United States Secret Service 

Strategic Plan 

FY 2014 - FY 2018 
FY 2014 – 2018 USSS Strategic Plan 

i

THE UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE

 is one of the oldest federal law enforcement 

agencies in the country and ranks among 

the most elite in the world. Since its founding in 

1865, the Secret Service has evolved to meet its 

mission demands. In the beginning, its sole focus 

was on combating the threat of counterfeit currency 

to ensure the financial stability of the country. Over 

time, our mission expanded to include protecting the 

President of the United States, other national and 

world leaders, and events of national significance. 

Today, our mission of protection and investigation 

addresses a myriad of threats, including those 

originating in cyberspace.

This strategic plan will guide the Secret Service 

from Fiscal Year 2014 through Fiscal Year 2018, a 

time period that will include our agency’s 150th 

anniversary. Our century and a half of experience has 

taught us that the security threats facing our nation’s 

leaders, financial systems, and critical infrastructure 

will continue to evolve. Our mission and our 

responsibilities to the President of the United States, 

to the Department of Homeland Security, and to the 

public demand that we anticipate emerging threats 

and develop and implement countermeasures to proactively address them.

Our five-year strategy to anticipate emerging 

and ever-changing threats is to strengthen our 

operational readiness in the areas of protection, 

protective intelligence, and criminal investigations. 

We will continually evaluate technical and tactical 

enhancements in our operations. And we will pursue 

threats wherever they reside in the physical and 

virtual worlds.

This operational strategy relies on the skills, 

dedication, and drive of the Secret Service workforce. 

Every employee, at every grade level and in every job 

series, contributes to our mission. Our overall human 

capital goal is to recruit, train, deploy, and retain 

a diverse and committed professional workforce 

that upholds our core values and contributes to our 

success as an organization. We must ensure they 

are prepared to meet our mission demands and 

are fully equipped with the cutting edge skills and 

tools necessary to do their jobs. These tools include 

advanced information technology systems that allow 

them to share sensitive information quickly and 

leverage data to gain additional operational insight.

Our strategic plan must be deployed within the 

context of our budgetary environment. Our 

responsibility to the public is to utilize our financial 

resources in an efficient and effective manner. As part 

of this strategic plan, we will look to enhance our 

budgeting process by adopting existing best practices 

found elsewhere in government and strengthening 

our forecasts of resource needs through the use of 

advanced analytics. Beyond the budget process, we 

will look to identify other areas of efficiencies and 

cost savings so as to redeploy these resources to frontline operations.

Today’s Secret Service is a much different 

organization than it was in 1865 – our mission is 

broader and more complex, and our workforce is 

larger and more diverse. The strategies contained 

in the following pages are intended to advance this 

historic organization to meet its evolving operational 

mission demands into the future. As this strategy 

moves from planning to execution, I am confident in 

the abilities of the Secret Service workforce to deliver 

results on these strategic goals.

Julia A. Pierson

Director

United States Secret Service

M e s s a g e f r om t h e D i r e c t o r

aaa
ii

i Message from the Director

1 Mission Statement

3 Core Values

5 Strategic Environment

7 Strategic Goals

T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
FY 2014 – 2018 USSS Strategic Plan 1

J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • C o u r a g e

H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y

Mission Statement

V i s i o n S t a t e m e n t

The mission of the Secret Service is to ensure the security of our President, our Vice President, their families, the White House, the Vice President’s Residence, national and visiting world 

leaders, former Presidents, and events of national significance. The Secret Service also protects the 

integrity of our currency and investigates crimes against our national financial system committed 

by criminals around the world and in cyberspace.

To accomplish this mission, the Secret Service implements the following operational programs:

• Protection 

• Protective Intelligence

• Criminal Investigations

The Secret Service achieves excellence in these program areas by deploying leading-edge 

technologies to mitigate emerging threats and contributes to the success of the goals the 

Department of Homeland Security has identified in its 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security 

Review (QHSR).

The vision of the Secret Service is to uphold the tradition of excellence in its protective and investigative mission through a dedicated, highly trained and diverse workforce that promotes 

professionalism and employs advanced technologies in support of its programs and activities.
2 FY 2014 – 2018 USSS Strategic Plan 3

J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • C o u r a g e

H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y

We are committed to upholding the long-standing core values of the Secret Service.

Duty:

Fulfilling the obligations required to accomplish the mission

Justice:

Demonstrating fairness in accordance with the law

Courage:

Willfully acting with resolve and bravery

Honesty:

Displaying truthfulness in every action

Loyalty:

Exhibiting steadfast allegiance to working with our colleagues to 

accomplish the mission of the Secret Service

Core Values
4 FY 2014 – 2018 USSS Strategic Plan 

5

J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • C o u r a g e

H o n e s t y • 

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y •C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • 

C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y

As the Secret Service prepares to commemorate its 150th anniversary, we celebrate our storied legacy of protecting the President and the integrity of our currency and investigating crimes 

against our nation’s financial system. With ever-changing threats, we continue to evolve in how we 

carry out our mission in a way that earns the trust and confidence of those we serve. 

As part of the strategic planning process, we have identified four key factors that impact our 

operations. Given the prominence of the internet in daily life and commerce, it is no surprise that 

this list highlights how advances in cyberspace impact our mission programs: Emerging Threats

Advances across a wide spectrum of technological disciplines, such as computer technology, 

specialized materials, and biotechnology, bring a rapid evolution of unconventional threats 

to our protected sites and against our protectees. Additionally, the expansion of terrorists’ 

concealment tactics and the deployment of alternate weapons of destruction impact the 

complexity of our security measures. Availability of Information

via Digital Platforms

With over 938 million Twitter and 1.2 billion Facebook accounts in existence, social media 

is taking information sharing by the public to a new level. As details about our protectees’ 

whereabouts are posted online and viewed by millions of people instantaneously, our 

protectees’ safety and security is impacted. Furthermore, threats to protectees are now being 

posted to social media for public viewing. Evolution and Growth of

ElectronicBanking

The number of financial crimes cases – including identify theft, mortgage and credit card 

fraud – investigated by the Secret Service has increased 33 percent between 2008 and 

2013. In Fiscal Year 2013, the Secret Service prevented over $1.1 billion in fraud loss 

and identified more than $235 million in actual fraud loss in cyber crime investigations. 

Transnational cyber criminal networks are behind many electronic banking crimes which 

further complicates the response and investigation of these cases. Advancing Communication Technology Integration

In 2013, the Secret Service provided protection on 6,452 domestic and foreign travel 

stops visited by our protectees. As threats increase in both magnitude and type, it becomes 

paramount that communications throughout the agency are instantaneous, accessible, and 

secure. Strategic

Environment
6 FY 2014 – 2018 USSS Strategic Plan 

7

J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • C o u r a g e

H o n e s t y • 

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y •C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • 

C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y

Accomplishing our goals will further strengthen our operational capabilities and prepare us for mission success in the years ahead. Success also rests on the dedication and absolute 

professionalism of our workforce. Our four goals for this strategic plan are as follows: 

1. OperationalReadiness

Preparedness is paramount to our mission success. We must be prepared to anticipate 

threats and vulnerabilities, to assess the likelihood of their occurrence, and to devote 

resources to addressing them. We must also ensure that our employees are properly 

equipped to perform their statutory protective and investigative responsibilities. 

2. HumanCapital

Our employees remain our greatest asset. With 70 percent of our budget allotted to 

personnel-related expenses and 25 percent of our total workforce eligible to retire by 

FY 2016, maintaining appropriate staffing levels and the right skill mix is critical to 

our mission success. To address these challenges, we will forecast our hiring needs 

by performing staffing assessments across our job categories. We will recruit the best 

candidates and train and equip them for mission success. Furthermore, we will strive to 

retain valued employees by ensuring appropriate work-life balance. 

3. AdvancedTechnology

We face important decisions regarding many aspects of our IT infrastructure, including 

its governance, enterprise architecture, capital planning, and security. A growing 

demand for employees to have instantaneous information on wireless devices also exists. 

We must invest in infrastructure that advances our command and control capabilities 

and ensures mission success.

4. Business Processes andResource Management

To carry out our mission in an effective and efficient manner, leaders at all levels 

throughout the organization require accurate and reliable financial information to 

make data-driven decisions. We will consolidate, integrate, and streamline our financial 

processes to make monitoring and tracking of funds and resource allocations easier. We 

will use the strategic planning process to drive budgetary decisions, and we will collect 

and analyze performance metrics regularly to determine program performance. We will 

leverage new technology to further enhance and integrate all of our business processes.

The objectives and strategies listed on the pages that follow provide a roadmap for the realization of our 

goals and priorities. Strategic

Goals
8 FY 2014 – 2018 USSS Strategic Plan 

9

J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • C o u r a g e

H o n e s t y • 

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y •C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • 

C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y

D u t y • 

C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e

Objective 1.1: Ensure the protection of designated protectees, places, and events

Strategy 1.1.1: Establish and launch joint training activities for protective 

assignments and integrate best practices from National Special 

Security Events (NSSEs)

Strategy 1.1.2: Assess and enhance the physical protection measures required to 

protect designated facilities 

Strategy 1.1.3: Renew and refresh partnership agreements with stakeholders

Strategy 1.1.4: Leverage data analytics to enhance resource management 

Strategy 1.1.5: Examine the protective requirements for safeguarding 

non-traditional protectees 

Objective 1.2: Enhance analysis and awareness of threats

Strategy 1.2.1: Identify, analyze, and disseminate relevant threat information 

on a timely basis

Strategy 1.2.2: Pursue investigative leads in order to mitigate potential threats 

to Secret Service–protected persons, facilities, and events

Strategy 1.2.3: Conduct research and gather, analyze, and disseminate 

operationally relevant information pertaining to threat 

assessments and the prevention of targeted violence through the 

National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC)

Strategy 1.2.4: Liaise with the intelligence community and other law 

enforcement organizations to ensure timely and relevant 

information-sharing

Objective 1.3: Protect the nation’s financial infrastructure through investigative 

activities

Strategy 1.3.1: Safeguard the U.S. Treasury and national financial infrastructure 

and systems

Strategy 1.3.2: Engage stakeholders and multi-agency task forces in 

investigative activities

Strategy 1.3.3: Assess investigative demands and capacities 

Strategy 1.3.4: Expand our ability to respond to cyber intrusions 

The Secret Service will 

anticipate and address 

threats and perform 

its statutory protective 

and investigative 

responsibilities by 

properly training and 

equipping all employees 

and by strengthening 

its partnerships. Goal 1: Operational Readiness
10 FY 2014 – 2018 USSS Strategic Plan 11

J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • C o u r a g e

H o n e s t y • 

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y •C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • 

C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y

D u t y • 

C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e

Objective 2.1: Forecast future hiring requirements to ensure appropriate staffing and 

skill levels

Strategy 2.1.1: Determine appropriate staffing levels to meet mission requirements for 

protective and investigative missions 

Strategy 2.1.2: Identify current and future skill and expertise gaps to be filled in order 

to meet mission requirements

Strategy 2.1.3: Ensure diversity within the organizational workforce to provide an 

enriched perspective and skill set

Objective 2.2: Recruit and hire the most qualified candidates

Strategy 2.2.1: Assess and enhance recruitment processes to attract candidates with 

diverse backgrounds, experiences, knowledge, and training

Strategy 2.2.2: Streamline the hiring and security clearance processes while 

maintaining thoroughness

Objective 2.3: Train all employees to successfully perform mission requirements while 

upholding the highest professional standards

Strategy 2.3.1: Provide specialized training and orientation programs for new 

employees entering the agency

Strategy 2.3.2: Offer all employees best-in-class ongoing training and certification 

opportunities in their fields of expertise

Strategy 2.3.3: Reinforce the importance of professionalism, ethics, and integrity for 

all personnel annually

Objective 2.4: Enhance partnerships that enable employees to fully perform mission 

requirements

Strategy 2.4.1: Expand partnerships with colleges, universities, industry, and 

professional organizations to leverage knowledge, services, and 

resources 

Strategy 2.4.2: Leverage the expertise, services, and research and development 

opportunities DHS and others can provide

Objective 2.5: Retain valued employees

Strategy 2.5.1: Provide clearly defined career tracks for all employees

Strategy 2.5.2: Develop mechanisms to ensure work-life balance and stress are 

measured, monitored, and addressed across the workforce

Strategy 2.5.3: Recognize employees who represent and best exemplify agency core 

values

The Secret Service 

will focus on 

forecasting hiring 

needs, recruiting, 

training, 

equipping, and 

retaining valued 

employees. Goal 2: Human Capital
12 FY 2014 – 2018 USSS Strategic Plan 13

J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • C o u r a g e

H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y

D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e

Objective 3.1: Create the infrastructure needed to fulfill mission responsibilities

Strategy 3.1.1: Build a flexible enterprise IT architecture that supports integration of 

various types of technology 

Strategy 3.1.2: Build additional infrastructure with the security necessary to access 

classified systems and networks at headquarters, at field offices, and at 

protective events

Strategy 3.1.3: Integrate and automate systems agency-wide to improve real-time 

information sharing

Objective 3.2: Acquire and expand the use of advanced technology to fulfill mission 

responsibilities

Strategy 3.2.1: Increase the use of portable and mobile tools and resources that 

enhance operational effectiveness

Strategy 3.2.2: Expand the use of GPS tracking of operational assets at protective 

events and in investigative offices

Strategy 3.2.3: Incorporate IT training to ensure all employees know how to fully 

utilize technology and systems to perform mission responsibilities

Strategy 3.2.4: Utilize the Combined Operations Logistics Database to integrate event 

planning and personnel resource management activities throughout the 

agency

The Secret Service will 

build an infrastructure 

that will balance 

information security 

and information 

accessibility, while also 

expanding the use of 

advanced technology 

to fulfill mission 

responsibilities.

Goal 3: 

Advanced

Technology
14 FY 2014 – 2018 USSS Strategic Plan 15

J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • C o u r a g e

H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y

D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e

Objective 4.1: Integrate and enhance the planning, programming, budgeting, and 

execution processes

Strategy 4.1.1: Review and revise agency business operating policies and procedures to 

support integration

Strategy 4.1.2: Improve coordination between divisions and offices regarding 

acquisition and procurement activities

Strategy 4.1.3: Establish a requirements planning and investment analysis process to 

facilitate the acquisition and reallocation of resources

Strategy 4.1.4: Develop and leverage data analytics to ensure programs meet agency 

performance goals

Objective 4.2: Identify efficiencies to enhance the effectiveness of business processes

Strategy 4.2.1: Map current business processes to identify redundancies and 

inefficiencies

Strategy 4.2.2: Consolidate the financial management processes and systems to ensure 

consistency in the information provided across the agency

Strategy 4.2.3: Automate business processes

Strategy 4.2.4: Anticipate and acquire the resources, equipment, and technology that 

will be needed to perform job responsibilities in the future

Strategy 4.2.5: Implement eTravel

Strategy 4.2.6: Leverage the strategic sourcing process to facilitate acquisitions

The Secret Service 

will consolidate and 

streamline the planning, 

programming, budgeting, 

and execution processes by 

adopting new technology 

that will better track 

performance metrics 

and assist leadership 

in making data-driven 

decisions.

Goal 4: 

Business

Processes and

Resource

Management
J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • C o u r a g e

H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y

L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y

D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e • D u t y • C o u r a g e • H o n e s t y • L o y a l t y • J u s t i c e

J u s T I c E • D u 'f y • c 0 u R A G E • H 0 N E s T y • 

Hor-.ES1Y • LoYALtY • JusiiCE • DuTY • 

LoYALTY • JusiiCU • DuiY • CouRAGE 

DuTY • CouRAGE • HoNEsrY • LoYALTY • 

JusTICli • DuTY • CouRAGE • Hof\:ESTY • LoYALTY • CouRAGE 

Hoi\'J::SIY • LoYALTY • Jus·1rcE • DutY •CouRAGE • HoNESTY 

LoYALrY • JusTICJ:: • DuTY • CouRAGE • HoNliSTY • LoYALTY 

• DuTY • CouRAGE • HoNESIY • LoYALTY • JusTICE 
For more information on the United States Secret Service, 

please visit www.secretservice.gov