Editing United States Secret Service (section)

===Dual objective===
[[File:Secret Service agents conducting investigations.jpg|thumb|right|Secret Service agents conducting electronic investigations]]
The Secret Service combines the two responsibilities into a dual objective. The two core missions of protection and investigation synergize with each other, providing benefits to special agents during the course of their careers. Skills developed during the course of investigations which are also used in an agent's protective duties include but are not limited to: 
* Partnerships that are created between field offices and local law enforcement during the course of investigations being used to gather both protective intelligence and in coordinating protection events.
* Tactical operation (e.g. surveillance, arrests, and search warrants) and law enforcement writing (e.g. affidavits, after-action reports, and operations plans) skills being applied to both investigative and protective duties.
* Proficiency in analyzing handwriting and forgery techniques being applied in protective investigations of handwritten letters and suspicious-package threats.
* Expertise in investigating electronic and financial crimes being applied in protective investigations of threats made against the nation's leaders on the [[Internet]].

Protection of the nation's highest elected leaders and other government officials is one of the primary missions of the Secret Service. After the 1901 [[Assassination of William McKinley|assassination of President William McKinley]], [[United States Congress|Congress]] also directed the Secret Service to protect the [[president of the United States]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timeline of Our History |url=https://www.secretservice.gov/about/history/timeline#:~:text=1902,to%20the%20White%20House%20Detail. |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=www.secretservice.gov}}</ref> The Secret Service investigates thousands of incidents each year of individuals [[threatening the President of the United States|threatening the president of the United States]].

The Secret Service is authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 3056(a) to protect:<ref name="ProtectionLaw">{{cite web|title=United States Code: Title 18, Section 3056|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/3056|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106081228/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/3056|archive-date=November 6, 2020|access-date=November 6, 2020}}</ref>
* The president, vice president (or the next individual in the [[United States presidential line of succession|order of succession]], should the vice presidency be vacant), president-elect and vice president-elect
* The immediate families of the above individuals
* Former presidents and their spouses for their lifetimes, except if the spouse remarries
* Children of former presidents under the age of 16
* Visiting heads of state or government and their spouses traveling with them
* Other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States and official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad, when the president directs protection be provided
* Major presidential and vice presidential candidates and, within 120 days of a general presidential election, their spouses
*Former vice presidents, their spouses, and their children under 16 years of age, for up to 6 months from the date the former vice president leaves office (the Secretary of Homeland Security can authorize temporary protection of these individuals at any time after that period)

In addition to the above, the Secret Service can also protect other individuals by executive order of the president.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Secret Service FAQs|url=https://www.secretservice.gov/about/faqs/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101024003/https://www.secretservice.gov/about/faqs/|archive-date=November 1, 2020|access-date=November 7, 2020|website=www.secretservice.gov}}</ref> Under Presidential Policy Directive 22, "[[National Special Security Event]]s", the Secret Service is the lead agency for the design and implementation of operational security plans for events designated an NSSE by the secretary of [[homeland security]].

[[File:DoNotEnter.jpg|thumb|upright|Sign at the Obama family home in 2021 stating the area is protected by the Secret Service]]

There have been changes to the protection of former presidents over time. Under the original [[Former Presidents Act]], former presidents and their spouses were entitled to lifetime protection, subject to limited exceptions. In 1994, this was amended to reduce the protection period to 10 years after a former president left office, starting with presidents assuming the role after January 1, 1997. On January 10, 2013, President [[Barack Obama]] signed legislation reversing this limit and reinstating lifetime protection to all former presidents.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gillman|first=Todd J.|title=Obama signs lifetime Secret Service protection for George W. Bush, himself and future presidents|url=http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/01/obama-signs-lifetime-secret-service-protection-for-george-w-bush-himself-and-future-presidents.html/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115091119/http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/01/obama-signs-lifetime-secret-service-protection-for-george-w-bush-himself-and-future-presidents.html/|archive-date=January 15, 2013|access-date=January 18, 2013|work=Trail Blazers Blog|publisher=The Dallas Morning News}}</ref> This change impacted Presidents Obama and G.W. Bush, as well as all future presidents.<ref>{{cite news|last=Compton|first=Ann|date=January 10, 2013|title=Lifetime Secret Service Protection Restored for Presidents Bush and Obama|publisher=ABC News|url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/lifetime-secret-service-protection-restored-for-presidents-bush-and-obama/|url-status=live|access-date=September 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925231451/http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/lifetime-secret-service-protection-restored-for-presidents-bush-and-obama/|archive-date=September 25, 2013}}</ref>

Protection of government officials is not solely the responsibility of the Secret Service, with many other agencies, such as the [[United States Capitol Police]], [[Supreme Court Police]] and [[Diplomatic Security Service]], providing personal protective services to domestic and foreign officials. However, while these agencies are nominally responsible for services to other officers of the United States and senior dignitaries, the Secret Service provides protective services at the highest-level – i.e. for heads of state and heads of government.

The Secret Service's other primary mission is investigative; to protect the payment and financial systems of the United States from a wide range of financial and electronic-based crimes including counterfeit U.S. currency, bank and financial institution fraud, illicit financing operations, cybercrime, identity theft, intellectual property crimes, and any other violations that may affect the United States economy and financial systems. The agency's key focus is on large, high-dollar economic impact cases involving organized criminal groups. Financial criminals include embezzling bank employees, armed robbers at automatic teller machines, heroin traffickers, and criminal organizations that commit bank fraud on a global scale.

The USSS plays a leading role in facilitating relationships between other law enforcement entities, the private sector, and academia. The service maintains the Electronic Crimes Task Forces, which focus on identifying and locating international cyber criminals connected to cyber intrusions, bank fraud, data breaches, and other computer-related crimes. Additionally, the Secret Service runs the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI), which provides law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges with cyber training and information to combat cybercrime.

In the face of budget pressure, hiring challenges and some high-profile lapses in its protective service role in 2014, the [[Brookings Institution]] and some members of Congress are asking whether the agency's focus should shift more to the protective mission, leaving more of its original mission to other agencies.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Secret Service: What's next for the new director |newspaper=Brookings Institution|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2015/02/28/the-secret-service-whats-next-for-the-new-director/|url-status=live|access-date=October 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027055908/https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2015/02/28/the-secret-service-whats-next-for-the-new-director/|archive-date=October 27, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Secret Service Recruitment Campaign Amps Up|url=http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/10/26/secret-service-recruitment|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027055919/http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/10/26/secret-service-recruitment|archive-date=October 27, 2016|access-date=October 26, 2016|website=wbur.org|date=October 26, 2016 }}</ref>