Federal criminal investigators enforce laws and solve crimes for federal agencies, working on cases such as terrorism, money laundering, and immigration. They review case documents, identify witnesses, participate in surveillance, and work undercover. They also arrest and prosecute alleged criminals, analyze crime scenes, and testify in court. Federal criminal investigators may also work on missing persons and kidnapping cases. A degree in criminal justice or a related field, as well as several years of law enforcement experience, are typically required.
A federal criminal investigator is an investigator who enforces laws and solves crimes for a federal agency. Most agencies assign officers to investigate criminal areas such as terrorism, money laundering and immigration. Investigators work with multiple agencies, including local, state, and federal divisions.
When a federal criminal investigator obtains a case, he or she reviews the case documents and looks for evidence. The investigator will also identify witnesses to the criminal activity. Other tasks include finding potential informants, drafting subpoenas for experts, and requesting warrants to search locations.
A big part of being a federal criminal investigator is participating in surveillance and working undercover operations. An investigator may have to infiltrate a large drug trafficking ring and pretend to be a drug dealer to gain access to the group. When the investigator is conducting surveillance, this may occur over a period of several days or weeks. The agent may have to stake out a suspect’s home or investigate a neighborhood and record any events that occur.
Other responsibilities that the federal criminal investigator performs are arresting and prosecuting persons accused of committing a crime. After the investigator arrests an alleged criminal, the investigator must take a fingerprint of the person and record the person’s physical information. The agent also needs to photograph the suspect for a photo and then enter all the information into the file.
Investigators must analyze crime scenes and mark evidence at the scene. One of the duties the federal criminal investigator must do is review fingerprints found at the scene with fingerprints in a national computer database. The agent must verify whether the alleged criminal may be linked to other crimes already entered in the system.
At times, a federal criminal investigator may be required to testify in court regarding activities seen while undercover. The agent may have to answer questions from lawyers and the judge about the alleged incident. The judge may also ask the investigator to identify certain exposures in order to bring them to light.
Federal criminal investigators also work on kidnapping and missing persons cases. When someone is reported missing, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent assists local law enforcement in organizing search parties and gathering details about what happened. If the person has been kidnapped, the agent will try to find the kidnapper and interview the victim’s friends and family. The federal agent may have to negotiate with the hostage takers and arrange a meeting to obtain the hostage.
To be a federal criminal investigator, agents need a degree in criminal justice or a related field. Some agents have additional training in forensic science and criminal profiling. Most departments also prefer to hire federal criminal investigators with several years of law enforcement experience.
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