Special agent

In the United States, a special agent is a detective or investigator who investigates suspected violations of federal, state or local laws. Special agents may also carry firearms and make arrests. Special agents work for many different law enforcement agencies. In some agencies, only special agents may carry firearms. An example is special agents in the Internal Revenue Service.William Lee Goff, Adventures of an Ordinary Man (Maitland, FL: Xulon Press, 2012), p. 215 To become special agents most applicants must pass written and physical examinations. In the FBI, like many agencies, applicants must go through a background check.

 History 
Congress was the first to use the title in 1801 when they changed the name of  U.S.Post office "surveyors" to "special agents". In 1880, the U.S. Congress created the position of "Chief Postal Inspector" and renamed these special agents to postal inspectors.Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement, eds. Larry E Sullivan; et al. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2005), p. 881

 Agencies 
The following US federal agencies use special agents:

State level:
 California Department of Justice (CA DOJ)
 United States Department of Agriculture
 United States Forest Service 
 United States Department of Commerce
 United States Department of Health and Human Services
 United States Department of the Interior
 United States Department of Homeland Security
 Coast Guard Investigative Service
 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
 U.S. Customs and Border Protection
 United States Secret Service
 United States Department of the Interior
 United States Department of Defense
 United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations
 United States Army Criminal Investigation Command
 Naval Criminal Investigative Service
 United States Department of Justice
 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
 Drug Enforcement Administration
 Federal Bureau of Investigation
 United States Marshals Service
 United States Department of State
 United States Department of Transportation
 United States Department of the Treasury
 Internal Revenue Service
 United States Postal Service
 United States Environmental Protection Agency

 References 

 Other websites 
 FBI Special Agent Salary and Job Description 

Category:Law enforcement agencies
Category:Law enforcement occupations