Upholding federal law in the State of Missouri is a job entrusted to the most qualified applicants who have sworn to serve and protect their state and nation. Last year there were 10,524 federal law enforcement officers serving across the state, combating everything from drug cartel activity to terrorist plots.
It takes a strong candidate to meet the initial qualifications and to be able to complete the rigorous training for federal law enforcement jobs in Missouri. There are many career paths to choose from, and learning about these now is just the beginning of a career.
Federal Law Enforcement Impact in Missouri
With major drug-trafficking routes from Mexico to the East Coast following I-70 and I-44, potential terrorist actions originating both from native and foreign-born residents, and unknown threats always lurking on the horizon, those who choose Missouri federal law enforcement careers will have their work cut out for them. Numbering over 10,000 strong, these federal agents share their knowledge and expertise with local law enforcement during joint-training and live operations, while also bringing federal grant money to local law enforcement departments. Federal agents are able to see the big picture in Missouri, working at the local level in places like Independence and Columbia and reporting back to their regional field offices. Recent federal grants to programs such as the following help to ensure a close collaboration between federal and local law enforcement:
- Emergency Management Performance Grant: Improves EM program performance across the state for all contingencies with joint cooperation between federal and local EM responders
- Urban Areas Security Initiative: Targets improving preparedness in metropolitan areas along the lines of the National Preparedness Guidelines through joint-department law enforcement training
- Metropolitan Medical Response System Program: Supports planning and training at all levels of government in preparation for urban mass-casualty events
Agency Locations across the State
Federal law enforcement careers in Missouri are strategically stationed across the state to provide maximum coverage. Bureau offices are often located in major cities, such as the following:
- FBI Field Offices in:
- Kansas City at 1300 Summit
- Saint Louis on 2222 Market Street
- DEA Office in Saint Louis on 317 South 16th Street
- ATFE Bureau Offices in:
- Kansas City on 2600 Grand Avenue
- Saint Louis on 1222 Spruce
- Springfield at 901 Saint Louis
- US Marshals Offices in:
- Saint Louis, located in the Thomas Eagleton Courthouse on 111 South 10th Street
- Kansas City, located in the US Courthouse on 400 East 9th Street
- Missouri Office of Homeland Security, with a mailing address in Jefferson City at Post Office Box 749
- Secret Service Field Offices at undisclosed locations in:
- Kansas City
- Springfield
- Saint Louis
Countering Threats to Missouri
Federal law enforcement officers are involved in many operations the public is not aware of. However the actions that do make it to the news lead one to imagine what could be going on behind the scenes:
- Recent arrests in Missouri were part of the largest single-operation nation-wide crackdown aimed at one of the country’s newest cartels, La Familia, known for their distribution networks of methamphetamine and beheadings of their opposition. Over 3,000 federal law enforcement agents and local police officers participated in the action, including members from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Agents.
- A man was recently arrested on suspicion of planning a Boston-Marathon-bombing-style attack at a Saint Louis sports stadium, charged with making a terrorist threat. Members of the police department and FBI questioned the man and conducted a background investigation to determine if he was intending to follow through on his threats.
- With information from Customs and Border Patrol officials and the CIA, federal agents recently arrested a former Southeast Missouri State University man in the culmination of an undercover sting operation. The recent student was arrested when he attempted to detonate what he though was a half-ton bomb outside New York’s Federal Reserve Bank.
- AFTE Agents recently raided a man’s McDonald County residence after he was linked to white supremacist bombings and undercover agents discovered compromising material in his home. He was convicted of being a felon in possession of explosives and firearms.
Those entrusted with federal law enforcement jobs in Missouri play a critical role in the state’s security, linking federal agency knowledge and expertise with their counterparts from local law enforcement agencies.