Mr.
Schiff: Hi,
welcome to "FBI 100, A Closer Look." I'm
Neal Schiff of the Bureau's Office
of Public Affairs along with FBI
Historian Dr. John Fox. John, July
26, 1908, marks the beginning of
what we now know as the Federal
Bureau of Investigation?
Dr.
Fox: "On that date, Attorney General
Charles Bonaparte conducted a small
experiment. He put together a bunch
of investigators; he assigned them
to do the detective work for the
Department of Justice and basically
said, ‘We’ll see how
it goes.’ Of course since then
we’ve grown to an agency of
more than 30,000 agents and professional
support personnel. We’ve expanded
not only across the country but across
the world and our responsibilities
entail some of the most serious matters
our country faces. Protecting our
national security and enforcing our
federal criminal law.”
Mr. Schiff: John,
as we celebrate the FBI’s first
century, what does this mean for
the Bureau?
Dr. Fox: "Neal, a milestone
like a century is a great time to
look back at how we’ve grown
over time, about the work that we’ve
done, about the challenges that we
face. It’s a time to really
reflect on who we are and how we
came to do what we’re doing
today.”
Mr.
Schiff: How does the
first 100 years of the FBI illuminate
the future?
Dr.
Fox: "I think it tells us some
of the things that change in the
matters that we face. Of course our
jurisdiction has increased over time;
people change; the laws change. But
it also shows that there are some
things that we’re going to
face most definitely in the future.
The FBI is charged with balancing
and protecting American security
while at the same time honoring and
protecting the rights and liberties
that we all expect as Americans.
That’s not going to change.
Those issues of balancing liberty
and security are going to be with
us. And of course what we have is
a strong basis on which to build.
We’ve got a century of doing
just that with professionalism, with
energy, and with a commitment to
the people that we serve.”
Mr.
Schiff: From the FBI’s
Public Affairs office, along with
Bureau Historian Dr. John Fox, I'm
Neal Schiff with "FBI 100, A Closer
Look."
