FBI Agent Job Description

"Just the minute the FBI begins making recommendations on what should be done with the information, it becomes a Gestapo." Were the words of the first director of Federal Bureau of Investigation, J Edgar Hoover.

It's perhaps an ultimate fantasy of quite a few youth to be an FBI agent. Something like, the scintillating and shrewd Joe Pistone aka Donnie Brasco in Donnie Brasco or perhaps like Gillian Anderson in The X-files. There, Gillian Anderson plays Dana Scully, an agent ruminating over sidelined, unsolved cases which involved paranormal phenomena. WOW! I am absolutely smitten by the portrayal of agents on screen! Moreover, if the agent is played by 'bad boy' Jonnie Depp or the charismatic Clint East Wood - OH MY GOD! But coming back to real life from 'reel life', FBI agents are really the high profile officers involved in some serious crime investigation. However, the layman always wonders what do they do? (D-uh! Hollywood and American TV buffs already know that). Still, for those who are not very well acquainted with what it is, knowing about it is an experience and is very interesting. So are you ready to go through and read about the grind of this job? Lets bring it on!

What is the Job Description of an FBI Agent?

Now, FBI being a governmental law enforcement agency, there is division of duties or labor as we call it and thus, an FBI agent typically handles a particular aspect of investigation. It fundamentally entails investigation of crime. These criminal acts can range from drug trafficking to cyber or Internet crime to bribery to financial crimes and organized crimes. All these are 'so to say' run of the mill matters for them. What lights up their eyes is a high-end case like airplane hijacking, international espionage and inter state criminal activity and sensitive national security matters. For all these investigations and getting the culprit out of the burrow, an agent needs to be very deductive and intelligent. He or she should immediately be able to come to the possible suspects and motives.

On Field
Agents also require to dwell upon the evidence, ponder over missing links in a case, and crack it. This means that they have to go on the field, to confirm his doubts or to eliminate them. Going on field includes surveillance activities, encounter with criminals and so on. An agent always has to be on his toes and needs to be alert all the time. Field activity also involves arresting the criminals, when needed.

Off the Crime Scene
When not on field, agents interrogate people, do a criminal background check and basically mull over the evidence at hand to find the culprit as soon as possible. All this after thoroughly going through a case file and gathering all the bits and pieces along with the local police or other law enforcement officers to complete the jigsaw puzzle. For instance, in murder cases, especially, a forensics liaison accompanies an agent. Just like in the TV series 'Criminal Minds', all of them - the investigating officer, the forensics person, and others work in unison. Sometimes, if it's a highly specialized case, related to psychologically induced criminal acts, the FBI agent could be a part of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI.

All said and done, this entire description paints a very thrilling and rosy picture with guns and (no real roses here!) criminals and undercover agent activities and so on. But it's not a cakewalk. Only those with excellent physical fitness and those willing to lap up potentially dangerous situations, and most importantly the duty and the desire to enforce law and protect property and life, can be FBI agents. If you have that grit and gumption in yourself, a la Donnie Brasco or the likes, it is a great idea.

Finally, I hope I have given you enough knowledge on this topic and I must stop here, lest I go into an FBI-agent admiration and rambling spree! I sign off here!