In Your Community FBI Citizens' Academy


Want to find out first hand how the FBI works? Hear how the Bureau tracks down spies and terrorists? Learn how to collect and preserve evidence? See what it is like to fire a weapon and put yourself in the shoes of a Special Agent making a split-second, life-or-death decision?

If you are a leader in your community, you just might be able to do that and more––through an FBI Citizens’ Academy, open for business in all 56 of our field offices.

Who attends?
Business, civic, and religious leaders, each nominated by a Bureau employee or a previous Academy graduate. You must be at least 21 years old (with no prior felony convictions) and must live and work in the area covered by the field office sponsoring the academy. Please note: Because classified techniques used in criminal and national security cases are discussed, nominees must undergo a background check and get an interim security clearance.

Who teaches?
Special Agents in Charge of that field office, their senior managers and senior agent experts.

For how long?
Classes generally meet 10 times (eight on weeknights and two on Saturday) for three hours each session. Each session has around 20-30 students.

The curriculum? Fascinating!

* Practical problems involving evidence collection and preservation of physical evidence..
* FBI jurisdiction and congressional oversight.
* Structure and operation of FBI field offices and satellite agencies.
* Fingerprint, forensic, technology, training, and other services
* Policies and issues: ethics, discipline, communications, drug enforcement, civil rights, and future criminal trends.
* Firearms training.
* Services the FBI provides to local and state law enforcement agencies.
* Discussions on ethics, discipline policies, communications, drug enforcement, civil rights, and future trends in law enforcement.
* Firearms training so participants get an idea of the extensive and responsible weapons training FBI Agents receive (also to foster an understanding of what it is like being faced with split-second, life-and-death decisions).
* To find out more about Citizens' Academies, http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm contact your local field office.

Today, FBI Citizens' Academies have established requirements, goals, and a curriculum. Each session is open to about 20 business, civic, religious, and community leaders who have been nominated by a Bureau employee or a previous Academy attendee. These “students” must be at least 21 years old, with no prior felony convictions, and must live or work within the jurisdiction of the field office. The SAC selects the participants, who must then undergo a background investigation in order to obtain an interim security clearance.

Security clearances must be obtained because part of the curriculum covers investigative techniques used in national security and criminal investigations. Classes are taught by Special Agents in Charge (SACs), Assistant Special Agents in Charge (ASACs), and senior Special Agents (SAs), and there are eight meetings over a 10-week period.

Bottom line—Are they worth it?

The goodwill and public understanding of the FBI’s mission these academies generate may - over the long haul - make investigators’ jobs easier.

One of the staunchest supporters of FBI Citizens' Academies is the SAC of the Dallas Field Office, Danny Defenbaugh, who 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.” And the community is certainly interested in what the FBI has to say: when The Dallas Morning News ran a story announcing the opening of the Dallas Citizens' FBI Academy, 165 people applied for the 20 some slots!

Inspection Division Assistant Director David Knowlton, while serving as Baltimore SAC, said of Baltimore’s Academy: “We try to demystify the FBI. I think putting a human face on the agency goes a long way in building trust with law enforcement.” The current Baltimore SAC, Lynne Hunt, said, “We can’t do our jobs efficiently without help from other law enforcement agencies, and without help from you [the public].” Another supporter is Philadelphia SAC Robert Conforti, who said the academy “pays dividends to the Division far beyond anyone’s imagination.”

Results show that the Academies work. In 1996, when 16-year veteran SA Chuck Reed was killed in the line of duty during an undercover drug buy in Philadelphia, one of the first phone calls to the Philadelphia Office offering assistance came from a citizen who had recently graduated from the office’s Citizens' Academy.