research paper secret service

The Secret Service: History, Mission, Structure, Funding Research Paper

Introduction.

The Secret Service is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. Its main mandate involves handling issues of counterfeiting and other financial crimes that are committed in the USA. As Emmett reveals, following the killing of William McKinley, the agency’s mandate expanded to include protecting national leaders, dignitaries visiting the US, and the leaders’ families. Towards the end of the national battle in the US, about 33% and 50% of the money that was being exchanged was forged. This situation led to the establishment of the Secret Service agency in 1865 to deal with crime, which posed an enormous threat to the US economy. This paper discusses the history and development process of the United States Secret Service agency. It also discusses the mission, structure, funding, policies, success, and obstacles to the performance of the organization. The goal is to offer a comprehensive analysis of the organization’s extent of attaining its objectives that were defined during its creation. In the last section, an analytic conclusion of the United States Secret Service is offered.

History and Development of the United States Secret Service

The Secret Service (SS) was inaugurated on 5 July 1865. Instances of insecurity were very common because bandits had taken advantage of the situation where no proper safety mechanisms had been established to detect any evil plans before they could be executed. Hence, its main mandate was to curb the increasing cases of counterfeiting the US currency. The agency was commissioned as a division of the treasury section. It was established through Abraham Lincoln’s ruling, just during the time of his murder. Before its commissioning, the United States Park Police, United States Postal Service, the US Marshals Service, and the US Police Office Department served as the only bodies that were mandated with enforcing federal laws. Marshals’ Service lacked the capacity to investigate crimes that were committed within federal jurisdictions. Thus, in 1867, Secret Service started investigating all crimes ranging from murder and illegal gambling to different forms of theft such as personality robbery, information systems theft, or cyberspace theft. Although the agency was commissioned in Washington, DC, its main offices were moved to New York City in 1870. However, they were later returned to Washington, DC in 1874. In the mid-1870s, the agency gave out a fresh set of devotion manuscripts to the senior management. At the close of the 1870s, the US Upper House made it illegitimate to forge money or any other highly valued metals. The agency was tasked to enforce the law. According to Kessler, the agency was recognized as a separate entity within the banking section of the United States of America in 1883. The bureau first offered the head of states defense as a non-official duty requirement in the mid-1890s.To formalize the mandates of the agency; the US Upper House enacted and passed a law on forgery and/or purchasing of any fake stamp.

Following the murder of President McKinley, the Upper House unofficially demanded the SS to temporarily guard the leaders of the United States. However, this role was formalized a year later when the agency was required by law to offer full-time protection of the presidents. In 1902, SS lost its first serving agent, William Craig, in road carnage. SS became the foremost United States home insight and counter-insight bureau. In the same year, the bureau took a permanent duty of guarding the president. As The United States Secret Service confirms, extra guards were also given a permanent task in the White House Detail. In 1906, the Upper House enacted the 1907 Sundry Public Expenditure law, which set finance kitty for the SS to guard of the heads. The bureau also conducted thorough scrutiny of various property crimes. This process led to the returning of several millions of acres that had wrongly been misappropriated to the US government. In 1908, it started protecting presidents-elect. Moving the bureau to the integrity section by President Roosevelt ensured that it constituted the FBI nucleus. After the establishment of the FBI, the acumen gathering roles were removed and vested in the newly developed defense organs within the banking subdivision.

The extension of the SS mandates began in the almost mid-1910s following the introduction of the constitutional power for the bureau to offer lasting security of both president-elects and the sitting heads. In 1915, President Wilson issued orders for Treasury escritoire to consent to the bureau to conduct inquires on spying in America. This crime usually involves one of the methodologies that cyber attackers deploy to pose threats to national security systems. It entails the practice or the act of acquiring national secrets, especially on classified information and sensitive secrets from competitors, individuals, and even another government. The main motivation for engaging in this evil is to take economic, military, and political advantage via illegal computer exploitations through the internet, software, and networks. The SS was mandated to curb any espionage crime.

At the close of 1910s, the legislative body passed laws requiring the agency to provide full-time security to members who were close to the head of state. Any offense that was made to the head of state or his close relatives was also considered a breach of the US centralized regulations. In an effort to deal with such crimes, White House Police Force was established in 1922 through the president’s request. However, eight years later, the body started receiving orders from the agency. In 1951, through a legislative obligation, the agency started providing safety to the US heads who had not yet taken up office, current serving heads of states, and their close folks. It was also required to maintain defense of the deputies to the heads of states, if they so demanded, as The United States Secret Service confirms. However, 10 years later, the Upper House expanded the list of people under safety by the agency to include previous country heads, but for a practical duration. However, in 1962, as The United States Secret Service claims, the Upper House extended the number to involve “the vice president (or the next officer to succeed the president) and the vice president-elect”. From these observations, this move suggests a trend in the expansion of the role of SS in protecting key individuals in the US leadership and its development process.

In 1963, the Upper House enacted a ruling allowing the security of President John Kennedy’s wife and young kids. Upon the murder of Robert Kennedy as the then US head of state, this scope was adjusted to include all former state heads, their companions, and all their minors until they attained a mature age of close to 20 years. The Congress enacted legislation authorizing the Secret Service to protect key vice presidents and president nominees. It also mandated the agency to protect the widows of all presidents until such a time when they remarried or upon their death. The children of widows were to be protected until they were 16 years old.

In1970, the administrative dwelling and the key office of the American head of state was rebranded the administrative defensive overhaul. This move was accompanied by an addition of roles of offering defense services to the ambassadorial operations in Washington, DC. In 1971, the Upper House directed the agency to guard all executive visitors to the United States together administrative and/or country leaders. In the mid 1970s, the administrative defensive overhaul unit started to guard ambassadorial operations in other regions other than Washington. The unit was later to become the Underground Overhaul Uniformed Department. In 1984, the Congress outlawed the use of any fraudulent debit or credit card. Thus, it mandated the SS with implementing the law through its investigative arm. It was also charged with investigations involving computer fraud and falsified identity. In 1986, the Treasury Police Force merged with the SS Uniform Division. In the same year, the agency was charged with protecting spouses who accompanied any visiting heads of state. In 1990, the United States Secret Service informs that the USSS got a certified parallel authority with the section of integrity decree implementation workers to carry out all inquiries, national or against the law, in connection to federally indemnified monetary organizations. In 1994, crime bill number 103-322 mandated the SS to counter any act of manufacturing, processing, or even trafficking the US currency in the international arena. Such crimes are prosecuted as if they are executed within the US jurisdiction.

September 11 attacks depicted additional roles of the SS. After the assault, the SS distinguished staff members together with various recruits of the NYF bureau took action to offer relief. They also participated in the evacuation efforts where a Secret Service officer died in the process. Although it came with lots of criticism on privacy inversion, the US Patriot Act mandated the SS to develop nationwide capacities to curb electronic crimes. The law permitted the SS to investigate and prevent different attacks in the US financial and crucial infrastructures such as information systems. This plan prevented the deployment of new technologies in executing crimes.

The dawn of 2004 was historical for the agency. Its first woman deputy director was named. In 2006, the Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force increased its national task forces from 15 to 24. The forces were required to dedicate their efforts to fighting high technology and computer crimes by enhancing public-private sector partnerships. The safeguarding of various presidential contenders often started as elections neared. However, in 2007, the agency started providing defense to a self-ruled presidential aspirant, Barack Obama. In 2008, the agency had made more than 29, 000 arrests on accounts of crimes such as counterfeiting, financial crimes, and cyber attacks among others. About 98% o the arrests led to convictions with a seizure of about 298 million dollars in counterfeit. It investigated and successfully prevented a loss of USD3.7billion. It also prevented the potential loss of USD12billion in the form of financial crimes.

By 2010, the SS had 65000 employees. About 3200 of them served in the Special Agents while 1,300 served in the Uniformed Division. Technical and administrative staff members amounted to 2,000. Special Agents were tasked with offering protective details. In some situations, they were involved in investigating financial crimes and any other matters that had a link with Homeland Security. The dawn of 2014 saw the bureau encounter its most serious disparagement following the case of infringement in the president’s residence. While this occurrence was a major failure, today, the SS continues to execute its protective and investigative roles.

From mid 1860s, the organization has advanced to take the role of implementing centralized regulations, but with a constitutional mandate of accomplishing unlawful examinations and safeguarding certain centralized administrators, places, and various persons. The 2002 ruling led to the relocation of the organization to the section of motherland sanctuary from the finance subdivision. Reese asserts its mission as ensuring “the security of the President, the Vice President, their families, the White House, the Vice President’s Residence, national and visiting world leaders, former presidents, and events of national significance.” He also states that the agency has a role in investigating financial and cyberspace crimes. These revelations mean that the agency has two main missions, namely investigating and protecting.

Investigation

Investigation, especially on counterfeiting crimes, constitutes the agency’s original mission. However, through establishment of a series of organizational requirements, obligations, and parliamentary laws and regulations, the scope of the investigative undertaking has been enlarged. Although the main concern is to offer counterfeiting investigation, the agency investigates some issues that do not relate to financial matters. For instance, it examined Ku Klux Klan and actions of anti-surveillance during the first global uprising. Forensic overhaul section of the SS plays essential roles in the operation of the counterfeiting and monetary felony examination. Staff members in this section study credentials, fake naming, visa certificates, and fingerprints among other sources of forensic substantiation.

The investigative support for the SS facilitates the formulation followed by implementation of criminal intelligence programs. For example, the criminal specialist research program provides avenues of gathering intelligence and its subsequent analysis to help in pursuing forensic financial misconducts and/or putting in place infrastructure to facilitate the investigation of such crimes. The program also offers analytical aid and research support to the criminal investigation. In 1994, the US Congress expanded the investigation mission of the SS to include forensic evidence gathering and offering technical support in terms of investigating issues that dealt with child exploitation.

In 1894, the SS started protecting presidents of the United States such as President Grover Cleveland who got a part-time security. Today, the agency protects President Obama on a full-time basis. The Congress and unofficial decisions direct the SS’ protective mission. For instance, its role in protecting President Cleveland was unofficial while the US Congress directs its current roles of protecting key presidential candidates and any visiting dignitaries. The protective roles continue to evolve to include the removal of some names in the protective list. For example, in 2008, the agency protected a spouse to the former president of the United States who also happened to run as a presidential aspirant. It also protected a vice president who was not running for party nominations.

Section 3056(a) of 18 USC defines the key persons that USSS should protect. Reese identifies such persons as “presidents, vice president, and vice president-elect”. The agency should also protect immediate family members to these persons. It also has an added mandate to protect former presidents together with their spouses and children under 16 years old. It also protects former vice presidents of the US and their children who are below 16 years old.

The SS’ operations that are necessary for realizing the agency’s protective mission have undergone evolution over the years. At its inception, the agency used physical presence of bodyguards to achieve its protective mission. Today, this mission is attained by maintaining a close distance with persons who are under protection and conducting an advanced survey of security situations in all areas that are scheduled to be visited by those under its protection as Kessler confirms. It also coordinates the local or state enforcement agents whilst conducting intelligence analysis to mitigate the current and anticipated threats. To achieve its assignment, it deploys qualified staff people, corporeal blockades, and technical infrastructure to reduce any susceptibility that is associated with the evolving safety intimidation.

The SS’ structure shows the flow of command. It is hierarchical in nature. It depicts a unilateral information flow. The director, assisted by deputy director, holds the top-most position. The director facilitates policy development and implementation process with the agency. He or she provides oversight to the operations of the agency, including overseeing its about 7000 personnel employed. There is also the position of chief of staff. The holder of the position oversees all issues that relate to the agency’s staff members. There are eight positions below the deputy directors. They include administration, government and public affairs, human resources and training, investigations, professional responsibility, technical development and mission support, protective operations, and strategic intelligence and information.

The overall structure of the SS can reduce into Director, Deputy Director, Special Agents, Uniformed Division Officers, and Support Personnel. The uniformed body came into force early 1920s to offer defense in the president’s residence. It was later integrated into the SS in 1930. Currently, it has a population of beyond 1300 officers. It provides security to the White House, the residence of the US vice president, Treasury Department, and missions for foreign diplomacy at Washington, DC. It provides safety by conducting tours using cars, racing bikes, or by walking around. It also has fixed posts within its operational areas. The division also offers support protective services such as counter-sniper support, canine explosives detection, emergency response, and magnetometers to the SS.

Special Agents Unit is involved in the investigation of financial crimes such as fraud and counterfeiting. It also has the responsibility of investigating computer-related crimes, telecommunication fraud, identity thefts, commercial securities, and incidences of falsified identification. This element of the structure is termed as ‘special’ due to its technological shrewdness in dealing with technologically enhanced crimes such as cybercrimes and telecommunication crimes. The Special Agents and the Uniformed Division are law enforcement agents of the SS. The agency also relies on services offered by the best American professionals who are drawn from legal, psychology, computer, graphic design, forensic science, medical, budget analysis, and human resource among other professional backgrounds. These highly qualified American citizens provide the support services to the agency. They are collectively classified as support personnel.

In realizing its mission, the SS requires financial resources to support its mandates. In the past few years, the US Congress has appropriated about USD1.6billion for use in financing the USSS operations. It receives its funding from the national government through the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS). However, the budget for this year has experienced some challenges due to uncertainties over the budget for DHS as Chiacu and Cornwell confirm. This challenge has emerged due to security lapses such as the incident of White House intruder.

For 2015, the USSS requested USD1, 586million. In 2014, a budget of USD1, 533million was enacted. In 2014, the protection mission was allocated about 63 percent of the total budgetary allocation from the USSS agency. This figure was about USD920million while the investigative mission received USD368million. These differences are attributed to the fact that the protection mission requires the highest number of service agents. The SS congressional actions also relate to protection.

The SS collects information from people to achieve its protection mission. The policy seeks to prevent crimes before their occurrence, as opposed to acting reactively. The United States Secret Service confirms that its agenda involves discovering, evaluating, and directing individuals who show the concern and capacity to raise assaults in opposition to the agency’s objectives. The United States Secret Service informs that the USSS reserves the right to withhold information on all people who access its infrastructure, including its website to ensure that it can retrieve information on people who maliciously aim to destroy it. However, the agency’s policy has checks to ensure it does not breach the rights of people to privacy.

The USSS does not collect any private information. It does not collect any information on personal addresses or names from people who access its website. Any information provided to the agency only facilitates obtaining the required information. The agency reserves the right to collecting information on the internet domain such as IP addresses, the type of the browser that is utilized, operating system, time and the date of access, and the accessed pages. This information facilitates the agency in analyzing the type of technology that is deployed to access its infrastructure and the traffic that flows into them. This information is critical in ensuring that the agency remains well ahead technologically than any potential threat. Therefore, the agency does not object to interfere or impede the flow of information between persons across the US and internationally in its effort to executive its protective and investigative missions.

Success and/or Obstacles

Just like any other organization, the SS agency experiences obstacles such as technological challenges in executing its mandates. Due to the continuously changing technology, Khan and Ryan reported in 2010 in an ABC NEWS that the agency was in dire need of modernizing its IT infrastructures and recruiting additional staff members to develop a higher capability to execute its duo missions. Sullivan was before the house of committee on appropriations. Sullivan requested USD1.57billion to fund the SS budget in 2011. This figure was 6% more than the amount that was appropriated in 2010. However, this increase was not surprising, as it direly needed to upgrade its IT systems. While the entire federal government had already successfully upgraded its computer systems, the SS remained behind.

In 2014, the SS expressed its intention to hire additional staff members. However, as Chiacu and Cornwell reveal, uncertainties over the DHS budget derailed the implementation of major initiatives to boost the agency’s capacity to respond to security threats. In response to the obstacles that the agency was facing, a review panel made recommendations in December 2014 on how to improve its infrastructure. The recommendations were made following security lapses in the US. They (recommendations) targeted the mandates of the SS such as the access to the White House by an intruder and the landing of a drone on the mansion’s lawn. In December 2014, Jeh Johnson, the DHS secretary, stated that the department would not hire additional staff members to secure the next presidential candidate elections until the funding dispute was resolved. This situation suggested that the need for budgetary approval and limitation of spending authority for a specific period constituted a major obstacle to the agency’s exercising of its capacity.

Political issues presented a major challenge to the operation of the SS. They delayed the issuance of specific guidelines to the agency. The current DHS spending authority will expire on 27 February 2015. However, as Chiacu and Cornwell assert, “Republicans in the House of Representatives have taken measures on a DHS spending bill to block Democratic President Barack Obama’s executive orders that provide legal protection for about 5million undocumented immigrants”. This case constitutes a major obstacle to the implementation of the review panel for the SS. White House stated its decision to veto a funding bill that was taking away financial resources from the president’s immigration initiatives. The senate delayed in adopting the bill that allowed the release of USD39.7billion to the DHS. John Cornyn stated his anticipation for a procedural vote that was meant to determine whether the house would adopt the bill. Indeed, the bill required at least half of the democrats to vote for it if it needed to advance. The situation suggested that politics played a significant role in terms of the manner in which the SS matter was handled.

Amid the challenges, the SS has been effective in dealing with security threats. The agency successfully reduced cases of note counterfeiting after its formation. Although President Kennedy was assassinated in the 1960s while under the protection of the SS, the agency successfully responded to the assassination attempts of President Reagan and Ford, thanks to the role that William Geer, Rovber DeProspero, Roy Kellerman, and others played in protecting the presidents. During President Kennedy’s murder, the SS special security agents played brave roles. Clit Hill portrayed an impeccable capacity to execute his mandates by even isolating his protectee from danger while in different moving vehicle. Rufus Youngblood, who was protecting President Kennedy’s vice president, Lyndon Johnson, jumped onto the front seat to protect Johnson with his body. Jerry Parr decided not to seek instructions from his seniors by making a brave choice to divert the entire presidents’ motorcade towards George Washington hospital, rather than heading back to the White House. These scenarios depict the success of SS in achieving its protective roles.

The SS has recorded success in its investigative roles. It succeeded in indicting Max Butler; the co-founder of Carders Market website. He was indicted for identity and wire theft. He had hacked the internet to access financial institutions’ information and a center for processing credit cards. He obtained several card numbers, which he later sold. In 2004, through operation farewell, the agency succeeded in locating 28 crime suspects who were charged with credit-card fraud, information system fraud, identity theft, and conspiracy. The criminals were selling unlawful payment documents. In 2008, the agency investigations led to the arrest of 11 people from the US, Ukraine, China, and Belarus. They were involved in stealing and selling of 40million debit and credit card numbers. They were charged with wire fraud, computer fraud, identity theft, and conspiracy.

Since its creation, the Secret Service (SS) has engaged in the investigation of financial crimes together with protecting senior US political class leaders and all visiting heads of state or governments. While its original mandate was to deal with problems of counterfeiting of the US currency, currently, the agency has played incredible roles in mitigating cyber security threats and credit and debit cards theft. The agency has also been evolving by seeking new ways of realizing its dual mission of protecting and investigating crimes that are committed with the aid of the evolved technology. This technology advancement has called for an increment in its budgetary allocations. Indeed, as this increase has occurred, the number of people who require protection has also been rising, especially during the presidential elections. Amid the few challenges, the agency has managed to balance its dual missions as evidenced by several cases that have successfully been prosecuted. Overall, the SS has secured 98% success rates in terms of crime detection and control.

Bibliography

Chiacu, Doina, and Susan Cornwell. “U.S. Funding Impasse Blocks Secret Service Hires: Homeland Security Chief.” Reuters , 2015, Web.

Emmett, Dan. Within Arm’s Length: A Secret Service Agents’ Definitive Inside Account of Protecting the President . New York, NY: St: Martin’s Press, 2014.

Kessler, Ronald. In the President’s Secret Service: Behind The Scenes with Agents in The Line of Fire and the Presidents they Protect . New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 2010.

Khan, Huma, and Jason Ryan. “Secrets of the Secret Service: Old Computers, Problems Recruiting.” ABC News, 2010. Web.

Reese, Shawn. The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions . Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2014.

The United States Secret Service (a). “National Threat Assessment Center.” The Secret Service, 2014, Web.

The United States Secret Service (b). “Privacy Policy.” The Secret Service, 2015, Web.

The United States Secret Service (c). “Secret Service History.” The Secret Service, 2015, Web.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2022, April 11). The Secret Service: History, Mission, Structure, Funding. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-secret-service-history-mission-structure-funding/

"The Secret Service: History, Mission, Structure, Funding." IvyPanda , 11 Apr. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/the-secret-service-history-mission-structure-funding/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'The Secret Service: History, Mission, Structure, Funding'. 11 April.

IvyPanda . 2022. "The Secret Service: History, Mission, Structure, Funding." April 11, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-secret-service-history-mission-structure-funding/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Secret Service: History, Mission, Structure, Funding." April 11, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-secret-service-history-mission-structure-funding/.

IvyPanda . "The Secret Service: History, Mission, Structure, Funding." April 11, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-secret-service-history-mission-structure-funding/.

• Physical and Procedural Controls for Protecting Assets
• S&S Recycling: A Business Plan
• S&S Recycling Finance Options
• S & S. Derivatives LLC: The Arrest of the Members of the Top Management
• S&S Marketing Overview: Business Plan Analysis
• Current Trends in Globalization of Crime
• Fighting Mafia and Counterfeit in Europe
• Gene Mapping with Molecular Markers
• Fraud and Counterfeit Online
• Schutzstaffel: Hitler's Infamous Legions of Death
• Police, Justice and Law: Knights in Shining Armor
• Security Planning for Executives
• Homeland Security Department's Mandate and Mission
• Internal Control Factors Used by Police Departments
• The Impact of Private Security Companies on Peace and Stability

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Criminal Justice

IResearchNet

Academic Writing Services

U.s. secret service.

In an irony of history, on April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln signed legisla­tion creating the U.S. Secret Service, the agency today that is best known for protect­ing America’s president; that night, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.

As the Civil War neared conclusion, counterfeit paper currency was rampant. The initial legislation authorized the newly created Secret Service to investigate crimes involving creation and distribution of counterfeit currency. The Secret Service was created as a bureau under the U.S. Treasury Department to combat this grow­ing threat to the nation’s economy. (The Treasury Police Force, established in 1789 to secure the Treasury’s currency printing operations, was merged into the Secret Service in 1937.)

On March 1, 2003, the Secret Service moved from the Treasury Department to join twenty-two other agencies in the De­partment of Homeland Security, created by Congress in response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 (P.L. 107-296).

The core missions of the Secret Service include (1) protecting the nation’s presi­dent, top leaders, and visiting world leaders and (2) investigating and preventing crimes against the country’s financial and critical infrastructure. The Secret Service employs about six thousand people—including more than twenty-four hundred special agents, twelve hundred uniformed division officers, as well as other professional, tech­nical, and administrative staff.

Protection Responsibilities

The special agents and uniformed divi­sion personnel conduct the primary law enforcement responsibilities of the Secret Service. Historically, the uniformed divi­sion’s roots date back to the beginning of the Civil War, with a few military mem­bers and Metropolitan Police Department officers protecting the White House grounds. In 1922, President Warren G. Harding created the White House Police Force. In 1930, after an unknown intruder entered the White House dining room, President Herbert Hoover convinced Con­gress to combine the Secret Service agents protecting him with the White House po­lice. President Hoover wanted the Secret Service to control all facets of presidential protection.

Now, the Secret Service uniformed di­vision, using a variety of special units such as countersniper teams, canine explosive detection teams, bicycle patrols, motorcy­cle units, and a magnetometer unit, pro­tects the following:

• White House complex and other presidential offices
• President and immediate family
• Vice president and immediate family and residence in the District of Co­lumbia
• Treasury building and annex
• Foreign diplomatic missions in the Washington, D.C., area and through­out the United States and its terri­tories and possessions

However, the Secret Service is best known for its highest-profile assignment: protecting the president of the United States. After the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 (the third U.S. president killed in thirty-six years), Con­gress informally requested that the Secret Service protect the new president, Theo­dore Roosevelt, who also carried his own irearm on occasion. In 1902, the Secret Service assumed full-time responsibility for protecting the president, with two agents, but it was not until 1906 that congressional legislation mandated presi­dential protection as a permanent respon­sibility for the Secret Service.

Today, the Secret Service is authorized by law to protect the following:

• President and vice president and their immediate families
• Former presidents and their spouses for ten years
• Children of former presidents until age sixteen
• Visiting heads of foreign govern­ments and other distinguished for­eign visitors to the United States
• Official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad
• Major presidential and vice presi­dential candidates within 120 days of a general presidential election

“Protectees,” a term used by the Secret Service to designate key protection respon­sibilities, such as the president and first lady, have details of special agents assigned to them. Advance teams survey sites that will be visited by protectees to determine resource needs, local support, emergency medical facilities, and evacuation routes for emergencies. They also coordinate with local law enforcement, ire/rescue, and emergency medical partnering agen­cies to implement protection plans and a wide range of protocols. Other assignments include establishing a command post with communications capabilities, reviewing in­telligence information, establishing check­points, and limiting access to secured areas.

The Secret Service also investigates threats against the president and other high-level officials. The protective intelli­gence program is used to identify groups, individuals, and emerging technologies that may pose a threat to protectees, se­cure locations, or events. The Secret Ser­vice also provides training for local law enforcement in conducting threat assess­ments and investigating and preventing targeted violence.

In 1998, President Clinton issued Presi­dential Decision Directive 62 that estab­lished federal roles to provide security at newly designated National Special Security Events (NSSEs). At these major special events, the Secret Service becomes the lead agency for security design, planning, and implementation. The Secret Service, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal law enforcement agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and state and local law enforcement, has developed strategies and plans to secure the NSSE facilities and protect the attending dignitaries and public. NSSEs in 2004 included both the Democratic and Republican national conventions and the G8 Summit held in Georgia. The NSSEs also include coordi­nation with state and local law enforce­ment and advance security planning in areas such as motorcade routes, perimeter security, communications, credentialing, air space security, and training. Recently, the Secret Service has also invested re­sources in combating cyberthreats to major national event security.

Investigations Responsibilities

The Secret Service also has an extensive mission in investigating counterfeiting, inancial crimes, computer crimes, and identity theft. The Secret Service has exclusive jurisdiction for investigating counterfeiting of U.S. obligations and secur­ities—currency, Treasury checks, and food stamps (Title 18, United States Code, Sec­tion 3056). Counterfeiting currency was used as a ”weapon of war” in the American Revolution, Civil War, and World Wars I and II (Bowen and Neal 1960). Enemies would dump counterfeit currency into the economy to ruin public faith in the currency and destroy morale.

The Secret Service also investigates crimes associated with financial institu­tions such as frauds related to banking transactions, electronic funds transfers (EFTs), telecommunications transactions, and credit cards. In 1998, Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption De­terrence Act (P.L. 105-318) that added identity theft investigations to the Secret Service’s responsibilities. In recent years, identity theft has grown rapidly. The Secret Service also has an organized crime pro­gram that investigates money laundering.

See also: Federal Police and Investigative Agencies; Homeland Security and Law Enforcement; Money Laundering.

References:

• Bowen, Walter S., and Harry E. Neal. 1960. The United States Secret Service. Philadel­phia: Chilton.
• Columbia Pictures. 1993. In the Line of Fire. Movie starring Clint Eastwood as a Secret Service agent protecting the president from an assassin.
• National Geographic. 2005. Inside the U.S. Se­cret Service. Television documentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=62&v=BHkvtmEyas8 .
• Neal, Harry Edward. 1971. The story of the Secret Service. New York: Random House.
• S. Secret Service. http://www.secretservice.gov/ .

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Published: 20 October 2015

Russian secret service to vet research papers

• Quirin Schiermeier  

Nature volume  526 ,  page 486 ( 2015 ) Cite this article

457 Accesses

3 Citations

543 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Research data
• Research management

Moscow biology department among the first to require that all manuscripts comply with law on state secrets.

A biology institute at Russia’s largest and most prestigious university has instructed its scientists to get all research manuscripts approved by the security service before submitting them to conferences or journals.

The instructions, which come in response to an amended law on state secrets, appear in minutes from a meeting held on 5 October at the A. N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU).

The Russian government says that the amendment is not designed to restrict the publication of basic, non-military research. But scientists say that they believe institutes across the country are issuing similar orders.

“This is a return to Soviet times when in order to send a paper to an international journal, we had to get a permission specifying that the result is not new and important and hence may be published abroad,” says Mikhail Gelfand, a bioinformatician at MSU.

In 1993, the government passed a law obliging scientists in Russia to get permission from the Federal Security Service (FSB) before publishing results that might have military or industrial significance. This mainly covered work that related to building weapons, including nuclear, biological and chemical ones.

However, in May, President Vladimir Putin used a decree to expand the scope of the law to include any science that can be used to develop vaguely defined “new products”. The amendment was part of a broader crackdown that included declaring the deaths and wounding of soldiers during peacetime a secret; this was prompted by accusations that Russian soldiers are involved in conflict in Ukraine.

Since then, rumours have emerged that Russian universities and institutes are demanding that manuscripts be approved before submission to comply with the amendment. The minutes from the Belozersky Institute meeting confirm this. “Be reminded that current legislation obliges scientists to get approval prior to publication of any article and conference talk or poster,” they say. They note that the rules apply to any publication or conference, foreign or national, and to all staff “without exception”.

Scientists will need to seek permission from the university’s First Department — a branch of the FSB that exists at all Russian universities and research institutes, says Viacheslav Shuper, a geographer at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow and MSU. He says that MSU geographers have been given similar instructions.

The minutes tell scientists to seek permission “despite the obvious absurdity of the whole situation”. Vladimir Skulachev, director of the Belozersky Institute, did not respond to Nature ’s queries as to how the changes might affect research in his department.

Anything new and potentially useful can now be interpreted to be a state secret.

Shuper and other academics say researchers across Russia have complained that their institutes are also asking for manuscript approval. “Many scientists in Russia don’t dare to speak openly,” says Shuper. “But I know that many are very unhappy about the degradation of their academic freedom.”

Letting bureaucrats decide whether any piece of science is a state secret is not just nerve-wracking, but also burdensome, he says. For example, at some institutes, scientists who have written papers in English for foreign publication are obliged to translate them into Russian for the sake of the security service.

The changes are also bad for science, says Fyodor Kondrashov, a Russian biologist at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, Spain. “The problem is that it appears that all scientific output is being treated as potentially classified,” he says. “This creates an unhealthy research climate with some scientists preferring not to share information — not to give a talk at a conference abroad, for example. I fear that the authorities will choose to apply this law selectively against their critics.”

Sergey Salikhov, director of the Russian science ministry’s science and technology department, told Nature that the government does not intend the amendment to restrict the publication of basic research. He says that it is not ordering universities or security services to proactively enforce the law over civilian research.

But the amendment leaves interpretation to the security services and science administrators, who tend to be over-zealous, says Gelfand. “Basically, anything new and potentially useful can now be interpreted to be a state secret,” says Konstantin Severinov, a molecular biologist with the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, who graduated from MSU.

The demand for approval runs counter to government efforts to strengthen and internationalize Russian science, says Severinov. The government aims to see 5 of the country’s universities enter the top 100 in the world rankings by 2020, and is keen to attract leading foreign scientists to Russia .

Gelfand says that he will not comply with the rules imposed by his institute, and he encourages others to follow suit. “A sad sign of overall deterioration here is that many are sheepishly following any absurdity instilled by the bureaucrats,” he says. “I am going to ignore it and hope that a sufficient number of colleagues would do the same.”

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Additional information

See Editorial page 475

Tweet Follow @NatureNews

Related links

Related links in nature research.

Russia's crackdowns are jeopardizing its science 2015-Jul-22

Russia turns screw on science foundation 2015-May-28

Russian science minister explains radical restructure 2015-Jan-26

Putin’s Russia divides and enrages scientists 2014-Dec-16

Western science severs ties with Russia 2014-Apr-08

Putin promises science boost 2012-Mar-14

Related external links

Lomonosov Moscow State University

A.N. Belozersky Institute Of Physico-Chemical Biology

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Schiermeier, Q. Russian secret service to vet research papers. Nature 526 , 486 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/526486a

Download citation

Published : 20 October 2015

Issue Date : 22 October 2015

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/526486a

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

This website uses cookies

We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. This information will help us make improvements to the website.

How to look for records of... Intelligence and security services

How can i view the records covered in this guide.

How many are online?

We can either copy our records onto paper or deliver them to you digitally

Visit us in Kew to see original documents or view online records for free

Consider paying for research

1. Why use this guide?

2. british intelligence agencies, 3. personnel records, 4. how to search for records, 5. mi5 and mi6 records, 6. joint intelligence committee records, 7. signals intelligence and code breaking: gchq and gccs records, 8. defence intelligence staff records, 9. special operations executive (soe) records, 10. british army intelligence up to 1964, 11. naval intelligence up to 1964, 12. air ministry intelligence up to 1964, 13. records in other archives, 14. further reading.

This guide will help you to find records held at The National Archives of, and relating to, the British intelligence and security services.

The sensitive nature of intelligence work means that many files, especially those relating to living individuals or covering sensitive material, have been destroyed or retained by the security services themselves and have not been accessioned by The National Archives.

This guide does not cover records from police agencies such as the Special Branch. For advice on Special Branch records see our Metropolitan Police guide .

The United Kingdom has several intelligence and security services, often referred to as the agencies. Historically, intelligence was gathered by individual branches of the military. But from 1909 onwards, separate intelligence agencies, operating alongside but independently of the military, have assumed increasingly important roles.

These are separate from police agencies such as the Special Branch or the Anti-Terrorist Branch (SO13) which have now merged to form Counter Terrorism Command (also known as SO15).

The Secret Intelligence Service ( MI6 ) was founded in 1909 as the Foreign Section of the Secret Service Bureau and is responsible for gathering intelligence overseas. It is an agency of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The Security Service ( MI5 ) began in 1909 as the domestic arm of the Secret Service Bureau. It is responsible for protecting the country against threats to national security, which include terrorism, espionage and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. MI5 operates under the statutory authority of the Home Secretary, but it is not part of the Home Office.

The Government Communications Headquarters ( GCHQ ) began as the Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS) in 1919. It is responsible for providing signals intelligence for government and for the prevention and detection of serious crime. Ministerial responsibility for GCHQ lies with the Foreign Secretary.

MI5, MI6 and GCHQ work alongside each other and come under the direction of the Joint Intelligence Committee ( JIC ). The JIC sets the priorities and co-ordinates the work of the separate intelligence services. It comprises senior officials drawn from the Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence, Home Office, Department of Trade and Industry, Treasury and Cabinet Office, as well as the heads of the MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.

All these agencies work alongside the Ministry of Defence’s own Defence Intelligence Staff ( DIS ). Prior to the establishment of the DIS, each branch of the military had its own intelligence service (see sections 10, 11 and 12 of this guide).

In general, the identities of individuals who worked for the security and intelligence services are protected and therefore records of them are not made available to the public as freely as those from other branches of government. Records of individuals who are still alive usually remain confidential and are retained by the agencies themselves.

For more detailed information on records of individuals for a specific agency see the following sections of this guide.

The advice in this section will help you to make a start with your research. Consult the following sections of this guide for further search advice specific to the records of the individual agencies.

4.1 Online records

Only a few collections of intelligence records are available online. You can search within these collections by clicking on the links below and searching by keyword and date, unless otherwise indicated:

• Individuals monitored by the Security Service (MI5), the so-called Personal Files (1913-1983) – search in KV 2 by name
• Reports and other papers from the Security Service (MI5) policy files, including the diaries of Guy Liddell 1939-1945 , penned by the MI5’s Director of Counter-Espionage – search in KV 4 (not all KV 4 records are online; view a list of all online records in KV 4 )
• Security Service (MI5) files, including lists of persons who fought in Spain 1936-1939 – search in KV 5 (not all KV 5 records are online; view a list of all online records in KV 5 )

4.2 Original documents

Most intelligence records are not available online and to view them you will need to visit us or pay for copies to be sent to you.

Searches begin in  our catalogue , which contains descriptions of each record alongside its document reference. You can search the catalogue using keywords and dates. Use the advanced search  option to restrict your search results to records of a specific agency using the following department reference codes (click on the codes for accounts of the formation and history of each agency) for:

• The Security Service (MI5) – KV
• The Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) – HD
• Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) – HW
• Special Operations Executive (SOE) – HS
• Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) – in CAB (records of Cabinet)
• Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) – in DEFE (records of the Ministry of Defence)

You will also find intelligence records among those of other government departments, primarily:

• Foreign Office (for correspondence, policy and negotiation with other states) – FO  and FCO
• Home Office – HO

Bear in mind that there may be overlap between different departments on any given subject or event. For example, a decision made during a conflict may have been informed by the Security Service (KV) and the Foreign Office (FO) and then discussed by the Cabinet (CAB) before being carried out by the Ministry of Defence (DEFE).

There is a very useful summary of source material on pages 277-279 of Twigge, Hampshire and Macklin’s British Intelligence (see Further reading).

Access to records from MI5 and MI6 is restricted and many are not available publicly – this is especially true for MI6 files. The records are retained under section 3 (4) of the Public Records Act (1958) and Freedom of Information legislation does not apply to them. The National Archives policy on  selecting records from the security services  gives more information.

See section 4 for some basic advice on how to use our catalogue to search for records.

5.1 MI5 – The Security Service

Records of the Security Service, better known as MI5, are identified at The National Archives by the department reference KV . Some records have been deliberately destroyed whilst others were destroyed by bombing in 1940.

Records from the First and Second World Wars

A significant cross-section of Security Service records cover the World Wars. Among these are:

• Historical reports and policy files – in KV 4
• Second World War diaries of Captain Guy Liddell (head of MI5’s B Division, responsible for counter-subversion) – in KV 4/185-196
• Records of the London Reception Centre at the Royal Patriotic Schools – these files are scattered across KV 2 and  KV 4 and are broken down in more detail in our guide to immigration records . The London Reception Centre was established to process aliens arriving in the UK, to gather intelligence from them on conditions in occupied Europe, and to screen arrivals for possible enemy agents.

Personal Files (PF): individuals monitored by the Security Service

These case files include records of suspected spies, renegades, communist sympathisers and right wing extremists. Search by name and download these records online (£) in KV 2 .

PF numbers are sometimes found within files. These indicate there would have been a file opened but these files may not necessarily have survived or have been transferred to The National Archives.

Personnel files: individuals employed by the Security Service

It is not possible to get official confirmation of whether someone who is still alive worked for MI5.

If you believe that a deceased member of your family worked for MI5, you can write to the MI5 Enquiries Team to request information.

5.2 MI6 – The Secret Intelligence Service

Although department reference HD is for records of the Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6, there are, confusingly, no records generated by the agency held at The National Archives. The only records since 1909, when the agency was created, held in HD are of Polish military intelligence from 1946 and acquired by the agency. No transfers of records are expected in the foreseeable future .

There are archived versions of the MI6 website from 2006 onwards but otherwise the HD record series all pre-date the creation of the agency and are records inherited by rather than created by the agency.

However, reference is sometimes made to MI6 in files from other departments, such as in Foreign Office record series like FO 1093 , which provides an illuminating account of the activities and funding of MI6. Search for “Secret Intelligence Service” or “MI6” in our catalogue to reveal some of the related material.

Most records of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) are among the records of the Cabinet, held in the CAB department, though there are some JIC reports held with the Foreign Office collection in FO . Of particular note are the following series:

• JIC memoranda in CAB 158
• JIC minutes in CAB 159
• JIC records from the Second World War in CAB 81

Signals intelligence – that is intelligence gathered by the interception of electronic signals as well as other means of communication – is, today, handled by the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ).

Records from GCHQ and its predecessor, the Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS), are identified in our catalogue by the department reference HW. The majority of the dozens of record series in HW cover the Second World War.

7.1 Basic searches

Browse the records in HW or use the advanced search option in our catalogue to search for records by department reference with keywords such as:

• signals intelligence
• code-breaking OR codebreaking
• cypher OR cipher

7.2 First World War records

There are very few HW record series covering solely First World War records but the following series are worth consulting for any study of First World War British intelligence:

• Correspondence, working papers and initial drafts of both official and unofficial histories of British signals intelligence in HW 3
• Official intelligence histories of the First World War written by senior Government Code and Cypher School members of staff in HW 7

7.3 Second World War records

There are dozens of record series in HW covering the Second World War.

In 1939 GCCS was moved to Bletchley Park and was renamed Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ), also referred to as Station X or BP.

Use the advanced search  option to restrict your search results to the HW department and search by keywords, such as:

• Bletchley Park OR Station X
• Enigma (the name of the German cypher system)
• BONIFACE (one of the code names used by GCCS)
• Bombe (the name of a machine used to help decode Enigma messages)
• Ultra (code name for signals intelligence)

The Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) is a branch of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). As such, its records are identified by the department reference DEFE, the reference for all MOD records held at The National Archives.

See section 4 for advice on how to use our catalogue to search for records across an entire department or target your search to one of the following series within the DEFE department. Click on the series references and search by subject keywords:

• Scientific and technical intelligence in DEFE 21 and DEFE 44
• Defence Intelligence Staff files in DEFE 31
• Intelligence assessments, reports and studies in DEFE 62 , DEFE 63 or DEFE 64
• Reports and other papers from conferences and working parties in which the DIS participated, in DEFE 65
• Defence Intelligence Staff Sub-Committee minutes of meetings, correspondence and other files in DEFE 27
• Papers of R V Jones, the Director of Scientific Intelligence, 1939-1954 in DEFE 40

Formed in 1940, the Special Operations Executive (SOE) functioned during the Second World War to promote sabotage and subversion and assist resistance groups in enemy occupied territory.

9.1 Personnel records

The records of SOE personnel are closed during the lifetime of the individuals or until their 100th birthday, when it is assumed they will have died. Where no date of birth is known the opening date of the records has been set at 2030, 100 years after 1930, the assumed birth year of the youngest agents in the field in the last year of the war.

Search the personnel files in HS 9 by first name, surname, year of birth or any combination of these.

If you are interested in a closed file and can demonstrate that the person it relates to is deceased, then you can submit a Freedom of Information request . If it relates to you personally you can make a request under Data Protection legislation using the ‘Data protection leaflet’ on our website.

You can also search the original SOE indexes in HS 11 to HS 20 , which can list personal and biographical details of agents as well as contain references to the status of individuals who were known to be enemy intelligence officers, collaborators or traitors or who were in enemy hands or safe houses.

9.2 Other records

Read descriptions of the twenty record series which make up the records of the SOE in department HS. Click on the series references between HS 1 and HS 8 and in HS 10 to search that series by country name and/or subject keyword.

Records relating to SOE operations can also be found in the files of other departments, including the Air Ministry (AIR), War Office (WO), Foreign Office (FO) and Prime Minister’s Office (PREM).

The War Office sections responsible for security and intelligence up until 1964 were the Directorate of Military Operations (DMO) and the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI). They were replaced in 1964 by the Defence Intelligence Staff (see section 8).

DMO was responsible for outline operational planning up to the time when an operation Commander was appointed. It also collected information about British forces and the armed forces of close allies.

The focus for DMI was the armed forces of enemy countries, distant allies and neutral countries. It was in close touch with military attaches and missions abroad and was interested not only in military details but also in more general historical, topographical and economic information.

The following record series are particularly useful for studies of:

• Late 19th century, First World War and inter-war years intelligence – WO 106
• First World War intelligence – ­ WO 157 – this series contains daily “intelligence summaries”
• First World War intelligence maps – WO 153
• Second World War intelligence – WO 208

The Naval Intelligence Department (NID), a branch of the Admiralty formed in 1886, provided much of the First World War and pre-First World War code-breaking expertise. The deciphering section formed in October 1914 was known as ‘Room 40’. NID was superceded in 1964 by the Defence Intelligence Staff (see section 8).

NID was concerned with all aspects of enemy and allied shipping including:

• plotting shipping movements, particularly of enemy surface cruisers and submarines
• collecting information on the topography of foreign countries, particularly coasts, and on coastal defences
• Pre-First World War intelligence – ADM 231 – includes printed NID reports on foreign naval strength, coastal defences and so on
• First World War naval intelligence – ADM 137 – includes papers of NID in ‘Room 40’, many of them on signals intelligence
• Second World War naval intelligence – ADM 223
• Second World War intelligence from intercepted German, Italian and Japanese radio communications – DEFE 3 –  includes decrypted signals and summaries

The Air Ministry gathered intelligence on enemy aircraft, airfields and bombing targets as well as reports on the effectiveness of allied bombing raids (using aerial reconnaissance) and enemy and allied air activity in general. This work was carried out largely by the Air Intelligence Branch. In 1964 the separate intelligence services for each branch of the military were replaced by a unified service, the Defence Intelligence Staff (see section 8).

• First World War intelligence – AIR 1 – search for the numerous “intelligence summaries” and “intelligence reports”
• Second World War and the Air Ministry’s Directorate of Intelligence – AIR 40
• Second World War intelligence – AIR 24 – these are RAF Operations Record Books and they contain hundreds of intelligence reports – search simply for ‘intelligence’
• The Air Ministry’s Directorate of Operations and Intelligence and Directorate of Plans 1914-1947 in AIR 9 – search this series for reports and papers by the name of a country or region (for example, East Africa or Pacific), or subject keywords (for example, bombing or chemical warfare)

Visit the webpages of the  Consultative Group on Security and Intelligence Records for further help and guidance on intelligence-related records. This group is specifically set up to help the official, archival and academic communities with security and intelligence related material.

The British Library has a collection of intelligence material such as maps, plans and gazetteers on India and SE Asia.

The archives and library at Bletchley Park have a large collection of documents and images relating to the codebreaking work carried on at Bletchley Park.

14.1 Websites

Consult the history section of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) website for information on the organisation’s history and records policy.

Browse the Security service (MI5) website for more information about the organisation.

Browse the history section of the Government Communications Headquarters website for more information about the organisation’s past.

The following books are all available in The National Archives’ reference library. Use our library catalogue to find a recommended book list . You can buy from a wide range of history titles in our bookshop .

Stephen Twigge, Edward Hampshire and Graham Macklin, British Intelligence (The National Archives, 2008)

Christopher Andrew, The Defence of The Realm: The Authorised History Of MI5 (Penguin, 2009)

14.3 Periodicals

Copies of the Intelligence and National Security journal are available at The National Archives’ Library. Issues of note include:

• ‘100 Years of British Intelligence’, Special Issue, Vol 27, Issue 1, 2012
• ‘Whitehall’s Black Chamber: British Cryptology and the Government Code and Cypher School, 1919-1929’, John Ferris, Vol 2 January 1987, pp.54-92
• ‘Declassification and Release Policies of the UK’s Intelligence Agencies’ and Sir Stephen Lander ‘British Intelligence in the Twentieth Century’, Vol 17 No 2, 2002, pp.7-32

Contact us for advice

Still need help.

For quick pointers Tuesday to Saturday (excluding bank holiday weekends) 09:00 to 17:00

For more detailed research enquiries.

Related research guides

Foreign office and foreign and commonwealth office correspondence 1920 onwards, search our catalogue.

Discovery is a catalogue of archival records across the UK and beyond, from which you can search 32 million records.

Research paper on secret service

Write me an essay.

READ MORE »

Comments   0

Phd thesis tribunal

Popular posts.

• Dissertation abstracts international section a humanities and social sciences
• Professional resume services online erin kennedy
• Proposal for phd dissertation
• Homeworks illumination help

Travel New York London IKEA NORWAY DIY Custom t shirts business plan Baby Family News Clothing Shopping Research paper help outline Games

Customer Reviews

Avail our cheap essay writer service in just 4 simple steps

We use cookies. By browsing the site, you agree to it. Read more »

What's the minimum time you need to complete my order?

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

• Backchannel
• Newsletters
• WIRED Insider
• WIRED Consulting

Amanda Hoover

Students Are Likely Writing Millions of Papers With AI

Students have submitted more than 22 million papers that may have used generative AI in the past year, new data released by plagiarism detection company Turnitin shows.

A year ago, Turnitin rolled out an AI writing detection tool that was trained on its trove of papers written by students as well as other AI-generated texts. Since then, more than 200 million papers have been reviewed by the detector, predominantly written by high school and college students. Turnitin found that 11 percent may contain AI-written language in 20 percent of its content, with 3 percent of the total papers reviewed getting flagged for having 80 percent or more AI writing. (Turnitin is owned by Advance, which also owns Condé Nast, publisher of WIRED.) Turnitin says its detector has a false positive rate of less than 1 percent when analyzing full documents.

ChatGPT’s launch was met with knee-jerk fears that the English class essay would die . The chatbot can synthesize information and distill it near-instantly—but that doesn’t mean it always gets it right. Generative AI has been known to hallucinate , creating its own facts and citing academic references that don’t actually exist. Generative AI chatbots have also been caught spitting out biased text on gender and race . Despite those flaws, students have used chatbots for research, organizing ideas, and as a ghostwriter . Traces of chatbots have even been found in peer-reviewed, published academic writing .

Teachers understandably want to hold students accountable for using generative AI without permission or disclosure. But that requires a reliable way to prove AI was used in a given assignment. Instructors have tried at times to find their own solutions to detecting AI in writing, using messy, untested methods to enforce rules , and distressing students. Further complicating the issue, some teachers are even using generative AI in their grading processes.

Detecting the use of gen AI is tricky. It’s not as easy as flagging plagiarism, because generated text is still original text. Plus, there’s nuance to how students use gen AI; some may ask chatbots to write their papers for them in large chunks or in full, while others may use the tools as an aid or a brainstorm partner.

Students also aren't tempted by only ChatGPT and similar large language models. So-called word spinners are another type of AI software that rewrites text, and may make it less obvious to a teacher that work was plagiarized or generated by AI. Turnitin’s AI detector has also been updated to detect word spinners, says Annie Chechitelli, the company’s chief product officer. It can also flag work that was rewritten by services like spell checker Grammarly, which now has its own generative AI tool . As familiar software increasingly adds generative AI components, what students can and can’t use becomes more muddled.

Detection tools themselves have a risk of bias. English language learners may be more likely to set them off; a 2023 study found a 61.3 percent false positive rate when evaluating Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exams with seven different AI detectors. The study did not examine Turnitin’s version. The company says it has trained its detector on writing from English language learners as well as native English speakers. A study published in October found that Turnitin was among the most accurate of 16 AI language detectors in a test that had the tool examine undergraduate papers and AI-generated papers.

Will Knight

Stephen Clark, Ars Technica

Emily Mullin

Andrew Couts

Schools that use Turnitin had access to the AI detection software for a free pilot period, which ended at the start of this year. Chechitelli says a majority of the service’s clients have opted to purchase the AI detection. But the risks of false positives and bias against English learners have led some universities to ditch the tools for now. Montclair State University in New Jersey announced in November that it would pause use of Turnitin’s AI detector. Vanderbilt University and Northwestern University did the same last summer.

“This is hard. I understand why people want a tool,” says Emily Isaacs, executive director of the Office of Faculty Excellence at Montclair State. But Isaacs says the university is concerned about potentially biased results from AI detectors, as well as the fact that the tools can’t provide confirmation the way they can with plagiarism. Plus, Montclair State doesn’t want to put a blanket ban on AI, which will have some place in academia. With time and more trust in the tools, the policies could change. “It’s not a forever decision, it’s a now decision,” Isaacs says.

Chechitelli says the Turnitin tool shouldn’t be the only consideration in passing or failing a student. Instead, it’s a chance for teachers to start conversations with students that touch on all of the nuance in using generative AI. “People don’t really know where that line should be,” she says.

You Might Also Like …

In your inbox: The best and weirdest stories from WIRED’s archive

Jeffrey Epstein’s island visitors exposed by data broker

8 Google employees invented modern AI. Here’s the inside story

The crypto fraud kingpin who almost got away

It's shadow time! How to view the solar eclipse, online and in person

Benj Edwards, Ars Technica

Makena Kelly

Matt Burgess

Lauren Goode

Reece Rogers

Steven Levy

The writers of PenMyPaper establish the importance of reflective writing by explaining its pros and cons precisely to the readers. They tend to ‘do my essay’ by adding value to both you (enhancing your knowledge) and your paper.

In the order page to write an essay for me, once you have filled up the form and submitted it, you will be automatically redirected to the payment gateway page. There you will be required to pay the entire amount for taking up the service and writing from my experts. We will ask you to pay the entire amount before the service as that gives us an assurance that you will come back to get the final draft that we write and lets us build our trust in you to write my essay for me. It also helps us to build up a mutual relationship with you while we write, as that would ease out the writing process. You are free to ask us for free revisions until you are completely satisfied with the service that we write.

offers three types of essay writers: the best available writer aka. standard, a top-level writer, and a premium essay expert. Every class, or type, of an essay writer has its own pros and cons. Depending on the difficulty of your assignment and the deadline, you can choose the desired type of writer to fit in your schedule and budget. We guarantee that every writer will be a subject-matter expert with proper writing skills and background knowledge across all high school, college, and university subjects. Also, we don’t work with undergraduates or dropouts, focusing more on Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral level writers (yes, we offer writers with Ph.D. degrees!)

We are quite confident to write and maintain the originality of our work as it is being checked thoroughly for plagiarism. Thus, no copy-pasting is entertained by the writers and they can easily 'write an essay for me’.

Finished Papers

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

• Forensic Expertise

We are home to a broad range of forensic experts and visual information specialists who provide multi-disciplined state-of-the-art support to our investigative and protective missions, missing and exploited children investigations and other major crimes investigated by our law enforcement partners.

Quality Work

Our exacting standards enable our forensic examiners to provide expert witness testimony in federal, state, local and military courts regarding the results of our examinations.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Liaison

We are also a leading law enforcement partner in forensic investigations related to the mission of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Our Forensic Services

Advanced accredited laboratory

Fingerprint analysis

Questioned document examination to establish authenticity

DNA collection

Quality assurance and scientific services

Process and analyze digital multimedia items of evidence

Polygraph examinations

Forensic Sciences Laboratory

Our Forensics testing laboratory is accredited by ANAB to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for fingerprint analysis and questioned document examination.

    -- Fingerprint Operations

Our fingerprint investigative operations include using cutting-edge equipment and detection methods to process evidence collected during investigations for the presence of latent fingerprints, palm prints and footprints.  We typically process latent prints associated with investigations regarding counterfeit currency, gas pump/ATM skimming devices, and threatening letters with envelopes; however, additional evidence includes handguns, maps, paper items - and even drones – as any item found at a crime scene can potentially be processed for latent prints.  Our fingerprint examiners compare captured latent prints to known prints of individuals.  In cases when suitable prints are captured from an unknown individual, we use multiple electronic databases, called Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS), to search for potential leads.

We are the first federal law enforcement agency to own and operate the updated 2018-model vacuum metal deposition chamber, which uses nano-technology, to process evidence items for latent prints.  This technology provides latent print detection capabilities on evidence items, such as certain plastics, should conventional methods not yield latent prints.

    -- Questioned Document Examinations

Our questioned document experts focus on investigations involving computer generated/enhanced documents, computer printers, printing processes, typewriting, indented impressions, and document alterations. We are the exclusive home to the Forensic Information System for Handwriting (FISH), a computer program used to digitally measure handwriting characteristics on threat letters that are compared to known handwritten threat letters in an effort to associate letters, cases, and known subjects.  Our examiners also use the Thermal Ribbon Analysis Platform (TRAP), a system designed to read the colored panels of ribbons used in thermal printers.  We identify and compare papers, fibers, inks, toners, watermarks, and materials of unknown origin.  We also maintain and use the agency's International Ink, National Inkjet and Watermark Libraries.

The majority of our questioned document examinations consist of handwriting comparisons or counterfeit related examinations; however, there are many other types of examinations that can be conducted on documents to establish their authenticity.

    -- Quality Assurance and Scientific Services

Our Quality Assurance and Scientific Services experts manage and maintain specialized and fundamental lab quality programs such as proficiency testing, analytical quality control and quality audits. Our experts also ensure all aspects of our lab’s quality assurance, quality control and proficiency testing programs meet agency and international accreditation guidelines.  This team also supports instrument validation and process optimization, as well as novel forensic technique development through internal research and external collaborations.  These experts provide technical support and training to our own investigators, as well as law enforcement partners regarding evidence collection and evolving forensic examination needs.

Counterfeit Treasury Obligations

Counterfeit specialists focus on investigations involving suspect Federal Reserve Notes (currency), Silver Certificates, Treasury Bonds, and other securities. The counterfeit specialists conduct a variety of examinations, including authentication examinations, ink and paper analysis, and counterfeit currency classification. They serve as subject matter experts on the inter-agency United States Currency Program, and provide technical briefings and guidance on the latest trends in counterfeit currency manufacturing and adversarial analysis.

Digital Evidence Forensic Laboratories

The Secret Service cyber workforce has contributed to the apprehension of transnational cybercriminals responsible for large-scale data breaches, online criminal hosting services, and the trafficking of stolen financial data. The Secret Service Cyber Forensics experts and Network Intrusion responders are located in our offices worldwide and operate the Secret Service Digital Evidence Forensic Laboratories (DEFLs).

These experts are fortified by a headquarters-integrated mission center, monitoring and supporting strategic investigations with potential impact on the integrity of the U.S. financial infrastructure. Their cyber security expertise further serves as a backbone to the Secret Service protective mission.

The DEFLs and the Secret Service cyber workforce are an essential element in Secret Service financial and cyber investigations, as well as a supportive element in state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement partner investigations.

Our cyber workforce partners with Federal and SLTT law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, academia, and the private sector, through Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Forces (CFTFs) located worldwide. The CFTFs are an established network of trusted partnerships to combat cybercrime through coordinated investigations, training, and technical expertise and information sharing.

    -- Cyber Forensics

A cyber workforce of special agents and forensic analysts dedicated to conducting advanced computer, mobile device, and vehicle infotainment systems forensic examinations using specialized methods, software and equipment. These experts work hand in hand with our law enforcement partners. The strategically positioned Secret Service DEFLs provide the necessary environment and tools for our cyber forensics teams to identify and secure criminal evidence for prosecution.

    -- Network Intrusion Responders (NITRO)

A cyber workforce of special agents and forensic analysts dedicated to responding to and investigating network intrusions, business email compromises, ransomware and other cyberattacks, while tracking, collecting, and preserving digital evidence. Cyber incidents and data breaches continue to proliferate globally, targeting organizations across all industries and sectors. These experts are crucial in the deterrence of cyberattacks and the apprehension of cybercriminals. They work hand in hand with our law enforcement partners and cybersecurity professionals.

Multimedia and Visual Information

Our multimedia experts provide highly-skilled forensic capabilities that include the processing and analysis of video, audio and other digital multimedia evidence. Multimedia experts perform image and audio enhancement and speaker identification using specialized methods, software and equipment to assist in the identification and development of media-based evidence to be presented in a court of law. Visual information experts who specialize in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), 3D modeling & simulation, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) acquisition, and multimedia and video production provide a full range of technologically advanced protective support capabilities. Our visual information specialists are proficient in pre-event media and data collection for site planning and briefings, media production support, production of game-quality 3D models for virtual walk and fly through briefings, realistic training simulation, real-time event monitoring; and multimedia event recording.

Forensic Photography

Our forensic photography experts support the Secret Service investigative mission in the form of crime scene photography, surveillance photography, evidence documentation, latent print photography and questioned document photography.

Various camera formats, filters and light sources are used to enhance latent prints and obliterated writing or alterations on documents submitted for Secret Service examination. Aerial and drone photography is available for investigative photographic support. Forensic photography specialists also produce enhanced visual materials for courtroom testimony.

Forensic photography experts also provide a wide range of support to the Secret Service protective mission includes photographic documentation of protection missions, photographic support of technical studies and security surveys, aerial and drone photography support, and photographic support of protection related training exercises, agency presentations, and media events.

Graphic Design

Our graphic design specialists support the overall Secret Service integrated mission through creative and innovative use of traditional and cutting-edge graphics design techniques and technologies. Graphic design specialists produce a wide range of customized products to support the agency’s investigative mission, such as dynamic flow charts, crime scene diagrams and court room evidence displays. Our highly skilled composite artists work with state and local law enforcement to provide sketches used in the identification of suspects in criminal investigations.

Graphic design specialists are trained in the use of age regression/progression and facial reconstruction techniques to assist National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) related investigations, and state-of-the-art equipment, technology and software used to produce visually-based evidence presented in the court of law. Graphic design specialists also provide a wide variety of customized products to support the agency’s protective mission, such as venue maps, diagrams, and schematics in both print and digital formats. These specialists also provide visual information support to high-level domestic and foreign dignitary protection missions, National Special Security Events and other official protection related projects.

Polygraph Operations

Our polygraph experts use state-of-the art technologies and techniques to assess the truthfulness of statements of individuals obtained during investigations.  Our experts provide accurate and reliable polygraph examinations in all types of criminal investigations to include financial crimes, protective intelligence and investigations related to the NCMEC mission.

Uniformed Division Crime Scene Search Unit

Our Uniformed Division Crime Scene Search Unit (CSSU), based in Washington D.C., responds to crime scenes in support of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Metropolitan Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. CSSU examiners detect, preserve, collect, and process physical and scientific evidence. They also conduct interviews, prepare detailed diagrams, and capture forensic photography and videography related to crime scene investigations. CSSU examiners provide expert courtroom testimony in the field of crime scene processing, preservation and collection of physical, digital, documentary, and scientific evidence. CSSU is a member of the Washington D.C. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

NCMEC Website

Visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website

• Counterfeit Investigations

Learn more about our counterfeit investigations

• Cyber Investigations

Learn more about our cyber investigations

• Annual Reports
• Strategic Plan
• 150+ Years of History
• The Evolution of Our Badges
• Wall of Honor
• Protecting Leaders
• Safeguarding Places
• Securing Events
• National Threat Assessment Center
• Most Wanted Fugitives
• Avoid Scams
• Mission Support
• Campaign 2024
• Behind the Shades
• Press Releases
• Speeches and Testimony
• Social Media
• Standing Post
• Special Agent
• Special Agent Talent & Achievement Recruitment
• Special Operations Division - Counter Assault Team
• Uniformed Division Officer
• Technical Law Enforcement
• Administrative, Professional and Technical
• Student Employment
• Career Events
• Employee & Family Support
• Field Offices

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Is writing down my rage the secret to resolving it?

New research reveals that listing your grievances on a piece of paper, then throwing them away may make you less angry. So I gave it a try …

A lifetime enveloped in a benign, insulating cloud of oestrogen left me ill-prepared to be this nakedly, shockingly angry as it ebbs away in perimenopause. It is occasionally exhilarating, but mainly awful, being furious about so many things: the government, contradictory dental advice, inaction on climate breakdown, whatever cat keeps defecating at my back door. I exist at an exhausting, irrational rolling simmer that periodically comes to a head with me inappropriately venting, realising I’m being unreasonable, shamefacedly having a word with myself, then getting cross again.

Help may be at hand, however, according to research from Japan , which suggests that writing your grievances on paper then throwing it away may make you less angry. Study participants were deliberately angered by researchers criticising their work and adding gratuitous insulting comments. Participants then wrote down how they felt and either threw the paper away, shredded it or kept it. The ones who disposed of the paper “completely eliminated their anger”.

Although participants were mostly in their – surely less irate? – early 20s, I had to test if it worked on midlife rage too. Dissipating my Boris Johnson or Rwanda policy rage seemed an impossibly big ask, but I wrote them down, plus some pettier, momentary furies: “Why am I the only one who deals with expired hummus?”; “Man in gravel driveway methodically spraying tiny, hopeful dandelion shoots”; “Malfunctioning laptop fan”; and “Towels piled up wet”. All classics.

I found the act of crumpling or ripping (I don’t have a shredder) very physically satisfying – a tiny haptic catharsis. But, examining my feelings afterwards, I was as tooth-grindingly angry about Johnson’s existence as ever. The smaller irritations mostly melted away, but I think the mere act of committing my hummus chuntering to paper was enough to show me how ridiculous I was in quite an anger-deflating way. I’m not sure that disposing of my angry scrawls added anything. Perhaps what would really help my anger management is a running grievance list, whereby I write about everything and everyone I’m cross with. What could possibly go wrong?

• Health & wellbeing
• Mental health

Most viewed

How much does an essay cost?

Starting your search for an agency, you need to carefully study the services of each option. There are a lot of specialists in this area, so prices vary in a wide range. But you need to remember that the quality of work directly depends on the cost. Decide immediately what is more important to you - financial savings or the result.

Companies always indicate how much 1000 characters of text costs, so that the client understands what price to expect and whether it is worth continuing to cooperate.

At Essayswriting, it all depends on the timeline you put in it. Professional authors can write an essay in 3 hours, if there is a certain volume, but it must be borne in mind that with such a service the price will be the highest. The cheapest estimate is the work that needs to be done in 14 days. Then 275 words will cost you $ 10, while 3 hours will cost you $ 50. Please, take into consideration that VAT tax is totally included in the mentioned prices. The tax will be charged only from EU customers.

When choosing an agency, try to pay more attention to the level of professionalism, and then evaluate the high cost of work.

Jalan Zamrud Raya Ruko Permata Puri 1 Blok L1 No. 10, Kecamatan Cimanggis, Kota Depok, Jawa Barat 16452

Finished Papers

Ask the experts to write an essay for me!

Our writers will be by your side throughout the entire process of essay writing. After you have made the payment, the essay writer for me will take over ‘my assignment’ and start working on it, with commitment. We assure you to deliver the order before the deadline, without compromising on any facet of your draft. You can easily ask us for free revisions, in case you want to add up some information. The assurance that we provide you is genuine and thus get your original draft done competently.

• Human Resource
• Business Strategy
• Operations Management
• Project Management
• Business Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Scholarship Essay
• Narrative Essay
• Descriptive Essay
• Buy Essay Online
• College Essay Help
• Help To Write Essay Online

Finished Papers

Customer Reviews

How much does an essay cost?

Starting your search for an agency, you need to carefully study the services of each option. There are a lot of specialists in this area, so prices vary in a wide range. But you need to remember that the quality of work directly depends on the cost. Decide immediately what is more important to you - financial savings or the result.

Companies always indicate how much 1000 characters of text costs, so that the client understands what price to expect and whether it is worth continuing to cooperate.

At Essayswriting, it all depends on the timeline you put in it. Professional authors can write an essay in 3 hours, if there is a certain volume, but it must be borne in mind that with such a service the price will be the highest. The cheapest estimate is the work that needs to be done in 14 days. Then 275 words will cost you $ 10, while 3 hours will cost you $ 50. Please, take into consideration that VAT tax is totally included in the mentioned prices. The tax will be charged only from EU customers.

When choosing an agency, try to pay more attention to the level of professionalism, and then evaluate the high cost of work.

Get Professional Writing Services Today!

Get a free quote from our professional essay writing service and an idea of how much the paper will cost before it even begins. If the price is satisfactory, accept the bid and watch your concerns slowly fade away! Our team will make sure that staying up until 4 am becomes a thing of the past. The essay service is known for providing some of the best writing, editing, and proofreading available online. What are you waiting for? Join our global educational community today!

What if I’m unsatisfied with an essay your paper service delivers?

Who are your essay writers?

The writers of PenMyPaper establish the importance of reflective writing by explaining its pros and cons precisely to the readers. They tend to ‘do my essay’ by adding value to both you (enhancing your knowledge) and your paper.

Customer Reviews