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WHAT’S NEW IN THE FBI?
A Five-Year Accounting

09/15/06

Talk about change. On Thursday, Director Robert Mueller provided a broad-brush look at our transformation over the past five years in his prepared statement before a House Appropriations Subcommittee. Even just hitting the high points, the overview runs more than 13,000 words.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s new, what’s improved, and what’s been done…and we encourage you to read the full statement and follow the links for more details:

Among what’s brand new since 2001:

• The National Security Branch;
• The Directorate of Intelligence;
• The National Joint Terrorism Task Force;
• The Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force;
• The National Virtual Translation Center;
• Our 56 field intelligence groups;
• A Terrorist Screening Center that operates 24/7;
• A Terrorist Explosive Devices Analytical Center;
• A Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate;
• A new National Strategy for Counterintelligence;
• Counterintelligence squads in all 56 FBI offices;
• An FBI Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters;
• The Innocent Images International Task Force;
• The MS-13 National Gang Task Force;
• The Innocence Lost National Initiative that addresses domestic trafficking of children for use as prostitutes;
• Our Corporate Fraud Initiative;
• An Office of Law Enforcement Coordination;
• The Police Executive Fellowship Program;
• A state-of-the-art, stand-alone FBI Laboratory facility;
• Fast, secure computers for every Bureau employee and a computer network for top secret and sensitive compartmented information;
• An Investigative Data Warehouse that uses the latest search tools and puts 560 million records at the fingerprints of our agents and analysts;
• A Center for Intelligence Training;
• A Security Division at FBI Headquarters;
• A DocLab that has digitized more than 38 million pages in support of our investigations and intelligence operations.

Among what’s improved:

• Our Joint Terrorism Task Forces, which have grown in number from 35 to 101 and added some 3,000 personnel;
• Our analytical and linguistic capabilities—with 370 new analysts hired this year alone and a 250 percent increase in linguists devoted to high priority languages (including Middle Eastern ones);
• Our intelligence sharing, with several thousand reports produced and disseminated with our partners;
• Our overseas presence, with 13 new Legal Attachés, including offices in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Morocco, and Yemen;
• Our public corruption program, with more than 350 more agents working cases;
• Our Regional Computer Forensic Laboratories program which has 14 new offices around the country;
• Our integration of fingerprint databases with other government agencies;
• Law Enforcement Online, which now has more than 50,000 users and greatly expanded capabilities;
• FBI training, including increased counterterrorism classroom and practical training for new agents, intelligence analysts.

Among our accomplishments over the past five years:

• Most importantly, no major terrorist strikes against the United States;
• Prevented several terrorist attacks and arrested terrorist operatives and supporters in Ohio, New York state, California, and elsewhere;
• Disrupted terrorist financing, including exposing several major Islamic charities as terrorism supporters;
• Helped arrest and convict several spies for passing U.S. secrets abroad, including a former Pentagon officer;
• Helped find the perpetrators of a major computer worm following a highly complex, global investigation;
• Led four major cyber initiatives that resulted in 400 cases and 355 arrests and convictions;
• Investigated and helped convict more than 1,000 corrupt public officials;
• Opened 465 corporate fraud cases, including major investigations of Enron, Worldcom, and Qwest, resulting in more than 2,500 convictions;
• Helped secure nearly 90 convictions through Operation Quick Flip targeting mortgage fraud; and
• Identified 56 bomb makers through the Terrorist Explosive Devices Analytical Center, including linking an individual to a rocket attack through his fingerprints.

In the words of the Director: “Today, the FBI is a stronger organization, combining greater capabilities with the longstanding commitment to the security of the United States.”

Resources: Director’s Statement