CONSIDERED
A CAREER AS AN FBI INTELLIGENCE ANALYST?
Here’s What It’s Like: Up Close and Personal
06/03/05
Kerri Galvin hit
the ground running when she joined the FBI last summer as an Intelligence
Analyst in our Public Corruption/Civil Rights Intelligence Unit. Her
background is in psychology—she’s worked in a psychiatric
hospital and is earning her PhD in Educational Psychology. Now she
works alongside special agents, other intelligence analysts, and Department
of Justice attorneys analyzing data to reveal patterns and to identify
potential suspects involved in human trafficking cases. “In other
words, I connect the dots for investigators,” she says.
Q. Kerri,
can you describe your job and some cases you’ve worked on?
Kerri: Sure. I work on human trafficking and involuntary servitude
and slavery matters. Right now I have a project related to Hispanic sex trafficking.
The FBI has an initiative to address human trafficking and I’m the point
of contact on that. I’m also working with my Canadian counterparts to
assess the human trafficking problem in North America. And I just gave a presentation
to supervisory special agents about human trafficking intelligence, which may
generate some new cases. It’s exciting to have a role in a program that’s
so important from a law enforcement and basic human rights perspective and
to contribute in some small way to obtaining justice for the many innocent
victims.
Q. What’s
a typical working day like?
Kerri: I spend a lot of time reviewing intelligence reports, and I
do a lot of research on FBI databases and on the Internet. In a nutshell, I’m
either conducting research or putting my analysis into written intelligence
assessments for dissemination. I also do a lot of independent research on important
topics.
Q. Have you
ever traveled on a case?
Kerri: Not yet! But I’m working with a special agent on developing
a training curriculum on human trafficking cases that we plan to take on the
road to various field offices. And I did travel once to support a public corruption
initiative in which I produced a comprehensive intelligence assessment for
a field office that was used to enhance several of its public corruption cases.
Q. What do
you like best about the job?
Kerri: That there are so many opportunities here. This is a time of
change in the Bureau and a great time to get on board.
Q. Any advice
for prospective recruits?
Kerri: Have patience with the process of getting in because there
are steps to take and they are there for a reason. And don’t doubt your
abilities to contribute—you never know unless you try, so you might as
well go for it. The good thing about this place is you can come at it with
very unique background experiences and still contribute to the mission of the
Bureau. Whatever your unique skills and perspectives, we’ll put them
to use.
Links: FBI
Civil Rights website | Civil
Rights stories