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The mission of the FBI Community Outreach Program (COP) is to provide a comprehensive program that deals with multiple interrelated societal problems, including terrorism, civil rights, gangs and drugs, and other crimes in support of the FBI’s investigative mission.
The goal of the COP is to establish communication between the FBI and the community to share information about the overall mission of the FBI, and specifically, how the FBI’s COP supports the reduction of crime, gangs and drugs, and other crimes in the community to include terrorism and civil rights violations.
Citizens' Academy
The Citizens’ Academy is a stimulating program that gives business and media executives, religious, civic, and community leaders a chance to get an inside look at the FBI. During the Academy, students gain insight into the structure and operation of an FBI Field Office; obtain an overview of the legal basis for the FBI’s jurisdiction and issues relating to congressional oversight; and learn about the services the FBI provides to local and state law enforcement agencies.
The Chicago Division hosts one Academy each year consisting of six sessions over a six-week period. Below is a picture of the 2007 Citizens’ Academy graduates and FBI representatives.
Chicago-Area Citizens' Academy Graduates
2007
Citizens' Academy alumni now have an opportunity to take a "field trip" to Washington, DC and Quantico, VA. Alumni will be able to personally meet and greet Director Mueller or his executive representative, take a tour of the Strategic Information and Operations Center (SIOC) at FBIHQ, as well as a tour of both the FBI Academy and FBI Laboratory.
Community Relations Executive Seminar Training (CREST)
CREST is a shorter, more focused version of the Citizens Academy, conducted in partnership with a community group at a location of their choosing. CREST offers many of the advantages of the traditional Citizens’ Academy, exposing community leaders to the FBI, our people, and our operations while building mutual trust and good will. The CREST curriculum will instruct students about the mission, goals, history and internal workings of the FBI, but will be customized to meet the needs of each organization. Any two to four of the following topics may be selected:
- Counterterrorism
- Foreign Counterintelligence
- Cyber Crimes
- Public Corruption
- Major Thefts/Violent Crimes
- White Collar Crime
- Civil Rights
- Gangs
- Drugs
- Civil Rights
- Recruitment and Hiring
Rockford RA Crest Graduates
January 2007
InfraGard
Another very important outreach program supported by the COP is InfraGard, a national information sharing and analysis program between the FBI and the private sector that began in 1996 as a local effort to gain support from the information technology industry and academia for the FBI’s investigative efforts in the cyber arena. The program has since grown into a national entity.
InfraGard is an alliance of private industry, academia, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and other participants committed to sharing information and intelligence to protect our nation’s critical infrastructures. The joint venture has promoted a relationship of trust and credibility through the exchange of information with the owners and operators of the U.S. critical infrastructures.
As of October 2008, 83 of the top 100 firms in the Fortune 500 have an InfraGard representative and there are over 500 InfraGard Chicago members.
Director's Community Leadership Award (DCLA)
Each year, the Special Agent in Charge selects and publicly recognizes one individual or organization whose achievements in terrorism, crime, drug, gang, or violence prevention and/or education have had an exemplary impact on the community.
Lawrence (Larry) Wert, President/General Manager of the NBC News(WMAQ-TV) and Telemundo (WSNS-TV) affliates in Chicago. He was nominated for the 2008 DCLA for providing the Chicago Division with invaluable support during the past year. He has assisted the Chicago field office in providing media relations seminars to FBI employees at the WMAQ-TV station, and has offered tours of their new studios to seminar participants. Mr. Wert was also instrumental in developing a weekly program on Telemundo, the local Spanish language television network, entitled, "Unsolved Crimes", which highlights fugitives and serial bank robbers to the Hispanic community of Chicago. Mr. Wert is a graduate of the 2004 Citizens' Academy Program and contributed to making the FBI 100 celebration in Chicago a success by supporting the numerous events held in Chicago to commemorate the momentous event.
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