FBI Pairs with Community: Citizens Urged to Take Active Roles in Helping Vital Mission of the FBI

By Amber Ennis, Associate Editor

The FBI, with its hard-edged reputation for bringing to justice terrorists, organized criminals, and spies, can seem stern and grim. This long-standing perception has hindered the agency’s ability to relate to, and communicate with, the general public. In an attempt to penetrate this false perception and simultaneously give interested citizens a chance to give back, three FBI-based programs have been introduced and developed — the Citizens’ Academy, the Chaplains’ Program, and InfraGard. These three selective programs aim to give interested individuals the chance to give back. All relatively new, the programs have increased communication between the FBI and citizens, and they have provided a more humanistic image of what really goes on behind the scenes of both investigations and crisis situations. Best of all, the programs promote a better understanding between FBI agents and citizens, ultimately resulting in safer, happier communities.

 

FBI Citizens’ Academy
Closely assisting the FBI no longer requires being a special agent. In the past 15 years, opportunities have been given to everyday citizens to become involved with their own local field office. The FBI Citizens’ Academy is one such opportunity. Started in Phoenix, Arizona by then Special Agent in Charge Jim Ahearn in 1993, it began as a strategy to foster better relationships between the FBI and the community (Community Outreach Program, n.d.). Ahearn based the Citizens’ Academy on a similar program run by a local police agency. Keeping those ideals in mind, the Academy was founded, and it still remains firm on that foundation. Goals of the Citizens’ Academy include building trust and understanding between leaders in the community. As the Academy accomplishes this, the community becomes a better and safer place to live. Today, the Citizens’ Academy aims to teach interested persons firsthand about the FBI in nearly all 56 field offices nationwide.

The Academy is available to community leaders who are at least 21 years of age and who live and work within the area covered by the field office. Additionally, an FBI agent or a former graduate of the Citizens’ Academy must nominate each interested party, and the applicant must also undergo a background check in order to gain access to FBI space. The Citizens’ Academy generally meets 8 to 10 times for classes lasting 3 hours each, although the total number of hours logged in the classroom varies slightly between field offices.

The curriculum covered during the classes includes practical problems involving evidence collection and preservation, FBI jurisdiction and congressional oversight, structure and observation of FBI field offices, information on fingerprint and forensic services, and many other cutting-edge topics. The special agents in charge of that field office, their senior managers, and senior agent experts instruct each session.

In terms of increased knowledge and communication between FBI field offices and the community, it is evident that the Citizens’ Academies are accomplishing what they have set out to do. Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Office, Danny Defenbaugh, “believes that developing partnerships with communities is an effective way to garner positive publicity, especially when the FBI cannot stand up and speak for itself” (Community Outreach Programs, n.d.). A community-based organization, it is “separate from the FBI, designed to promote a safer community through community service projects and a process of educating business, labor, media, medical, minority, religious, government, senior citizens, and other community leaders about law enforcement, with particular emphasis on the mission, resources, and limitations of the FBI” (FBI National Citizens’ Academy Alumni [FBINCAA], n.d.). Once participants graduate from the Academy, they are encouraged to join the FBI National Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association. The Alumni Association is open to any person who has completed a local Citizens’ Academy, and it aims to keep alumni informed of current issues in the law enforcement arena. Each year, the FBINCAA holds a national meeting for members. Most recently, the meeting was held in Tampa, FL June 17–19, 2008.

FBI Chaplains’ Program
Assisting emotionally in times of hardship is a task best left to those experienced in the field of counseling, therapy, or chaplaincy. The FBI Chaplains’ Program seeks to offer comfort to victims as it allows willing citizens with experience in chaplaincy to volunteer to help FBI agents in crisis situations. As part of the Employee Assistance Unit, these volunteer chaplains reach out to victims in shootings, accidents, or natural disasters. The victims range from members of the FBI force to fellow civilians. These volunteer chaplains aim to offer their skills to aid in some of the most traumatic of experiences.

Following the destruction at Ground Zero in New York City on September 11th, 2001, the FBI contacted Father Lawrence Murphy, a rector at St. James Episcopal Church in Warrenton, Virginia (Shreve, 2001, p. 1). A volunteer chaplain, Murphy was trained in assisting in crisis situations while in the U.S. Navy. Three days after the attack, he drove to New York to offer help and support to victims, who were “very receptive,” Murphy said of the people he spoke to (Shreve).

Tragedies such as September 11th have had an enormous impact on the law enforcement field. Crisis events, once considered small-scale, have proven to be capable of affecting a nation. Providing critical incident counseling and support to law enforcement officers in particular can be traced back to military roots, as officers typically endure similar stress-related problems as that of combat soldiers (Sheehan, Everly, & Langlieb, 2004). Understanding the trauma-related stress of the profession has led to a greater realization of the need for adequate response and action. There are currently more than 100 experienced volunteer chaplains providing pastoral counseling, as well as assisting with family support, grief and bereavement services, and individual or small-group crisis intervention.

InfraGard
InfraGard was started in Cleveland in 1996 per a request for local computer professionals to assist in protecting cyber information. The program was further developed into the InfraGard initiative “to expand direct contacts with the private sector infrastructure owners and operators and to share information about cyber intrusions, exploited vulnerabilities, and infrastructure threats” (FBI, 2001). Today, InfraGard is a large national alliance between the FBI and several thousand members of the private sector who join together to keep critical infrastructures safe. These partners represent the full sweep of infrastructure experts in local communities: business executives, entrepreneurs, military and government officials, computer security professionals, academia, state and local law enforcement, and any concerned citizens. Members of the InfraGard program have access to four basic services. They are provided “an intrusion alert network using encrypted e-mail; a secure Web site for communication about suspicious activity or intrusions; local chapter activities; and a help desk for questions” (FBI). The most crucial responsibility of InfraGard members involves reporting to FBI field offices when there has been an intrusion. Local FBI offices can then decide if an investigation needs to be initiated.

The talking through of security threats and scenarios between InfraGard members and the FBI keeps the lines of communication flowing freely. Additionally, InfraGard has proven itself to be a program that produces results. Members initiated around 95 investigations in 2005 (InfraGard, 2006). “With more than 16,000 members, 84 chapters nationwide, and an almost daily flow of vital information, we think InfraGard is one of the most quietly successful public/private partnerships around,” said the 2006 head of the national InfraGard program for the FBI, Don Good (InfraGard).

The ultimate goal of InfraGard is to share vital information and news to track down criminals and terrorists. Membership is open to any U.S. citizen who passes a background check, and there is no charge. InfraGard members belong to a local chapter affiliated with their respective FBI field office. Members are expected to devote their time, effort, and talents to continue to protect the nation and its people, as they become part of the largest volunteer organization devoted to critical infrastructure protection.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III spoke about the program during an interview at the 2005 InfraGard Conference. During the interview, he explained the partnership the FBI has with InfraGard and how it has grown and matured over the years. Initially pioneered as a means for companies to combat cyber crime, the program has expanded to include the agriculture, chemical, and energy industries in addition to technological threats (Mueller). Members are called upon to provide expertise for the FBI he said, and InfraGard also works with the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service to provide information they believe is critical to protecting the nation’s infrastructure. Mueller acknowledges the evolution of InfraGard since its inception in 1996, and he expects that it will grow even larger down the road.

The FBI Citizens’ Academy, Chaplains’ Program, and InfraGard provide a unique opportunity for patriotic citizens to contribute to the global law enforcement and intelligence missions that are the responsibility of the FBI. These opportunities also allow the FBI to leverage the diversity of citizen talents that would otherwise be unavailable in accomplishing its varied responsibilities.

References

Community outreach program: FBI citizens’ academy. (n.d.) Retrieved January 7, 2008,from http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/infragard.htm

FBI National Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2008, from http://www.nfbicaa.org/index.html

FBI and the national infrastructure protection center publicly introduce the national InfraGard program. (2001, January 5). Press release. Retrieved January 7, 2008, from http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/infragard.htm

InfraGard: Ten years and going strong. (2006, October 4). Retrieved January 8, 2008, from http://www.fbi.gov/page2/oct2006/infragard100406.htm

Mueller, R.S. III. (2005). InfraGard interview at the 2005 InfraGard conference. Retrieved April18, 2008, from http://www.infragard.net/media/director_flash.php?mn=1&sm=1-1

Sheehan, D. C., Everly, G. S., & Langlieb, A. (2004, September). Current best practices: Coping with major critical incidents. Federal Bureau of Investigation Law Enforcement Bulletin 73(9).  

Shreve, J. (2001, November). Warrenton FBI chaplain called to New York. Virginia Episcopalian 110(3), p. 1.