The FBI Atlanta Field Office was formed in 1911 under the control of Special Agent Lewis Josiah Baley, who was the first and longest serving head of the field office in its history. He left the field office in 1919 when he was appointed the Chief of the bureau of Investigation. The Atlanta division played a key role in investigating the domestic terrorism case held in Atlanta in 1919. The office also played a role in the investigation on Alexander Berkman. The pressing matter of corruption within the Atlanta detention system had arisen once more. J Edgar Hoover, the then FBI director, ordered the division to find evidence of these allegations. They were also told to investigate the prison warden, in which they received reports that he was running the prison in a laid-back manner. A conspiracy was quickly uncovered by Atlanta officers which included bribery for special treatment. The Bureau's 1925 report led to a series of arrests of prison management officers. In the 1920 and 1930s, the office investigated and charged a number of white collar criminals.
Post-9/11
In the post September 11 period, The Atlanta office—as with the rest of the Bureau—made terrorism a top priority. In order to prevent more attacks on the United States, the division increased terrorism efforts by expanding the divisions terrorism force, improving the inner machination of the office's information collection methods by initiating the Field Intelligence Group. In the case of Ehsanul Sadequee and Syed Ahmed, two men residing in Georgia who had ties to terrorists around the globe, these efforts were put to great use. The division helped investigate the matter. The subsequent investigations of these terrorists unraveled a conspiracy of terrorists in other parts of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Bosnia and several other countries around the world. Currently the office handles a number of matters including child pornography, health care fraud, violent prison gangs, drug trafficking and many more areas of crime.
Programs
Joint Terrorism Task Force – This force is a unit of skilled officer comprised local, state and federal law enforcement officers who are put together to combat terrorism and investigate cases that are related to terrorism. It is also the responsibility of this task force to provide support and security at special events and proactively identify threats to national security. The task force also works with agents from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency – Homeland Security.
Major Offender Task Force – This force is responsible for the identification and capture of wanted persons. This force, like the Joint Terrorism Task Force, is made up of local, state and federal agents.
The Atlanta Division has a specially trained Special Weapons and Tactics team. This team is among the most critically acclaimed of its kind. The Atlanta SWAT cooperates closely with the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team. The members are trained to gain entry into barricaded buildings, breach locks and an array of other tasks. The SWAT team has been involved in the arrests of dangerous criminals, the rescue of hostages and the navigation of rough terrain.
Investigative programs
Computer Analysis and Response Team – A group of trained personnel who locate evidence on a vast group of digital technologies. This team is also responsible for processing evidence for use inside the court of law. CART, as they are sometimes referred as, also assists a number of local, state, national and international law enforcement agencies in crimes such as terrorism, child pornography, crimes of violence, trade secret theft, theft or destruction of intellectual property, etc.
Evidence Response Teams – This group is the branch of the FBI Atlanta Division that handles the gathering and processing of evidence. The ERT is comprised special agents and other persons with special skills. These persons survey crime scenes, take photographs and diagrams, gather fingerprints, analyze blood stains and splatters, determine bullet trajectories, recover DNA, gather and process the smallest of clues. The ERT works closely with FBI Laboratory.
Jurisdiction
The FBI Atlanta field office has jurisdiction in 14 cities. The investigative arm of the FBI Atlanta Field Office which is located in these jurisdictions are called satellite offices. The FBI Atlanta has resident agencies in the following cities.
