The Federal Bureau of Investigation

The largest federal police agency is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the principal investigative arm of the Department of Justice established by President T. Roosevelt in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation and given its current name in 1935, the original agency’s jurisdiction was limited to five offences including bankruptcy, fraud, and antitrust violations. Its responsibilities expanded and the agency grew from 35 agents to approximately 23,000 people, including some 9,500 special agents in 56 field offices nationwide and 16 foreign liaison posts.

In 1924 Congress authorized the establishment of the Identification Division of the FBI, which became a national repository for fingerprints designation of the agency as the collector of crime statistics nationwide – through the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) further secured the FBI place at the head of the nation’s law enforcement community. For decades the FBI was considered the sole authoritative source of crime statistics.

In 1939, President T. Roosevelt gave the FBI responsibility for matters related to espionage, and violation of neutrality laws. This new responsibility led to the arrest of some spies working on behalf of the German government during the Second World War.

In recent years the FBI has reordered its priorities and focused on areas such as white-collar crime, public corruption, organized crime, terrorism, drugs and violent crime. The FBI also develops and maintains advanced forensic research capabilities, training facilities, and extensive date based of information on crime and criminals.

The Laboratory Division collects and analyses evidence for its own investigations as well as for other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Fingerprints are still maintained in the Identification Division that was established in 1924. Today, the bureau’s files contain more than 181 million fingerprint cards, including more than 96 million that contain criminal history data on some 24 million people.

Approximately 31,000 additional fingerprint cards arrive at the Identification Division every day. The FBI also maintains the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a nationwide network of criminal justice information available to law enforcement agencies in all fifty states that contains records on stolen property, wanted persons with outstanding arrest warrants, criminal histories on persons arrested for serious offences, processed per day at the NCIC.

Vocabulary Notes

the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Федеральное Бюро Расследований

(ФБР), Подразделение Министер-

ства юстиции США

the Identification Division – отдел идентификации

white-collar – “белый воротничок”, человек, работающий в офисе

Exercise 1. Answer the questions:

1. What is the largest federal police agency in the USA?

2. When was it established?

3. Who was it established by?

4. When was it given its current name?

5. When was the Identification Division of the FBI established?

6. What responsibility did President T. Roosevelt give the FBI?

7. What kinds of crimes does the FBI deal with nowadays?

8. What are the functions of the Laboratory Division?

Exercise 2. Are these statements true or false? Correct the false statements:

1. The original FBI’s jurisdiction was limited to ten offences including bankruptcy, fraud, and antitrust violations, etc.

2. The FBI grew from 35 agents to approximately 28,000 people.

3. The FBI is considered the sole authoritative source of crime statistics.

4. Since 1939 the FBI has had responsibility for matters related to espionage, and violation of neutrality laws.

5. Approximately 31,000 additional fingerprint cards arrive at the Identification Division every week.

Exercise 3. Match the words with their definitions:

1. agency - a) interconnected group or system

2. approximately - b) one of the administrative organizations

of a government

3. establishment - c) place or container in which things can be

stored for safety

4. repository - d) a business organization or other large institution

5. network - e) inexact; rough; loose

Exercise 4. Make up your own sentences with the following words and expressions:

The FBI, the Department of Justice, approximately, white-collar crimes, terrorism, the Laboratory Division, fingerprint cards, law enforcement, criminal histories, warrant.

Exercise 5. Check your vocabulary. Write these words from the text correctly, make up your own sentences with the words:

dafru, grfnietiprn, entdisper, aseenpoig, turocrpoin, pedevol, sieruso, rawarnt, ceiveden, lonevit.

Exercise 6. Retell the text “The Federal Bureau of Investigation”.

Auding Skills

Task 7

Three and One Are One

Vocabulary

ash - зола, пепел

support - поддерживать

cavalryman – кавалерист

Exercise 1. Fill the gaps with the words from the text.

1. The Lassiters were _________ ________ .

2. Barr Lassiter supported the ________ .

3. Now the _________ were in control again.

4. “You can have _____ _____ _____,” the officer replied.

5. The ______ was now shining in the dark sky.

6. He was not __________ in his own home.

7. His mother was sitting by the __________ .

8. The fireplace was filled with ______ , ______ ______ .

9. Barr went to the ______ ______ and looked ______ .

10. Barr felt _______ on his face.

11. “I’m going home,” said the ___________ . “I’m going to visit my family.”

12. “There have been ________,” Bushrod said.

13. Bushrod did not talk on the _________ .

14. All the doors, windows and _________ had burned.

15. “They are in __________ , I hope,” replied Bushrod.

Exercise 2. Answer the questions.

1. What were Lassiters?

2. How old was Barr when the Civil War began?

3. Who did Barr support?

4. Who did the rest of his family support?

5. What army did Barr join?

6. What did Barr ask his officer one day?

7. What was Barr thinking about going home?

8. How long had he been away?

9. Who was the man Barr saw first?

10. What was strange about the man?

11. How did his mother meet him?

12. Did his sister speak with him?

13. Why did Barr decide to walk home next day?

14. Who did he meet on his way home?

15. What did they see when they reached the farm?

Exercise 3. Write a short composition “Inexplicable phenomena In Our Life”.