It was 1865 and one bill out of three in your wallet was counterfeit.
Abe Lincoln approved the origin of the Secret Service as the first and
now the oldest federal investigative law enforcement agency. It was
enacted the day before Lincoln was assassinated, but it originally had
nothing to do with Presidential security. Its focus was criminal
investigations and that counterfeit problem remained the focus of the
Secret Service until 1906 when Congress mandated the U. S. Secret
Service to also protect our nation's Presidents. It was also noted
that in 1908 a number of its agents were “loaned” to the Justice
Department to form the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), later to
be renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1924.
Following the assassination of President McKinley in 1901 the U. S.
Secret Service was given the formal responsibility for Presidential
security. Today the Secret Service is about 75% investigative and 25%
protection. Agents learn diplomacy and people skills in carrying out
the mission of the Secret Service. Due diligence is needed by our
Special Agents to protect our President since “it only takes seconds
for a leader to fall prey to an assassin!” In the case of Bob Pawson, a
Secret Service Agent for twenty-six years, he participated in both
financial crime investigations against the U.S. and protecting
Presidents and the President's immediate family, the Vice President,
former Presidents and spouse [protection is provided for life, except
for recent legislation effective following George W. Bush's term when
he and the succeeding Presidents will receive protection for ten years
following the President's term(s)], Presidential candidates and Foreign
Heads of State visiting America (per an executive order initiated in
1970).
Assassins do not necessarily seek to kill office holders, but many
times focus on the office held by the person, i.e., the President. They
often are mentally disturbed. Training of Agents uses existing
information on past assassinations and/or attempts around the world to
understand the protection task. The Secret Service uses this
information in their academy for the training of new Agents and
on-the-job training of Agents throughout their career. There are many
separate federal entities that have a role in our nation's security,
not to mention nonfederal security personnel. It is an expensive
proposition to continually train and protect our nation’s leaders.
The other half of the equation? Money is a problem in terms of
counterfeiting because of the recent evolution of scanning technology.
Local folks may remember that even Daphne was the focus of counterfeit
bill passing recently. That kind of activity remains a focus for the
Service, but we live in a time when major credit card fraud is being
perpetrated around the world with losses in the multibillions of
dollars. Everyone needs to be diligent in protecting name, social
security number, birthdate, and other personal data. Such information
printed on statements and applications should be safeguarded and not
placed in the public domain. Old billings, for instance, need to be
destroyed before being placed in the garbage, and even address
information should probably be destroyed if it is going to go into any
kind of public disposal domain.
Security is the business of agencies like the Secret Service, but in a
free society it is also a public responsibility. All Americans need to
keep their eyes open. Citizens can contact a Secret Service office in
their respective states. Now, as a part of the Department of
Homeland Security, the Secret Service continues in its unique dual role
of Presidential and monetary security.
