When it comes to investigating and prosecuting crime, federal and state agencies are parts of separate governments. Each state is also separate from all the other states. These are called jurisdictions.
The federal government is limited in what crimes it is allowed to investigate and prosecute. There must be federal jurisdiction before the federal government can get involved. Most street crimes, like murder, do not involve federal jurisdiction.
The federal government may have jurisdiction if an otherwise state crime occurs on federal property, or involves federal officials, or crosses state lines.
The states and federal government also have separate law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. At the federal level, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office are primarily involved in investigating and prosecuting federal crimes.
Each state has state law enforcement officers, as well as local city police departments and county sheriff's departments. Most states also have state attorneys general, district attorneys, and city attorneys who prosecute state crimes.
Often in movies and TV shows, the local police department will get offended when the FBI comes into their jurisdiction. The show "Criminal Minds" handles this issue regularly.
Criminal Minds follows a team of FBI profilers who help track and catch serial killers. Most episodes have the team called in by a local police department that needs the team's expertise on recent crimes.
The agent in charge of the Criminal Minds profiling team often stresses the importance of being invited by the local police department and working cooperatively with them once there. This is because the FBI generally has no jurisdiction to investigate local murders, even multiple murders. The FBI, as a federal agency, has limited jurisdiction to investigate federal crimes.
The specialized profiling team on Criminal Minds, therefore, would generally analyze evidence from their unique perspective and help educate the local police department about the person they are looking for.
One episode of Criminal Minds (Season 2, ep. 22 “Legacy”), helps show this concept and demonstrates the difference between state and federal jurisdictions.
Detective McGee from the Kansas City Police Department contacts the Criminal Minds team for help when he believes at least 63 homeless people have disappeared. Because these people have not turned up dead and no one has reported them missing, however, there are no open files and no active local investigation into the matter.
The following conversation takes place about the FBI team's ability to work on the case:
The federal government is limited in what crimes it is allowed to investigate and prosecute. There must be federal jurisdiction before the federal government can get involved. Most street crimes, like murder, do not involve federal jurisdiction.
The federal government may have jurisdiction if an otherwise state crime occurs on federal property, or involves federal officials, or crosses state lines.
The states and federal government also have separate law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. At the federal level, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office are primarily involved in investigating and prosecuting federal crimes.
Each state has state law enforcement officers, as well as local city police departments and county sheriff's departments. Most states also have state attorneys general, district attorneys, and city attorneys who prosecute state crimes.
Often in movies and TV shows, the local police department will get offended when the FBI comes into their jurisdiction. The show "Criminal Minds" handles this issue regularly.
Criminal Minds follows a team of FBI profilers who help track and catch serial killers. Most episodes have the team called in by a local police department that needs the team's expertise on recent crimes.
The agent in charge of the Criminal Minds profiling team often stresses the importance of being invited by the local police department and working cooperatively with them once there. This is because the FBI generally has no jurisdiction to investigate local murders, even multiple murders. The FBI, as a federal agency, has limited jurisdiction to investigate federal crimes.
The specialized profiling team on Criminal Minds, therefore, would generally analyze evidence from their unique perspective and help educate the local police department about the person they are looking for.
One episode of Criminal Minds (Season 2, ep. 22 “Legacy”), helps show this concept and demonstrates the difference between state and federal jurisdictions.
Detective McGee from the Kansas City Police Department contacts the Criminal Minds team for help when he believes at least 63 homeless people have disappeared. Because these people have not turned up dead and no one has reported them missing, however, there are no open files and no active local investigation into the matter.
The following conversation takes place about the FBI team's ability to work on the case:
AGENT HOTCHNER: Simply being gone isn’t a federal issue. AGENT GIDEON: We’re gonna need an official invitation into your jurisdiction. DETECTIVE MCGEE: An official? AGENT HOTCHNER: Police chief, chief of detectives. It has to come down from the chain of command. We have no authority to look into this. DETECTIVE MCGEE: Um, I don’t know that I can do that. AGENT HOTCHNER: Unless we’re officially asked, we can’t help you. AGENT HOTCHNER: Jurisdictional issues aren’t open for debate. Sorry. It’s out of our hands. AGENT JAREAU: Hotch, there could be 63 victims here. AGENT HOTCHNER: Well, I suppose you and I could go back with the detective and talk to his commanders. Try to impress upon them the serious implications. DETECTIVE MCGEE: Thank you. AGENT HOTCHNER: If we get an invitation, we could send for the rest of you. I just don’t want to give the appearance that we’re running over them. |
Upon unofficially reviewing some of the evidence and recognizing a potentially serious threat, Agent Prentiss expresses frustration at the team’s hands being tied because of jurisdictional concerns. Agent Morgan reminds her, “If we don’t follow the city’s jurisdiction, no one’s ever going to ask us for help.”
These scenes demonstrate how delicate the balance of power between different law enforcement agencies can be. It also exemplifies the limited role of the federal government when it comes to investigating and prosecuting crime. Unless there is some federal aspect of the case that gives the feds jurisdiction, they have no authority.
Later in the episode, when Agent Hotchner meets with the detective’s commander, the commander declines the FBI’s help, claiming there is no case to investigate. He does not consider the unexplained and unreported disappearance of several homeless people a crime.
It is then discovered that a taunting letter from the potential suspect was mailed to Detective McGee from Kansas City, Missouri, whereas the people went missing from Kansas City, Kansas. This interstate communication gave the FBI jurisdiction to investigate the crimes on their own without invitation from the local authorities.
In this scenario, both the federal government and the local authorities had jurisdiction to investigate the same crimes. This is called concurrent jurisdiction.
Bank robbery and drug sales are common areas of concurrent jurisdiction, where both the federal and state governments have jurisdiction. And since the federal and state governments are separate governments, each could potentially prosecute the suspect once he was caught. Typically, however, someone is only prosecuted by either the state or the federal government, even where both have jurisdiction.
As a side note, the U.S. Constitution’s Double Jeopardy Clause does not forbid both the federal and state governments from prosecuting the same person for the same crime because they are separate sovereigns.
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These scenes demonstrate how delicate the balance of power between different law enforcement agencies can be. It also exemplifies the limited role of the federal government when it comes to investigating and prosecuting crime. Unless there is some federal aspect of the case that gives the feds jurisdiction, they have no authority.
Later in the episode, when Agent Hotchner meets with the detective’s commander, the commander declines the FBI’s help, claiming there is no case to investigate. He does not consider the unexplained and unreported disappearance of several homeless people a crime.
It is then discovered that a taunting letter from the potential suspect was mailed to Detective McGee from Kansas City, Missouri, whereas the people went missing from Kansas City, Kansas. This interstate communication gave the FBI jurisdiction to investigate the crimes on their own without invitation from the local authorities.
In this scenario, both the federal government and the local authorities had jurisdiction to investigate the same crimes. This is called concurrent jurisdiction.
Bank robbery and drug sales are common areas of concurrent jurisdiction, where both the federal and state governments have jurisdiction. And since the federal and state governments are separate governments, each could potentially prosecute the suspect once he was caught. Typically, however, someone is only prosecuted by either the state or the federal government, even where both have jurisdiction.
As a side note, the U.S. Constitution’s Double Jeopardy Clause does not forbid both the federal and state governments from prosecuting the same person for the same crime because they are separate sovereigns.
Click here to receive a free eBook revealing the Top 7 Mistakes Made by Writers of Crime, Mystery and Legal Drama.
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