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In the United States, a special agent is an official title used to refer to certain investigators or detectives of federal, military, tribal, or state agencies who primarily serve in criminal investigatory positions. Additionally, some special agents operate in criminal intelligence, counterterrorism, or counterintelligence-based roles as well, with one or all of these roles occasionally taking precedence over criminal investigatory tasks.
Within the U.S. federal law enforcement system, dozens of federal agencies employ federal law enforcement officers (LEOs), each with different criteria pertaining to the use of the titles special agent and agent. Most criminal investigators employed by the U.S. Department of Defense and its component departments typically utilize the title of "special agent."
Most people holding the title of "special agent" are LEOs under state and/or federal law (with some also being dual intelligence operatives such as with the FBI). These LEOs are distinctly empowered to conduct both major and minor criminal investigations, and hold arrest authority. While not all federal LEOs are "special agents," nearly all special agents -- with very few exceptions -- are duly-sworn LEOs. This holds true at the state-level, as well, with nearly all special agents of state agencies being sworn LEOs.
In intelligence usage, "agent" may also refer to a human source or human "asset" who is recruited, trained, controlled, and employed to obtain and report information.[1] However, within law enforcement agencies, these types of sources are often referred to as informants, confidential informants (CI—not to be confused with counterintelligence), or confidential human sources (CHS).
- ^ North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO Standardization Agency "AAP-6 - Glossary of terms and definitions", p. 47.