Overview
Founded in 1865 to combat counterfeiters, the Secret Service's responsibilities have since expanded greatly. Today, the agency's best-known duty is to protect the president, other key government figures, and visiting foreign leaders. It is also responsible for investigating financial fraud and protecting crowds, buildings, and locations from potential threats. The Secret Service documents the agency's history, focusing on organizational and structural changes, technological developments, training, special programs, and important real-life cases from the field.
Modern law enforcement agencies fight crime on many levels, from the street to the boardroom to cyberspace. In many ways the history of modern civilization is the history of crime and the battle against it. As society and technology have become more complex and connected, so have criminal enterprises and the police organizations that oppose them. Each book in the Law Enforcement Agencies series traces the evolution of a specific police force or unit from its inception to the present. The series explores the full range of crime fighting tactics in use today, from the cop on the beat to high-tech surveillance and computer forensics.