The little-known police department that guards the White House
Special agents of the U.S. Secret Service protect the president and his family. But responsibility for securing the White House itself falls to a branch of the service known as the Uniformed Division, consisting of 1,300-plus sworn police officers and technicians. While agents and their exploits are glamorized and the subject of fictional thrillers and films, the U.D. officers often have a more dangerous job.
They're the ones who establish and control the outer perimeters around the White House. They're in direct contact with the public; they're responsible for screening White House visitors and preventing harmful people from even getting close to the agents who surround the president.
Today, one of them was injured because a woman attempting to drive through a checkpoint near the White House tried to run over him. He put his body in front of a car that was, for all he knew, packed with explosives and headed toward the White House. (Of course, the car had nothing but a woman and child in it, and their motives are unknown, but he is trained to react to the situation as if the threat to the White House complex was real.)
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
U.D. officers get shot at, as people actually shooting weapons in the vicinity of the White House is not as rare as one might hope. They handle knife-wielding protesters, emotionally disturbed travelers who may or may not be dangerous, thrill-seeking fence-jumpers, and actual gate-crashers. They fend off helicopters and airplanes.
If someone tries to attack the complex with chemical or biological weapons, the U.D. will most likely detect it first, and its officers will most likely be injured trying to mitigate it. The U.D. also incorporates the service's "Hercules" counter-sniper teams, motorcade support unit, canine and EOD divisions, its legacy mission of guarding foreign embassy properties in the District, an Emergency Response Team at the White House, the perimeter security for the Naval Observatory, and a host of other special missions.
The U.D. used to be a branch of the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department. In 1930, the "White House Police" merged with the Treasury's Secret Service, and grew steadily. In 1950, an officer guarding Blair House was killed when Puerto Rican nationalists tried to assassinate President Truman.
Many would-be police officers wouldn't normally be attracted to the U.D., and the pay and benefit schedules were one reason; they were tied to the District of Columbia's rules, and not to more generous federal rules. For years, the Secret Service tried to change this, succeeding in 2009. This allowed U.D. officers to finally be paid at a rate commensurate to the special nature of their jobs.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Yes, the name is awkward. (Imagine if fire marshals were part of a "Firefighters In Street Clothes Division.")
But no hyperbole: The U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division serves as the first line of defense between real threats and the president of the United States. If something goes down, most likely it will be they who are caught in the crossfire.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Marc Ambinder is TheWeek.com's editor-at-large. He is the author, with D.B. Grady, of The Command and Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry. Marc is also a contributing editor for The Atlantic and GQ. Formerly, he served as White House correspondent for National Journal, chief political consultant for CBS News, and politics editor at The Atlantic. Marc is a 2001 graduate of Harvard. He is married to Michael Park, a corporate strategy consultant, and lives in Los Angeles.
-
Baltimore bridge disaster: Who is going to pay and how?
Today's Big Question Politicians, legal experts, and the insurance industry are all grappling with the financial fallout of America's worst infrastructure tragedy in years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Stick guitar
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
John Podesta, the Democratic journeyman leading Biden's climate policy
Why Everyone's Talking About Podesta will replace John Kerry as the country's top climate adviser
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Will Donald Trump's family return to his side?
Today's Big Question Melania set to 'step up top-tier diplomatic appearances' but Ivanka is still keeping her distance from campaign
By The Week UK Published
-
Joe Biden's LNG pause: good policy or bad posturing?
Today's Big Question Critics from all sides attack the White House for freezing permits for some new liquified natural gas export terminals
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated