United States Federal Protective Service

The United States Federal Protective Service (FPS) commonly referred to as the Federal Police is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Federal Protective Service is also the federal agency charged with protecting and delivering integrated law enforcement, investigative, and security services to federal property, critical infrastructure, federal employees, and large scale public events. This responsibility is perhaps the most public-facing role, however, it is just one of many law enforcement responsibilities entrusted to the agents of FPS.

FPS is a federal law enforcement agency which employs approximately 900 law enforcement officers who receive their initial training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). New FPS law enforcement personnel receive over 26 weeks of training at FLETC, making the FPS training program the longest program at FLETC. Following FLETC graduation, new FPS law enforcement agents go through an additional 12-week field training and evaluation program. This ensures that FPS personnel are prepared for any situation they may encounter, as most FPS Inspectors and Agents cover large geographic areas without immediate assistance.

FPS also enters in to Memorandums of Understanding with other federal, local, and state law enforcement agencies to further the agency’s mandate of promoting homeland security. Most FPS Inspectors and Agents are cross-designated to uphold state and local laws with a nexus to federal interests.

FPS provides integrated law enforcement and security services to U.S. federal buildings, courthouses, and other properties administered by the GSA and the DHS.

In support of their mission, FPS contracts with private security firms to provide a further 13,000 armed protective security officers (PSO) providing access control and security response within federal buildings. These PSOs are not federal law enforcement officers but private security employees trained by FPS. FPS also protects non-GSA properties as authorized and carries out various other activities for the promotion of homeland security as the Secretary of Homeland Security may prescribe, to include providing a uniformed police response to National Special Security Events, and national disasters.

The FPS was a part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement until October 2009, when it was transferred to the National Protection and Programs Directorate. As part of the NPPD's transformation into the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the FPS was further moved to the department's Management Directorate.