Editing Inspector (section)

=== Federal agencies ===
In the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), an inspector is a [[special agent]] whose main duty is inspecting local field offices and resident agencies to make sure they are operating efficiently. Since FBI inspectors are not tied to any particular field office, they have, in the past, also been used as troubleshooting investigators on major cases. [[Joseph Sullivan (FBI)|Joseph Sullivan]] was perhaps the best-known of the Bureau's major case inspectors and served as the model for Inspector Lew Erskine, the fictional character played by [[Efrem Zimbalist Jr.]] in the 1965–1974 [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] TV series ''[[The F.B.I. (TV series)|The FBI]]''.  [[Samuel P. Cowley]] was an FBI inspector in the late 1920s and 1930s who assisted in bringing down notorious gangsters such as [[John Dillinger]] in the early 1930s, before his death in November 1934 in a gun battle with [[Baby Face Nelson]].

The [[United States Marshals Service]] and the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] employ similar positions, but they primarily serve as internal affairs investigators.

The [[United States Park Police]] changed the rank of inspector to the rank of major, which is between captain and deputy chief.

In the [[Postal Inspection Service]], inspector is the name given to 1811 [[General Schedule (US civil service pay scale)|job series]] criminal investigators, better known as [[special agents]] in most other federal law enforcement agencies.

Prior to 2003, the US Customs Service (USCS) and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) had uniformed law enforcement employees called customs inspectors and immigration inspectors. These employees inspected and processed people and merchandise entering the United States from  foreign countries, at a land border, seaport or airport. They wore different types of uniforms and had different duties, but were paid essentially the same. After US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was established with the merging of the above two agencies, the inspectors were retitled Customs and Border Protection Officers and merged their responsibilities.