The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the largest federal law enforcement agency. They are federal police, make no mistake about it. So, while the fact that they have “community outreach” agents may seem nice, like they are delving into mending law enforcement and community relationships, their duty is to investigate crimes, period.
The ACLU recently offered a bit of advice to anyone who is approached by an FBI community outreach agent, and that advice began with: get an attorney.
The Office of Public Affairs created the community outreach program to give the public access to the FBI. To this end, the officers within this program would be able to communicate directly with the public regarding their questions about the FBI and any grievances. It was created to foster a better relationship.
But as the saying goes, some people would rather keep their friends close and their enemies closer. It wasn’t long after the program’s creation that there were complaints of the FBI using the office to get closer to community organizers and groups in order to gather intelligence.
According to the ACLU:
In 2008, the FBI Directorate of Intelligence formalized the intersection of community outreach and intelligence gathering by creating its own “community outreach” files under its Domain Management program (identified by an 800-series case file number), to “enhance the . . . network of contacts with community leaders . . . who can assist the FBI and fellow federal, state and local law enforcement and intelligence agencies in combating terrorism.” Under this program, intelligence agents either make their own community outreach presentations, as documented in this 2008 memo, or accompany FBI community outreach specialists to meetings to collect intelligence, as documented in this heavily-redacted 2009 memo. The San Francisco FBI also had a “mosque outreach” program that it exploited in similar ways.
For their part, the FBI insists their intelligence gathering through community outreach is within the scope of the law, that they weren’t really doing anything wrong. But, accounts from across the country indicate some FBI personnel may be hiding their true intentions under the guise of “outreach”.
In one case, a complaint by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) led to the opening of an investigation against two FBI agents. Immediately following the announcement of the investigation, an FBI agent showed up at the home of the CAIR chapter director in Minneapolis. The agent claimed he was working under community outreach. When later contacted by an attorney for CAIR, the agent admitted he didn’t work for the community outreach program at all and instead said that he wanted to talk to the director as a “meet and greet”.
When your work results in the investigation of two FBI agents and a third FBI agent then shows up on your doorstep, it’s a little intimidating. When he hides behind “community outreach” or a friendly “meet and greet”, it’s insulting.
Law enforcement at all levels is there to investigate crime. They have gone from being equal parts protector and enforcer to wearing the enforcer hat at all times. When a cop stops to talk to you, it’s far less likely to be a “meet and greet” and instead be about your involvement (as a suspect, witness, or potential informant) of a crime. Plain and simple.
About David Matson