Whether operating in bustling metropolitan Las Vegas or remote desert scrublands frequented by motorcycle gangs, federal law enforcement officers in Nevada work day in and day out to keep their state and country safe. Numbering 4,192 by a recent count, these professionals were hired as the most qualified applicants in their cohort and have undergone an extensive training process in order to lead Nevada’s most high-profile criminal busts. Undercover stings and coordinated raids are frequent in this line of work, and local-state-federal task forces continue to expand thanks to Homeland Security grants totaling $2,801,316 last year. Beginning research on the required education and training for federal law enforcement jobs in Nevada now is a great way prospective applicants can begin preparing for success.
Basic Qualifications for Federal Law Enforcement Careers in Nevada
It is never too early to start planning ahead for federal law enforcement jobs in Nevada. Prospective applicants can choose among many renowned and respected federal agencies that operate throughout the state that focus on the following, among other things:
- Organized and violent crime
- Counterfeiting
- Illegal drugs
- Weapons
- Witness protection
- Immigration enforcement
- Bombs and improvised explosive devices
Most federal agencies require applicants to have at least a four-year bachelor degree for these types of jobs, with relevant fields including:
- Emergency Management
- Public Safety
- Police Science
- Homeland Security
- Forensic Science
- Crime Scene Investigation
- Law
- Criminalistics
Besides these fields, applicants for more specialized Nevada federal law enforcement jobs can think about other degrees that are pertinent to the career path, such as IT, Business, or the sciences.
Recent High-Profile Nevada Operations
Much of the time the work of federal law enforcement officers across the state is covert and unknown to the public. However occasionally large busts do attract significant media attention, such as:
- As part of Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agents and members of the US Secret Service recently arrested 19 suspects in the culmination of an investigation targeting a Las Vegas-based organized crime outfit that specialized in the commerce of personal and financial information, whose victims suffered identity and credit card theft. A total of 50 suspects face charges as a result of the operation, which in addition to bringing justice to the victims of cyber financial crimes, serves to bolster the US and global economy.
- Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATFE), FBI, and US Marshals rounded off a four-year investigation of Las Vegas motorcycle gangs with 25 arrests, 43 firearm seizures, the discovery of numerous drugs including 7.5 pounds of meth, and the confiscation of $8,100. The arrests included members of the Vagos, Mongols, Hells Angels, Bandidos, and Wicked Riderz motorcycle gangs.
- DEA Agents acting with the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force arrested 12 suspects as part of Operation Chronic Problem, which targeted 45-60 medical marijuana dispensaries illegally operating in Nevada. Charges relate to the illegal acts of buying marijuana from third parties and fraudulent donations. DEA Agents point out that although marijuana may be considered a soft drug, it provides one of the main sources of revenue for drug cartels.
- As part of the Southern Nevada High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, DEA Agents recently teamed up with police officers from the Henderson, North Las Vegas, and Boulder City Police Departments to bust 11 people through raids on five residences throughout the Las Vegas Valley area. In what turned out to be one of the largest meth busts in the history of the state, 200 pounds of the drug were discovered, worth over $5 million, along with half-a-dozen firearms, multiple pounds of heroin, and $280,000 in cash.
Because of its dichotomy of urban and rural areas plus proximity to the international border, Nevada is a favorite state for drug smugglers and distributors who fulfill the urban demand for narcotics and at the same time can produce or conceal contraband in remote locations. It is also a crossroads between other major metropolitan areas, and for these reasons ATFE, FBI, DEA, and ICE Agents play a particularly prominent role in federal law enforcement operations in Nevada.
Centers for Federal Law Enforcement in Nevada
Federal agencies are strategically based at a variety of locations around the state in order to better serve the population and fight crime. Although many agencies maintain undisclosed locations, field bases and central command offices are located as follows:
- DEA’s Las Vegas District Office on 550 South Main Street
- US Marshals Offices located in Las Vegas and Reno
- US Secret Service Offices located in Las Vegas and Reno
- ATFE Offices located in:
- Las Vegas at 8965 South Eastern Avenue
- Reno at 200 South Virginia Street
- FBI Field Office in Las Vegas, located in the John Lawrence Bailey Memorial Building on 1787 West Lake Mead Boulevard, plus three satellite offices in:
- Elko
- Reno
- South Lake Tahoe
- Homeland Security Fusion Centers, including:
- Southern Nevada Counterterrorism Center in Las Vegas
- Northern Nevada Counterterrorism Center in Reno at 911 Parr Boulevard
- Nevada Threat Analysis Center in Carson City at 107 Jacobsen Way