What cases does the FBI investigate?
Asked by: Karelle Wolf MD | Last update: February 15, 2026Score: 4.6/5 (28 votes)
What We Investigate
- Terrorism.
- Counterintelligence and Espionage.
- Cyber.
- Public Corruption.
- Civil Rights.
- Transnational Organized Crime.
- White-Collar Crime.
- Violent Crime.
What kind of crimes does FBI investigate?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) enforces federal law, and investigates a variety of criminal activity including terrorism, cybercrime, white collar crimes, public corruption, civil rights violations, and other major crimes. In an emergency dial 911!
At what point does the FBI get involved in an investigation?
The most obvious scenario prompting FBI involvement is when an alleged crime violates established federal criminal laws and statutes. A few common examples: Drug trafficking across state lines or international borders. Bank fraud against federally-insured institutions.
What are the 8 major crimes?
The selected offenses are 1) Murder and Nonnegligent Manslaughter, 2) Forcible Rape, 3) Robbery, 4) Aggravated Assault, 5) Burglary, 6) Larceny-Theft, 7) Motor Vehicle Theft, and 8) Arson. These are serious crimes by nature and/or volume.
Why would the FBI investigate you?
In most cases, a federal investigation is triggered by the filing of a credible crime report. Sometimes, it may also commence as a result of information law enforcement agents receive from defendants in pending criminal cases who are hoping to receive leniency (i.e., cooperators).
How Does The FBI Investigate Fraud Cases? - True Crime Lovers
How do I know if I'm being investigated by the FBI?
Questioning of Associates: Friends, family, or colleagues being interviewed about your activities. Direct Contact: Federal agents attempting to contact you directly for questioning.
What is the FBI's most wanted list?
Most Wanted
- BRANDON JAMES THOMAS.
- MARY CAROLE MCDONNELL.
- OLUMIDE ADEBIYI ADEDIRAN.
- ELAINE ANGENE ESCOE.
- ROSCOE MCMILLAN.
- HORST COSTA JICHA.
- ROMAN SEMENOV.
- DARREN ANTHONY ROBINSON.
What is considered a federal crime?
Federal crimes are offenses that specifically violate U.S. federal laws. Federal offenses are prosecuted by government agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and can oftentimes carry penalties that are far more severe than those levied by state courts.
What crimes are considered serious?
What is Serious Violence?
- Aggravated Burglary.
- Homicide.
- Serious Sexual Offences.
- Robbery.
- Violence Against the Person. (further categorised by 'violence with injury' and 'violence without injury')
What are 19 crimes?
19 Crimes, released in 2012 and housed by Melbourne-based Treasury Wine Estates, refers to the number of crimes used to exile convicts from Britain to Australia between 1787 and 1868.
What makes the feds pick up a case?
Federal law enforcement agencies will investigate a crime only if there is reason to believe that the crime violated federal law. Second: The nature of the federal offense may determine which agency undertakes the investigation. Not every federal law enforcement agency has the responsibility to investigate every crime.
How long do FBI investigations usually take?
They typically last weeks or months, and even years for the more complex and complicated cases. In fact, the investigations can last for the length of time of the statute of limitations. For most federal cases, the statute of limitations is five years.
How often do feds win cases?
FTC (2023) ruling. From the above research, we learn that agencies win 92 percent of their cases before ALJs compared to 55 percent when represented before Supreme Court Justices. This suggests that an agency's in-house advantage far exceeds the federal government's ability to win before an impartial court.
When can the FBI get involved in a case?
The FBI's jurisdiction is extensive, covering crimes with a national or international impact, those involving federal statutes, and threats to national security. This broad jurisdiction allows the FBI to engage in various investigative activities, from tackling terrorism to combating organized crime.
Can you look up FBI investigations?
FBI records can be requested through both the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act. Please read this page carefully to ensure you are making the correct request.
Are FBI higher than police?
No. State and local law enforcement agencies are not subordinate to the FBI, and the FBI does not supervise or take over their investigations. Instead, the investigative resources of the FBI and state and local agencies are often pooled in a common effort to investigate and solve the cases.
What are the hardest crimes to prove?
Top 5 Hardest Criminal Charges to Beat
- First-degree Murder.
- Sexual Assault.
- Drug Trafficking.
- White-collar Fraud.
- Repeat DUI Offenses.
- DNA Evidence.
- Digital Forensics.
- Ballistics and Weapon Analysis.
What are the 10 types of common crimes?
Types of crime
- Antisocial behaviour. Antisocial behaviour is when you feel intimidated or distressed by a person's behaviour towards you.
- Arson. Arson is when someone causes criminal damage by setting fire to a person's property.
- Assault. ...
- Burglary. ...
- Childhood abuse. ...
- Crime abroad. ...
- Criminal damage. ...
- Cybercrime and online fraud.
What are the 8 focus crimes?
The Eight Focus Crimes include; Murder, Homicide, Physical Injury, Rape, Theft, Robbery, Car theft, and Motorcycle Theft wherein Physical Injuries, Theft, and Robbery were the most reported incidents. The study used documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews to analyze the gathered data.
What determines if a case goes federal?
In these cases, prosecutors decide whether the case stays in state court or moves to federal court. Factors like the scale of the crime, the number of people involved, or whether the offense crossed state borders can push the case into the federal system.
What are the 5 types of crimes?
Although there are many different kinds of crimes, criminal acts can generally be divided into five primary categories: crimes against a person, crimes against property, inchoate crimes, statutory crimes, and financial crimes.
What crimes are not federal?
Examples of State and Federal Crimes
Examples of state criminal charges include rape, murder, DUI, drug possession, theft, robbery, shoplifting, and assault. Most misdemeanor charges are state crimes. Common examples of federal criminal charges include tax evasion, terrorism, and those levied by the IRS.
Who is the number one most wanted person in America?
Despite occasional references in the media, the FBI does not rank their list; no suspect is considered "#1 on the FBI's Most Wanted List" or "The Most Wanted". The list is commonly posted in public places such as post offices.
How do they decide FBI: Most Wanted?
The process of filling that vacancy begins with a call to each of the 56 FBI field offices. Each FBI field office can submit one or more candidates to fill the vacancy in the Top Ten. The criteria they consider in choosing candidates is fairly simple: Is this person a serious danger to society?
What does the FBI actually do?
The FBI has the authority and responsibility to investigate specific crimes assigned to it and to provide other law enforcement agencies with cooperative services, such as fingerprint identification, laboratory examinations, and training.