Federal law enforcement is a form of law enforcement in federated nations which has jurisdiction across the whole country. Nations with a federal government are divided into a number of subdivisions, each of which can make its own laws and each of which has its own law enforcement agency or agencies, making federal law enforcement necessary to handle violations of the law which fall outside the jurisdiction of individual departments. In nations which lack a federated government, a law enforcement agency with country-wide jurisdiction is termed a national law enforcement agency, and may work slightly differently from federal agencies.
In federated nations, individual law enforcement agencies are responsible for overseeing public safety in their own divisions. For example, in Canada, the Toronto Police Service would handle law enforcement issues in the City of Toronto, but the Royal Canadian Mounted Police handles law enforcement issues which pertain to Canada's national security, which cross the borders of divisions within Canada, or which are escalated by law to the federal level.
Agents who work for federal law enforcement organizations handle issues like border control, kidnapping, protecting heads of state, drug laws, domestic terrorism, crimes which cross internal borders, fraud against the government, counterfeiting, and other crimes which threaten national security. In many nations with a federal government, strict laws determine the jurisdiction of various agencies, protecting localized law enforcement agencies from interference while giving federal agencies the authority to move in when it is appropriate.
Members of federal law enforcement agencies often cooperate with local law enforcement as well as international law enforcement organizations. In nations where multiple federal agencies have been established, agencies also need to cooperate with each other to accomplish the common goal of protecting the integrity of the national government. Power sharing agreements may be uncertain between agencies, especially with situations involving types of criminal activity which are relatively new or undefined.
Employees of federal law enforcement agencies can work in a number of capacities. They are all subjected to extensive background checks and training which are designed to qualify them for duty, with some opting for field work as agents, while others might be more interested in working in offices as researchers, supervisors, intelligence coordinators, and so forth. Federal law enforcement also relies heavily on the work of scientists in federal labs who do everything from analyzing evidence from crime scenes to assisting with analysis of intelligence.
