DAILY BRIEFING
INS Tops in Enforcers
The Immigration and Naturalization Service has more officers empowered to carry guns and make arrests than any other federal agency, the Associated Press reported Monday.
During the past three years, the number of INS agents has grown by 31 percent, to 12,403. The rate of increase at the INS has been faster than at any other federal agency except the Fish and Wildlife Service, which had a 40 percent increase, to 869 agents.
The total number of armed federal agents with arrest power rose to 74,500 by mid-1996, the Justice Department said. Sixteen agencies each employ more than 500 armed agents with the power to make arrests.
Most of the INS agents work for the Border Patrol, whose force is concentrated along the Mexican border. From 1993 to 1996, the Border Patrol increased from 3,965 to 5,878 agents.
The Bureau of Prisons is the second largest agency in terms of armed agents. Its force grew by 13 percent, to 11,329, during the three-year period, due to an increase in inmate populations.
The FBI's agent force increased by 3 percent to 10,389 from 1993 to 1996, while the U.S. Customs Service's force declined by 4 percent to 9,749.
Nationwide, there were 28 federal officers per 100,000 U.S. residents as of 1996. The highest concentration is in the District of Columbia, with 1,198 officers per 100,000 residents.
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