Mission, History, Ethics, and Policy of the United States Secret Service Staff Study
University of Arizona Global Campus
Homeland Security 311
2
Introduction
The United States Secret Service (USSS) is a top tier organization with the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) and has been since Congress approved the creation of the DHS and
the USSS was transferred from the Department of the Treasury on March 1, 2003. The USSS has
a rich history of doing good work on behalf of the country but has been rocked by scandal after
scandal recently. The USSS has lost sight of its historical role(s) and has become mired in
politics in violation of its stated mission and core values.
Mission / Core Values
The mission of the United States Secret Service (USSS) is to safeguard the financial
infrastructure and payment systems to preserve the integrity of the economy and to protect
national leaders, visiting heads of state and government, designated sites and National Special
Security Events (NSSEs). The vision of the USSS is to uphold the tradition of excellence in its
investigative and protective mission through a dedicated highly trained, diverse, partner-oriented
, workforce that employs progressive technology and promotes professionalism (Office of
Communication and Media Relations, 2024). Every entity with the DHS has a core value. The
USSS is no different with the exception that it uses its’ five-pointed star that resembles the Badge
to highlight its core values. The values that sit upon every point are Justice, Duty, Courage,
Honesty, Loyalty. The mission, vision, and core values statements are directly from the USSS
Strategic Plan Fiscal Year 2008-2013. This study will use these statements later to prosecute it
thesis statement later in this study.