gthaustex wrote:What bothers me is the increasing number of federal agencies that have employees authorized to carry firearms and really have no reason to do so IMHO.
As of 2008, these all have right to carry firearms plus arrest powers:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (36,863 officers)
Federal Bureau of Prisons (16,835)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (12,760)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (12,446)
U.S. Secret Service (5,213)
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (4,696)
Drug Enforcement Administration (4,308)
U.S. Marshals Service (3,313)
Veterans Health Administration (3,128)
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (2,636)
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (2,541)
U.S. Postal Inspection Service (2,288)
U.S. Capitol Police (1,637)
National Park Service - Rangers (1,404)
Bureau of Diplomatic Security (1,049)
Pentagon Force Protection Agency (725)
U.S. Forest Service (644)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (598)
National Park Service - U.S. Park Police (547)
National Nuclear Security Administration (363)
U.S. Mint Police (316)
Amtrak Police (305)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (277)
Bureau of Land Management (255)
Bureau of Engraving and Printing (207)
Environmental Protection Agency (202)
Food and Drug Administration (183)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (149)
Tennessee Valley Authority (145)
Federal Reserve Board (141)
U.S. Supreme Court (139)
Bureau of Industry and Security (103)
National Institutes of Health (94)
Library of Congress (85)*
Federal Emergency Management Agency (84)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (62)
Government Printing Office (41)
National Institute of Standards & Technology (28)
Smithsonian National Zoological Park (26)
Bureau of Reclamation (21)
Plus there are 33 of the 69 federal Offices of Inspectors General (OIG), including the Department of Education's OIG, who employed a total of 3,501 officers.
There are roughly 120,000 federal LEO's of various sorts which is 40 per 100,000 people. In contrast, there is one Congressman per 700,000 people. There are 275 federal officers for every Congressman. Yeah, I have no fondness for jack-booted thug behavior.