Based upon your reading of the following paragraph, what conclusions can you draw about how the development of U.S. law enforcement
agencies affects jurisdiction of those agencies?
President Abraham Lincoln signed the legislation creating the Secret Service in 1865. Created for the purpose of policing broader frauds against
the government, the Secret Service originally focused on counterfeiting. The Secret Service also investigated smugglers, individuals perpetrating
land or real-estate fraud, distillers of illegal liquor, and the Ku Klux Klan. In 1894, the protective duties of the Secret Service began informally with
agents providing part-time protection to President Grover Cleveland. Following the assassination of President William McKinley, Congress
informally requested presidential security service. In 1902, the Secret Service assumed full time responsibility for protecting the president and his
family. In 1908, this protection was also extended to the president-elect. In 1913, Congress authorized permanent protection of the president.
Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Secret Service also became responsible for protecting presidential and vice-
presidential nominees and candidates, and the widows of presidents.
A law enforcement agency can expand its jurisdiction at will
The jurisdiction, or power and scope of an agency, changes to respond to law enforcement needs in new situations
A law enforcement agency will have poorly defined responsibilities if its jurisdiction is not clearly defined from the beginning
The jurisdiction, or power and scope of an agency, should be precisely defined at the time of the agency's creation