United States Secret Service

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United States Secret Service

Established	1865
Strength	2,100 Agents and 1,200 Uniformed Officers
Jurisdiction	Federal; prevention of money counterfeiting and Presidential protection
Specialty Units	Dignitary Protection
Chief	Mark J. Sullivan

The United States Secret Service is a United States federal government law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security (prior to the founding of that department in 2003, it was under the United States Department of the Treasury).

1 Role
2 Appearance
3 History
4 Attacks on Presidents
5 Protection of former Presidents and First Ladies
6 Protective operations & protective-function training and weaponry
7 Secret Service involvement in rescue attempts during 9/11
8 Directors
9 Field offices
10 Secret Service in popular culture
11 Trivia
12 References
13 See also
14 External links

[edit] Role

Secret Service Special Agents (foreground) protect the President of the United States.

Secret Service countersniper team

Secret Service Uniformed Division

The Secret Service has primary jurisdiction over the prevention of counterfeiting of U.S. currency and U.S. treasury bonds and notes, as well as protection of the President, Vice President, their immediate families, other high ranking government officials, past presidents and their spouses, certain candidates for the offices of President and Vice President, and visiting foreign heads of state and government (all called "protectees"). It also investigates a wide variety of financial fraud crimes and identity theft and provides forensics assistance for some local crimes. The Secret Service Uniformed Division assists in the protection of foreign embassies within Washington, D.C. Due to the necessary discretion of this organization, many details are currently unknown about the Secret Service. In general, the Secret Service has a "no comment" policy on any of its actions or investigations.

[edit] Appearance

Non-uniformed agents of the Secret Service wear attire that is appropriate for the surroundings. In most circumstances, this means a conservative business suit. Photographs often show them wearing sunglasses and a communication earpiece. The attire for members of the Uniformed Division includes police dress uniforms for White House police officers, police work uniforms for investigative officers, and work clothes and identification vests for members of the countersniper team. President Richard Nixon, after traveling through Europe, had his Secret Service agents wear elaborate uniforms to state functions. However, they were discontinued after being deemed too imperial.

[edit] History

The Secret Service was commissioned on July 5, 1865 in Washington, D.C. as the "Secret Service Division," to suppress counterfeit currency, which is why it was established under the United States Department of the Treasury. At the time, the only other federal law enforcement agencies were the United States Park Police, U.S. Post Office Department - Office of Instructions and Mail Depredations, now known as the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Marshals Service. The Marshals did not have the manpower to investigate all crime under federal jurisdiction, so the Secret Service was used to investigate everything from murder to bank robbery to illegal gambling. Prior to its formal establishment as a Treasury agency, during the Civil War the Secret Service, under the direction of detective Allan Pinkerton, was the espionage and counterespionage agency of the United States. It was the first domestic intelligence and counterintelligence agency. It no longer has, and has not for over a century, had these responsibilities. After the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901, Congress informally requested Secret Service presidential protection. A year later, the Secret Service assumed full-time responsibility for protection of the President. In 1902, William Craig was the first Secret Service agent killed while riding in the presidential motorcade.

The only member of the Secret Service to die while actually defending the president from an assassination attempt is Private Leslie Coffelt of the White House Police Force (now called the Secret Service Uniformed Division). In 1950, President Truman was residing in the Blair House, across the street from the White House, while the executive mansion was undergoing renovations. Two men approached the Blair House with the intent to assassinate President Truman. Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola, who were Puerto Rican nationalists, opened fire on Private Coffelt and other White House Police officers. Though mortally wounded by three shots from a 9 mm 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 1979. Agent Tim McCarthy stepped in front of President Ronald Reagan during the assassination attempt of March 30, 1981 and took a bullet to the abdomen, but made a full recovery.

The Secret Service Presidential Protective Detail safeguards the President of the United States and his immediate family. They are heavily armed and work with local police and the military to safeguard the President when he travels, in Air Force One, Marine One, and by limousine in motorcades.

Although today this is the Secret Service's most visible role, personal protection is an anomaly in the responsibilities of an agency focused on fraud and counterfeiting. The reason for this combination of duties is that when the need for presidential protection became apparent in the late 19th century, there were a limited quantity of federal services with the necessary abilities and resources. The FBI, IRS, CIA, ATF, and DEA did not yet exist. The United States Marshals Service was the only other logical choice, and in fact the U.S. Marshals did provide protection for the president on a number of occasions. In the end, however, the job went to the Secret Service.

The Secret Service has over 5,000 employees: 2,100 special agents, 1,200 Uniformed Division employees, and 1,700 technical and administrative employees. Special agents either serve as bodyguards for public officials or investigate financial fraud.

Secret Service Uniformed Division police officers protect:

the White House Complex, the Main Treasury Building and Annex, and other presidential offices
the President and members of his immediate family
the official residence of the Vice President at the US Naval Observatory in the District of Columbia
the Vice President and members of his immediate family
major presidential candidates within 120 days of the general Presidential election. [1]

The United States Secret Service Uniformed Division is similar to the Capitol Police and is in charge of protecting the physical White House grounds and foreign diplomatic missions in the Washington, D.C. area. The Uniformed Division was originally a separate organization known as the White House Police Force, but was placed under the command of the Chief of the Secret Service in 1930. In 1970, the role of the force, now called the Executive Protective Service, was expanded. The name United States Secret Service Uniformed Division was adopted in 1977.

In 1968, as a result of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, Congress authorized protection of major presidential and vice presidential candidates and nominees (Public Law 90-331). Congress also authorized protection of the widows of presidents until death or remarriage, and their children until age 16.

Congress passed legislation in 1994 stating that presidents elected to office after January 1, 1997, will receive Secret Service protection for 10 years after leaving office. Individuals elected to office prior to January 1, 1997, will continue to receive lifetime protection (Treasury Department Appropriations Act, 1995: Public Law 103-329).

The Service also investigates forgery of government checks, forgery of currency equivalents (such as travelers' checks), and certain instances of wire fraud (such as the so called Nigerian scam) and credit card fraud.

The Secret Service also has concurrent jurisdiction for violation of federal computer crime laws. They have created a network of 24 Electronic Crimes Task Forces (ECTFs) across the United States. These task forces create 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 signed Presidential Decision Directive 62, which established National Special Security Events (NSSE). In that directive, it made the Secret Service the federal agency responsible for security at events given such a designation.

Effective March 1, 2003, the Secret Service was transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the newly established Department of Homeland Security.

[edit] Attacks on Presidents

Since the 1960s, Presidents John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan have been attacked while appearing in public. President Ford was not injured, despite being attacked twice. President Reagan was seriously injured but survived, and President Kennedy died from the attack.

The Kennedy assassination spotlighted the bravery of two Secret Service agents: First, the agent guarding Mrs. Kennedy, Clint Hill, was riding in the car directly behind the Presidential Limousine when the attack began. While the shooting was taking place, Hill leaped from the running board of the car he was riding on and sprinted up to the car carrying the President and the First Lady. He jumped on to the back of the moving car and guided Mrs. Kennedy off the trunk she had climbed on and 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.

The other agent whose bravery was spotlighted during the assassination was Rufus Youngblood, who was riding in the vice-presidential car. When the shots were fired, he vaulted over the back of the front seat, threw his body over Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson, who would become president, and sprawled over him to minimize chances he may be injured. Youngblood would later recall some of this in his memoir, Twenty Years in the Secret Service. That evening, LBJ called Secret Service Chief James J. Rowley and cited Youngblood's bravery.

Secret Service agent Clint Hill on the back of the car moments after President Kennedy was assassinated

The period following the Kennedy assassination was probably 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, reports that caused President Johnson to call agent Youngblood and threaten to replace the Secret Service with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (The call was recorded and released several years ago.)^{[citation needed]}

The agency investigated charges that agents were out carousing in local saloons until all hours during the trip to Dallas. (No agent was ever disciplined for what happened in Dallas, however.)

Nevertheless, the agency overhauled its procedures in the wake of the Kennedy killing. Training, which heretofore had been confined largely to "on-the-job" efforts, was systematized and regularized. As duties expanded, so did the agency, growing from about 300 agents in the early 1960s to over 2,000 today.

[edit] Protection of former Presidents and First Ladies

In 1965, Congress authorized the Secret Service (Public Law 89-186) to protect a former president and his/her spouse during their lifetime, unless they decline protection. In 1997, Congress enacted legislation that limits Secret Service protection for former presidents to ten years after leaving office. Under this new law, individuals who were in office before January 1, 1997, will continue to receive Secret Service protection for their lifetime. Individuals elected to office after that time will receive protection for ten years after leaving office. Therefore, former president Bill Clinton will be the last president to receive lifetime protection for his service. George W. Bush will be the first to receive protection for only ten years.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) continues to receive full-time protection as a former First Lady, as do Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush.

[edit] Protective operations & protective-function training and weaponry

Due to the importance of the Secret Service's protective function, the personnel of the agency receive the latest weapons and training. The agents of the Protective Operations Division receive the latest military technology (See: the Presidential Protection Assistance Act of 1976, codified in the notes of Title 18, Section 3056 of the U.S. Code Annotated). Due to specific legislation and directives, the United States military must fully comply with requests for assistance with providing protection for the president and all other people under protection, providing equipment, and even military personnel at no cost to the Secret Service.

Special agents and officers carry the Sig Sauer P229 pistol chambered in .357 SIG. In addition to their primary weapon, they are also trained on several close-combat weapons such as the Remington Model 870 shotgun, the Uzi, FN P90, and the MP5 (MP5KA4 & other variations) submachine guns among others.

[edit] Secret Service involvement in rescue attempts during 9/11

The Secret Service New York City Field office was located at 7 World Trade Center. Immediately after the attacks, Special Agents and other Secret Service employees stationed at the New York Field office were among the first to respond with first aid trauma kits. Sixty-seven Special Agents in New York City, at and near the New York Field Office, assisted local fire and Police rescue teams by helping to set up triage areas and evacuate people from the towers. One Secret Service employee, Master Special Officer Craig Miller [2] , died during the rescue efforts.

On August 20, 2002, Director Brian L. Stafford recognized the bravery and heroism of 67 Secret Service employees in the New York Field Office, by awarding the Director's Valor Award to employees who assisted in the rescue attempts in the World Trade Center on 9/11.

[edit] Directors

William P. Wood (1865 – 1869)
Herman C. Whitley (1869 – 1874)
Elmer Washburn (1874 – 1876)
James Brooks (1876 – 1888)
John S. Bell (1888 – 1890)
A.L. Drummond (1891 – 1894)
William P. Hazen (1894 – 1898)
John E. Wilkie (1898 – 1911)
William J. Flynn (1912 – 1917)
William H. Moran (1917 – 1936)
Frank J. Wilson (1937 – 1946)
James J. Maloney (1946 – 1948)
U.E. Baughman (1948 – 1961)
James J. Rowley (1961 – 1973)
H. Stuart Knight (1973 – 1981)
John R. Simpson (1981 – 1992)
John W. Magaw (1992 – 1993)
Eljay B. Bowron (1993 – 1997)
Lewis C. Merletti (1997 – 1999)
Brian L. Stafford (1999 – 2003)
W. Ralph Basham (2003 – 2006)
Mark J. Sullivan (2006-Present)

[edit] Field offices

Main article: List of United States Secret Service Field Offices

The Secret Service has agents assigned to approximately 125 offices located in cities throughout the United States and in select foreign cities.

[edit] Secret Service in popular culture

24 - The Secret Service is regularly shown in action during scenes involving the President of the United States in this televised political action-drama. Glenn Morshower portrays veteran Special Agent and recurring team leader Aaron Pierce.
Air Force One - Action film starring Harrison Ford. A group of Russian terrorists hijack Air Force One and hold the president's family and staff hostage. The Secret Service figures prominently, and all agents onboard are killed.
Along Came a Spider - mystery novel and film, about a kidnapping investigated by a police officer and a Secret Service agent.
Area 7- A book by Australian novelist Matthew Reilly centering around the President's visit to an Air Force base in Utah. When the President is forced into a battle royale against members of an elite Special Forces unit, the Secret Service attempt to protect him and are gunned down until only one remains. Marines stationed aboard Marine One fulfill the duty of bodyguards throughout the story.
Chasing Liberty - A film starring Mandy Moore as the president's teenage daughter who travels Europe with an incognito Secret Service agent.
Dave - A film that shows the camaraderie between the body double of a comatose president, Kevin Kline, and his primary Secret Service agent, Ving Rhames.
DAG, a short-lived situation comedy about an inept Secret Service agent assigned to protect the First Lady.
Debt of Honor - Tom Clancy book where Secret Service agents attempt to protect the president during the war with Japan. In addition the Secret Service plays smaller roles in other Tom Clancy stories.
First Daughter - A film starring Katie Holmes as the daughter of the president, Michael Keaton which showcases the protective lengths her father takes to protect his college-bound girl.
First Kid - Sinbad stars as a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the President's son.
Guarding Tess - Film about a Secret Service agent assigned to guard a former First Lady.
In the Line of Fire - Popular film about a presidential assassination plot, starring Clint Eastwood as a Secret Service agent.
The Interpreter - Nicole Kidman plays an interpreter at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Sean Penn plays the Secret Service agent protecting her.
Murder at 1600 - The head of the Secret Service interferes in the investigation of a murder in the White House.
My Date with the President's Daughter - A movie that follows the president's daughter and her date as they avoid Secret Service agents in order to have some fun.
My Fellow Americans - A movie about two former presidents and a scandal. A Secret Service agent snipes a main character.
NCIS - Special Agent Kate Todd was originally a Secret Service Agent in the pilot episode Yankee White, which takes place aboard Air Force One. Other members of the service are seen throughout that episode and a few others.
Prison Break - A Fox TV series where Secret Service agents are middlemen in a government conspiracy.
Resident Evil 4 - A survival horror game. The game's main protagonist, Leon Kennedy, is revealed to be working for the United States Secret Service on his first mission.
Rush Hour 2 - An action/comedy film starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. They work with the Secret Service in order to thwart a counterfeit money operation and catch the villain behind it.
The Sentinel - Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland are Secret Service agents looking for a traitor within the agency.
Taxi Driver - Secret Service agents foil an assassination attempt by the protagonist (Robert De Niro).
To Live and Die in L.A. - A film about a Secret Service agent (William L. Petersen) determined to bring down a counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe) by any means necessary.
Wild Wild West - Western comedy starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline as Jim West and Artemus Gordon, in an adaptation of the 1960s television show, The Wild Wild West. In the final scene, President Ulysses S. Grant declares West and Gordon to be the first Secret Service men.
The West Wing - The Secret Service is regularly shown in action during scenes involving the President of the United States, or his staff, in this televised political drama. Michael O'Neill portrays Special Agent and recurring team leader Ron Butterfield.

[edit] Trivia

Secret Service special agents and officers use a Motorola surveillance kit attached to a radio in order to receive instructions from a central command post as well as to communicate with each other.
The Secret Service employs approximately 2,100 special agents, 1,200 Uniformed Division officers, and approximately 1,700 other technical, professional, and administrative support personnel. The Secret Service Uniformed Division is a uniformed force whose members protect the White House Complex, the Vice President's residence and foreign embassies and missions in the Washington, D.C. area. Members of the Uniformed Division perform their protective duties through various support teams, such as Countersniper, Canine Explosive Detection, Magnetometers, ERT / Special Operations, and Crime Scene Technicians, along with patrols and fixed posts.
The Secret Service's mandate was altered to include presidential protection after the assassination of William McKinley. After the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968, the Service's mandate was altered further to include protection of presidential candidates. Prior to this presidential protection was split between the US Army, Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department, US Park Police, US Capitol Police and at times the US Marshals Service.
During his golf trips, President Dwight Eisenhower was followed by four agents. Each carried their own golf bags, two of which carried communications equipment in case of emergency, while the other two contained the M1 carbine ready to be used at a moment's notice.^{[citation needed]}
The New South Wales government's decision to let Vice President Dick Cheney's bodyguards be armed during his trip to Sydney caused controversy ^[1] . It required the Parliament to change firearm laws.^{[citation needed]}