Kansas is part of the Midwest High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), which focuses on the sharp increase of methamphetamine use, sale, distribution, and transportation throughout the nation’s heartland. The Midwest HIDTA works alongside a number of federal agencies, including:
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Immigration and Naturalization Service
- Internal Revenue Service
- Department of Defense
- United States Marshal Service
- United States Postal Service
- United States Housing and Urban Development
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that, as of 2008, 456 federal law enforcement officers named Kansas as their primary state of employment, with the largest number of them (184) employed in corrections/detention, followed by criminal investigations/enforcement (161), court operations (54), and police response/patrol (45).
Federal Law Enforcement Education and Training in Kansas
Education in federal law enforcement, in recent years, has been focused on the advantages of a college education as more and more federal law enforcement agencies recognize and appreciate the value of a bachelor’s or master’s degree as a minimum requirement for employment. For example, just a few of the federal law enforcement agencies that now recognize a bachelor’s degree as a minimum requirement include the CIA, the U.S. Marshals, the U.S. Secret Service, and the DEA.
Beyond a college degree, training is always a vital component of a career in federal law enforcement. Although new FBI agents complete their training through the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the majority of federal agencies have their training programs through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC), which are located in Georgia, South Carolina, Maryland, and New Mexico.
Federal Law Enforcement Offices in Kansas
There is a number of federal law enforcement offices located in Kansas:
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)
- Kansas City
- Wichita
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
- Wichita
United States Coast Guard
- Topeka
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
- Overland Park (Kansas City)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Kansas City
United States Secret Service
- Wichita
United States Marshals
- Kansas City
Federal Law Enforcement at Work in Kansas
Federal agencies have a strong presence in Kansas, beyond the HIDTA, as is evident by recent press releases out of the U.S Attorney’s Office, District of Kansas. Federal law enforcement professionals work alongside state and local law enforcement agencies in Kansas to work toward identifying, investigating and prosecuting individuals who break federal laws:
- A federal grand jury indicted a Wichita man who had planned to explode a car bomb at the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. Federal agencies involved in the investigation included the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in Wichita, the FBI Kansas City Division, and the Transportation Security Administration.
- A Topeka man, arrested for receiving and possessing a pipe bomb, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison. The investigation was completed by the Topeka Police Department, the ATF, and the Assistant U.S. Attorney.
- A Dodge City gang member was sentenced to 10 years on a conspiracy charge in a federal racketeering case. The ATF, the Kansas City Bureau of Investigation, and the Dodge City Police Department coordinated on the investigation.
- A Wichita Police Department officer was sentenced to a year of federal probation after pleading guilty to a bribery scheme. The investigation was completed by the FBI and the Wichita Police Department.