the Law Enforcement Safety Act, among other aspects, clarified that federal law enforcement officers working for

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and the Federal Reserve (not funded by Congress) are specifically granted the same rights as publicly funded law enforcement officers as it relates to off-duty

concealed carry Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pr ...

Federal Reserve Police Ford Taurus Police Interceptor

Each district can choose the make, model and style of police vehicles, which vary based on location and weather. There are both marked and unmarked police cars in the Federal Reserve fleet.

Employment

Federal Reserve Law Enforcement Officers (FRLEOs) must complete a Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation (FLETA) approved Basic Law Enforcement Course, or BLEC, in addition to field training. FRLEOs are required to complete in-service training each year to maintain their Federal Law Enforcement designation. Some (but not all) districts offer a lateral entry program that allows certification with minimal training for those with prior police training and experience. Because the Federal Reserve System is independent of the federal government, Federal Reserve Law Enforcement Officers have a benefits system separate from, but very similar to, federal employees, offering both pension and retirement. Each district has a different pay scale based on the local

cost of living Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a cer ...

index. The average entry level uniformed officer earns compensation comparable to a GS-9 on the public federal pay scale, which is variable depending on location of assignment. Officers typically receive shift differential, and in some cases specialized duty pay, such as canine, executive protection, SRT, background investigator, or FTO pay.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Federal Reserve Police, two officers have been killed in the line of duty.

Fallen dog

One dog has died while on duty. *K9 Remi EOW: January 13, 2014.

Citations

General sources

Federal Reserve Police Accreditation (FLETA)

* ttp://www.federalreserve.gov/careers/lawenforcement.htm Federal Reserve Police Recruiting page {{Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States Government agencies established in 2001

Police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

Federal Reserve Police The U.S. Federal Reserve Police is the law enforcement unit of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. History Federal Reserve System Law Enforcement Officers derive their authority from Section 11(q) of ...

Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States Agency-specific police departments of the United States 2001 establishments in the United States fr:Federal Reserve Police