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, the FBI has a lot of files. Can
you tell us who the FBI files are on why keep
so many?
Dr.
Fox: "Well Neal the FBI has a wide range
of investigative jurisdictions so it needs to
compile records in the course of its investigations.
Sometimes they're on criminal violations we're
investigating. Sometimes National Security concerns.
But over the years we've had to accumulate millions
of pages of information so that we know what we've
found and can testify to that in court."
Mr. Schiff: So is it a myth that the FBI has
files on everyone?
Dr. Fox: "Yes Neal it is. If people have
not violated a federal criminal law; if they haven't
been a threat to National Security, chances are
pretty good we don't have a record on them."
Mr.
Schiff: What
if you are curious on whether or not the Bureau
has records on you?
Dr.
Fox: "The way that anybody can get access
to FBI records would be to make a Freedom of Information
Act request. It's very simple. It's explained
completely on our web site, www.fbi.gov, and it
will give you access to whatever, under the law,
we can release. There are obviously some things
we have to protect; personal privacy; National
Security at times. But if we have records on you,
then chances are good you can get access to that
to find out what it is the FBI has."
Mr.
Schiff:
John, does the FBI keep these records forever?
Dr.
Fox: "We operate under a series of laws and
guidelines drawn up by the National Archives that
decide what records are a permanent historic value.
When they are permanent historic value, according
to the Archives, they will eventually be accessible
over there and made available for research by
the public. Some records simply are not of that
kind of long range value. So we keep them as long
as we need it and then they're destroyed."
Mr.
Schiff: Visit
the National Archives and you can take a look
at many old files of the FBI or go to www.fbi.gov
to learn how to make a FOIA request to see if
there are any FBI records on you. From the FBI's
Public Affairs office, along with Bureau Historian
Dr. John Fox, I'm Neal Schiff with "FBI 100,
A Closer Look."
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