Where does the FBI operate and why?

Answer 1

Technically speaking, the FBI operates on an international level. Agents and resources from the FBI are sent wherever they are needed depending on the case. International cases and operations are much more restricted as they need the foreign country's authority to operate within their borders.

Most commonly, the FBI operates within the United States

Answer 2

Technically speaking, the FBI operates on an international level. Agents and resources from the FBI are sent wherever they are needed depending on the case. International cases and operations are much more restricted as they need the foreign country's authority to operate within their borders.

Most commonly, the FBI operates within the United States.

As for why: well there are State laws that are written by (you guessed it) the states. Each state have their own laws (example: one state might say gambling is illegal while another state says that gambling is legal.) State laws are mostly enforced by normal law enforcement like police departments. Then there are FEDERAL laws, and this is where the FBI comes into play, where the U.S. government has decided what is legal and what is not. Federal Laws are enforced by Federal Agencies like the FBI, Secret Service (counterfeiting), ATF, DEA, etc. Whenever FEDERAL laws are broken, that's normally when the Federal Agencies are involved.

Interestingly on a side note, a state law can say that something is decriminalized while the Federal law states that it is illegal... this creates some controversy.