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 You
may recall that last week Director Mueller testified
before the House Appropriations Committee on the
proposed FY 05 FBI
budget. This week he gets down to some specifics:
he is meeting with the Senate side to talk about
3 areas that critically impact operations:
- training,
- technology, and
- that "FBI
culture" you hear so much about.
Again, we encourage
you to read the full statement. It goes into
detail about FBI training initiatives. It accounts
for the FBI's concerted efforts to catch up what
Director Mueller describes as information technology
that, upon his arrival in September 2001, was
"several generations behind industry standards"-and
tells how we are working to surpass those industry
standards. It takes the issue of "FBI culture"
head on, with Director Mueller noting in his opening
statement that "the FBI's commitment to hard
work, integrity, and dedication to protecting
the United States is precisely the attribute a
workforce needs to embrace and implement the transformation
demanded of it."
We'd just like to
say a little more about what, on the face of it,
is the least exciting topic:
FBI training.
U.S. historian Daniel
J. Boorstin once said about education, "Learning
what you didn't know you didn't know."
For an FBI and a
U.S. law enforcement community that is absolutely
required to master its new responsibilities, that
is, the universe of new criminal, cyber, and terrorist
threats, all of them evolving, all of them interrelated,
playing on a global stage, and using entirely
new technology tools-well, only constant and constantly
updated training can keep us learning-and acting
on-what we didn't know we didn't know.
The FBI has been
in the law enforcement training business since
1935, when it opened the doors of its original
FBI Academy to 23 police officers from across
the nation, instructing them for 12 weeks in scientific
aids in crime detection, preparation of reports,
criminal investigation techniques, administration,
and organization.
The curriculum
has changed a lot since then...the numbers
of international students in attendance have skyrocketed...new
programs have multiplied. We're now in the business
of state-of-the-art training on up-to-the-minute
topics for our own employees and for state, local,
federal, and international law enforcement and
criminal justice professionals. Here are just
a few:
- Counterterrorism
modules, with practical problems, that include
financial investigative techniques, source development
strategies, and terrorist modus operandi.
- Legal instruction
in applying the U.S. Patriot Act, the Attorney
General Guidelines, FISA law, and 4th and 5th
amendment issues in the context of overseas
investigations.
- Cultural diversity
training, including on Middle Eastern culture
and values.
- College of Analytical
Studies that instruct FBI analysts and Joint
Terrorism Task Force members in the range of
global threats.
- "Train the
trainer" programs that reach at least 26,800
first responders across the nation in "basic
counterterrorism"-to ensure the "ears
and eyes" on American streets are hearing
and seeing all danger signs and know what to
do about them.
We hope this short
summary will whet your appetite to read more-and
not just the full
statement , not just Director
Mueller's opening statement, but also a more
complete report on FBI
Academy training programs.
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