Become a fan of h2g2 There are currently 57 Offices of the
Inspector General (OIG) in various Executive departments and
agencies of the US Federal government. The OIGs were established
by the Inspector General Act of 1978 to investigate waste, fraud
and abuse. They investigate both criminal and civil matters. 28
OIGs have special agents, who are law enforcement officers who
carry weapons and have the power of arrest. The scope of most
OIGs is generally fairly narrow, and is limited to fraud
investigation and executive protection for the head of their
parent organisation. However, that responsibility can reach
further than one might expect - for instance, the Department of
Agriculture OIG investigates welfare fraud and employs 217
agents. Some OIGs simply fulfil their traditional role, while
another agency in that department performs the primary law
enforcement role. In the United States Postal Service, the OIG
investigates fraud against the service, while the US Postal
Inspection Service investigates crimes t