FBI investigative activities in Texas are often handled by the talented agents of the FBI Dallas Division, which includes 137 counties in North Texas, as well as a number of counties in both East and West Texas. This massive FBI Division covers nearly 125,000 square miles, throughout which nine million people reside.
The FBI Dallas Division includes a main field office, which is located on One Justice Way, as well as 12 satellite (Resident Agencies) offices, which are strategically located throughout the territory:
- Abilene
- Amarillo
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
- Fort Worth
- Frisco
- Lubbock
- Lufkin
- San Angelo
- Sherman
- Texarkana
- Tyler
- Wichita Falls
The FBI has had a presence in Dallas since its earliest days. The FBI in Dallas and the surrounding regions has played a significant role dating from the federal pursuit of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1932 and the investigation of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 to the Savings and Loan crisis in the late 1980s and domestic terrorism and the arrest of four members of the Ku Klux Klan for conspiring to blow up a natural gas processing plant in 1997.
However, it was undoubtedly the events of September 11, 2001, that had the biggest impact on the FBI Dallas Division. By November 2002 the Dallas Division moved into its new, state-of-the-art facility, which was designed to meet the stricter security standards in light of the terror attacks of the previous year.
The FBI Dallas Division, like all other Divisions within the FBI, is now focused on responding to terrorism and national security threats, as well as a wide breadth of crimes, including health care fraud, prison gangs, government corruption, and child pornography, just to name a few.
FBI Careers in the Dallas, Texas Division Office
The FBI professionals within the Dallas Division possess the drive, perseverance, and talent needed to respond to a wide range of national security threats and crimes. These FBI professionals not only include FBI Special Agents, but a wide range of other FBI Specialists who are highly skilled to do everything from run undercover operations to map and manage crime scenes:
- Investigative Specialists
- Paralegals
- Support Services Technicians
- Language Specialists
- Electronics Technicians
- Security Experts
- Financial Analysts
- Intelligence Analysts
The FBI Special Agents and Specialists of the Dallas Division often work in collaborative teams and strategic partnerships. For example, the Dallas Division includes: four, eight-person Evidence Response Teams that consist of FBI Special Agents and similar Specialists; a Computer Analysis and Response Team; a Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory; a Specialized Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team; two FBI Special Agent Bomb Technicians; a HAZMAT team; and a group of FBI Language Specialists.
In addition, FBI jobs in Dallas include strategic partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies, task forces, intelligence groups, and fusion centers:
- North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force
- Dallas Field Intelligence Group
- Northern District of Texas – Securities Fraud Task Force
- North Texas Health Care Fraud Task Force
- North Texas Mortgage Fraud Working Group
- North Texas Anti-Trafficking Team
- Northern District of Texas Hate Crimes and Civil Rights Working Group
- International Corrupt Contract Initiative
- Cyber Crime Task Force
- North Texas Regional Computer Forensics Lab
- Innocent Images National Initiative
- Innocent Lost Task Force
- Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Task Force
- Tarrant County Safe Streets Task Force (Fort Worth)
- East Texas Area Gang Task Force (Tyler)
- West Texas Anti-Gang Team
How to Become an FBI Agent in Dallas: FBI Requirements in Dallas
FBI requirements for employment in Dallas are not unlike FBI jobs elsewhere. As such, if an individual wants to learn how to become an FBI Agent in Dallas, the FBI’s website is an excellent resource for additional information. Further, the FBI website also posts job vacancies for individuals looking for specific FBI jobs in Dallas.
Learning how to become an FBI Agent in Dallas requires an understanding of the FBI’s basic employment requirements. All candidates for employment with the FBI Dallas must be U.S. citizens, and they must be between the ages of 23 and 36 (Veterans may qualify if they are older than 37). Individuals must also possess a valid U.S. driver’s license, a four-year degree from an accredited college or university, and at least 2 years of work experience.
Individuals with a felony conviction or those who have defaulted on student loans are not eligible for FBI jobs in Dallas, and all male candidates must have registered with the Selective Services system to be eligible for employment.
Individuals may also contact the FBI Dallas Division’s field office or one of the Resident Agency offices for additional information and guidance.