Criminal Justice: The United States Secret Service

The Secret Service - one of the most well known crime-fighting organizations out there. The United States Secret Service is in charge of stopping counterfeiting of United States currency, and to also protect the President, Vice President, Foreign Leaders, and many more people. To be a Secret Service agent you must be willing to sacrifice your life to protect the President. Generally, you would see the Secret Service surrounding the President, or another important person, while wearing a suit of some sort. However, this isn't always the case.

You can't be the "average Joe" to be a Secret Service agent. There are certain qualifications, tests, and other hoops you must jump through to insure that you're worth hiring. These qualifications include: Being a United States resident, being between the ages of 21-37, and you must pass a medical examination (hearing, vision, cardiovascular, ect), a polygraph test, a drug screening test, a largely in-depth interview, a thorough and complete background investigation, and clear some other objectives as well. Also, Secret Service agents must have a degree from an accredited college, or have three years experience in criminal investigation or law enforcement. On top of all of this, one must keep in mind that they are risking their lives when they take this job. A United States Secret Service agent must be willing to take a bullet for the icon of the United States - the President.

But how did the Secret Service come into play? What is their history? Also, what other jobs do the United States Secret Service take care of?

According to Wikipedia.org, the United States Secret Service was originally established on July 5th, 1865. Their main task, as I stated in the first paragraph, was to suppress counterfeiting of United States currency, but they later branched out to other crimes such as credit card fraud, forgery of governmental checks, wire fraud, and computer crime. The Secret Service first fell under the "United States Department of the Treasury". However, as of March 3rd, 2003, the Secret Service was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security.

Like I said in the first paragraph, not all United States Secret Service agents wear the usual business suit. Some Secret Service agents wear completely different attires to conform to the situation. Sometimes an agent will wear plain clothes such as a t-shirt, sneakers, sunglasses, and blue jeans, other times agents will be wearing standard police officer uniforms. Basically Secret Service agents' attire conforms to specific missions, objectives, and situations.

According to a popular criminal justice website (www.allcriminaljusticeschools.com), federal jobs such as United States Secret Service agents generally make $25,000 a year, but can easily move up to $50,000 a year only after five years (Please note: These statistics are from 2003). An agents wage isn't exactly the same as an FBI agent (which can eventually be boosted to $106,000 a year after overtime), but it's better than having a security guard's wage. Also keep in mind that college education, experience, and geographical location may sway the amount of pay someone earns. Of course Secret Service agents also get a great array of benefits as well.

But why would someone want to be a United States Secret Service agent? What makes this job more appealing than, lets say, a Wildlife Marshall? The top reason I would want to be a Secret Service agent is due to the fact that you're protecting the most important person in America, our leader, our icon - the President. There's few other careers that reach this level in patriotism. Also, there's over 150 Secret Service buildings in existence as we know it, so there's a high chance that you wont have to move, or move too far. Another reason is because of fast salary raises (their salary practically doubles in about 5 years).

In conclusion, the Secret Service is easily one of the most well known federal agencies in the United States. They have been seen in the movies, cartoons, television, and other sources of media as the guys in business suits protecting the President. Without the United States Secret Service we would have more fraud in this country, counterfeit bills floating around this nation, and an unprotected President. Basically without the Secret Service, the country would be easily manipulated, emotionally/psychologically (assassination attempts could possibly happen more often) and economically (forgery of governmental checks, fraud, ect).