Secret Service Fast Facts

Here is a look at the Secret Service, a federal agency tasked with protecting the president of the United States, among many other responsibilities.

The Secret Service is one of the country's oldest federal investigative agencies, founded in 1865 to stop counterfeiters.

There are approximately 3,200 special agents and an additional 1,300 uniformed officers who guard the White House, the Treasury building and foreign diplomatic missions in Washington.

In addition to protecting the First Family, the Secret Service also provides security for the vice president, the president-elect, the vice president-elect, former presidents and their families, presidential candidates, visiting heads of state and representatives of the United States performing special missions overseas.

After September 11, 2001, the Secret Service took on new responsibilities, overseeing security at non-political events that could be targets for terrorists, like the NFL Super Bowl.

July 5, 1865 - The Secret Service is established as an investigative unit within the Department of Treasury. At the time, the country was awash with forged currency. Between one-third and half of the money in circulation was counterfeit, according to some estimates.

1867 - The role of the agency expands to include investigations of mail theft, bootlegging, smuggling and fraud.