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mission of the FBI's Community Outreach Program (COP) is to provide a comprehensiveprogram that deals with multiple interrelated societal problems, including crime,
drugs, and violence, in support of the FBI's investigative mission.
FBI Citizens' Academy
The Birmingham FBI Citizens’ Academy’s goal is to enable the FBI to reach out to business, civic, religious and community leaders and provide them with an inside look at the FBI. The objective is to increase public awareness about the FBI, its mission, its activities, and its people; to provide an avenue for the FBI to hear and respond to community issues and concerns; and to strengthen relationships and improve understanding between the FBI and the communities it serves.
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?
The Special Agent in Charge and his senior staff.
For how long?
Classes generally meet nine times, eight class sessions and graduation. Each session is two hours and has around 20-30 students.
The curriculum? Fascinating!
Topics include, Terrorism, Violent Crimes, White Collar Crimes, Cyber Crimes, Legal Issues, Employment opportunities, Firearms safety and the deadly force policy. There are also practical, “hands on” exercises with our Field Intelligence Group (FIG) and Evidence Response Team (ERT).
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FBI CITIZENS’ ACADEMY – CLASS OF 2007 |
COMMUNITY RELATIONS EXECUTIVE SEMINAR TRAINING (CREST)
The FBI CREST is a shorter, more focused version of the Citizens’ Academy, conducted in partnership with a community group at an offsite location. Students learn about the mission, goals, history, and internal workings of the FBI, but the sessions are customized to meet the needs of each organization.
CREST serves as a means to exchange information between the FBI and the participating communities. Through this exchange, criminal problems affecting communities will be identified and addressed. Topics include:
- Counterterrorism
- Foreign Counterintelligence
- Cyber Crime
- Public Corruption
- Major Thefts/Violent Crimes
- White Collar Crime Program
- Civil Rights
- Recruitment and Hiring
THE FBI DIRECTOR’S COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD (DCLA)
This special award, presented on behalf of the Director of the FBI, was formally created in 1990 as a way to honor individuals and organizations for their efforts in combating crime, terrorism, drugs, and violence in America. We would like to capture here the names and organizations of the people who have most recently been recognized around the country for their service above and beyond the call of duty to help keep America and its kids safe.
Birmingham’s 2008 DCLA recipient was The Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (HICA). Isabel Rubio, HICA’s Executive Director accepted the award on behalf of HICA at an awards ceremony held at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC.
For more information on any of the FBI’s outreach efforts, please contact Paul Daymond at (205) 279-1457, or via email at paul.daymond@ic.fbi.gov
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