As of 2008, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that there were 1,428 federal law enforcement officers in Ohio, with the majority of them (846) working in criminal investigations and enforcement, followed by corrections and detention (174), court operations (158), and police response and patrol (132).
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the prosecutors of the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio work with a number of federal agencies, including:
- U.S. Secret Service
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service
- U.S. Park Service
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- U.S. Marshals
- U.S. Forest Service
- Internal Revenue Service
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Along with help from the Ohio Highway Patrol and a number of local law enforcement agencies, the above federal law enforcement agencies work to arrest individuals of violating federal criminal statutes, such as:
- Domestic and foreign terrorism
- Child pornography and exploitation
- Civil rights violations
- Bank robbery
- Firearms offenses
- Drug trafficking
- Healthcare fraud
- Immigration violations
- Public corruption
- Tax evasion
- Mail, bank and wire fraud
- Environmental offenses
- Identity theft
Federal Law Enforcement Education and Training in Ohio
Although an education in federal law enforcement does not always demand a college education, many individuals nevertheless choose to begin their careers by pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Further, a number of federal law enforcement agencies do require, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree for a number of positions, particularly at the GL-7 level and above, including the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, among others.
Upon being hired by a federal law enforcement agency, the majority of new hires must complete a course of training, which often takes place at one of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) or, in the case of the FBI, at the FBI training center in Quantico, Virginia.
The closest FLETC training center to Ohio is located in Cheltenham, Maryland. FLETC-Cheltenham includes over 400 acres and a vast array of facilities, including computer laboratories, driver training ranges, indoor firing range, driving training simulators, and multi-purpose classrooms.
Federal Law Enforcement Offices in Ohio
The following federal law enforcement offices/operations are located in Ohio:
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)
- Columbus
- Independence
- Cincinnati
- Toledo
- Poland
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
U.S. Secret Service
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dayton
- Toledo
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Cleveland
- Columbus
U.S. Marshals
- Cleveland
- Columbus
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations
- Cincinnati
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Ashtabula/Conneaut
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland (service port)
- Columbus
- Dayton
- Sandusky Bay Station/Toledo
Careers in Federal Law Enforcement in Ohio
The Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio enforce the criminal and civil statutes for the entire State of New Jersey. The following programs work closely with federal law enforcement agency partners and are therefore a source of federal law enforcement jobs in Ohio:
National Security and Anti-Terrorism
The National Security and Anti-Terrorism Unit handles all anti-terrorism investigations, including investigations involving breaches of national security.
Financial Crimes Unit
The Financial Crimes Unit works to investigate and prosecute crimes of an economic nature, such as corporate fraud, mortgage fraud, securities fraud, healthcare fraud, and public corruption.
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)
The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) handle the investigation and prosecution of all high-level drug trafficking organizations operating within the United States. The OCDETF works alongside federal law enforcement agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).