The FBI Career Guide

Inside Information on Getting Chosen for and Succeeding in One of the Toughest, Most Prestigious Jobs in the World

Author: Joseph W. Koletar
Pub Date: 2007
Your Price: $24.95
ISBN: 0814473172
Format: Hardcover

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Chapter 4

What’s It Like?

Believe it or not, FBI agents are office workers—at least some of the time. When an agent is assigned to a field office, he or she is also assigned to a squad within that office. This raises an important distinction. The decision of which office an agent is assigned is made by FBI Headquarters; there is no input from the field offices. But once an agent is assigned to an office, the decision as to which squad the agent is assigned is made by the Special Agent in Charge (SAC), with no input from FBI Headquarters. Thus, the new agent coming out of Quantico has two important future events of great personal interest: which office he or she is going to and what squad he or she will be on. This chapter attempts to give you a picture of what being on a field office squad in the FBI will be like.

The Field Office and Squad Assignment

The decision as to which squad an agent is assigned may be based on resource needs, changing priorities of a particular office, or the skill set the individual agent brings to the job. Assuming the agent is not a new arrival from New Agents Training, the squad supervisor normally checks something known as "the book." This is a procedure as old as the FBI itself and really does not involve a book but rather a telephone. The squad supervisor places a call to his or her counterpart for the squad on which the agent served previously. The purpose of the call is to check on the agent's reputation, work habits, skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Depending on the results of that call, the supervisor decides what work the arriving agent will be assigned, the degree of supervision he or she will require, and other administrative issues.

In the case of new agents coming out of Quantico, much the same process is followed but the contact is with an instructor, counselor, or the supervisory special agent in the New Agents Training Unit. Again, questions are asked as to the agent's work ethic, written and oral communications skills, attention to detail, success in practical problems, and the like.

Some large offices have a policy that a newly arrived agent, especially one coming out of training school, is first assigned to the applicant squad for 6 to 12 months. Applicant squads conduct pre-employment and periodic update investigations of persons applying for FBI jobs or candidates for high positions in the federal government. This is done for several reasons. First, it gives the agent time to hone the necessary investigative skills, get his or her feet wet, learn the office routine, and become acquainted with the field office territory. Second, as investigations go, applicant cases are not demanding, so it is a good place for rookies to start. Third, this is a way of spreading the pain, as applicant work is not highly prized by most street agents. New agents are considered, as noted, to be in a probationary agent program for the first 24 months of their time in the Bureau. Failure to perform adequately during this period may be the basis for dismissal, although that is fairly rare. It is more common for the probationary period to be extended, if necessary. Usually, after a period on an applicant squad, an agent is allowed to rotate off to an investigative squad within the office.

Regardless of what squad new agents are assigned to, they will be under the tutelage of a field training agent for the first 12 to 20 months. This reflects the fact that all new agents are considered to have probationary status for the first 24 months of their careers. Those with qualifying prior military service may have probationary status for only 12 months. The field training agent is a more senior agent who acts as both mentor and evaluator of the new arrivals. The supervisory special agent of the squad is also responsible for completing a Probationary Agent Log. This is a checklist of items that the new agents are expected to be exposed to during their probationary periods. For agents assigned to highly specialized squads, the log may be customized so items correspond with the specific line of work. Generally, these items on the log include the normal aspects of a street agent's daily routine, such as making an arrest, appearing in court, writing certain types of communications or reports, or performing complaint duty. Complaint duty is as old as the FBI itself and is the source of many wild and funny stories.

Generally in most FBI field offices, an incoming call or unannounced visitor is directed to the "complaint agent." This is a temporary assignment that is rotated around the office and involves dealing with the public on anything that may be on people's minds. Generally, agents are assigned to complaint duty for a week at a time, after which they return to their squads. Complaint duty can be boring, a nuisance, wildly amusing, or the source of an incredibly important new case. World-class espionage cases, such as the John Walker spy family matter, started with a complaint agent's taking a phone call. Police killings and bank robberies have been solved from information received by complaint agents. On the other hand, practically any FBI agent can recount numbers of "death ray beamed at me by the CIA," "black helicopters following me," or "giant conspiracy to take over the world" stories from some slightly-off-center citizens.

Welcome!

Upon arrival in the new office, the agent is welcomed by the Special Agent in Charge, given a tour of the facility, and offered housing assistance. Once assigned to the squad, the agent may also be assigned a Bureau vehicle, informally known throughout the FBI as a Bucar (pronounced BEW-car). The vehicle is for official business only, although current FBI policy allows agents to use the automobiles to commute to and from their residences, with the caveat that they use the most direct route. The long and the short of this policy is that the vehicles are not to be used for personal business nor are unapproved passengers to be transported in them. A bucar cannot be operated if the driver has had any alcohol. Violations of these regulations can result in swift and harsh punishment, but the availability of a bucar is widely seen as a significant job perk by agents. Gasoline and repairs are paid for by the Bureau, too.

There is a practical aspect to this arrangement. Always using the same vehicle allows agents to carry job-related materials in them, be they photos of suspects or SWAT equipment. Having the vehicle at their homes also means the agents can respond more quickly in the event of an emergency or travel directly from home to a work assignment. Bureau vehicles are normally equipped with an electronic siren, secure radio, and emergency lights. Some vehicles utilized by SWAT or surveillance team members may also have special security devices and storage units for sensitive equipment or shoulder weapons, such as shotguns, rifles, or submachine guns. In offices where it is not possible to assign each agent a vehicle, it is common for two or more agents to share a vehicle, especially if they live in the same general area.

Working Hours and Salary

Agents' work hours are theoretically from 8:15 in the morning until 5:00 at night, but these hours do not include the availability pay hours (discussed in Chapter 2), which average slightly fewer than two hours a day. FBI work is driven substantially by the demands of caseloads and office specials, so in reality most agents wind up working about 10 hours or more a day, on average. This amount of time can vary widely, of course, as some days may be 81/2 hours and others 14 hours. The FBI makes reasonable attempts to accommodate the family lives and obligations of its agents, but when there is a conflict, the needs of the FBI always come first. Spousal and family support is essential for anyone in the Special Agent position, for there will inevitably be conflicts between the needs of the Bureau and the needs of family. For example, occasionally there is the need to work nights, weekends, or holidays.

Occasionally, an agent will be required to work shifts—normally to participate in a prolonged surveillance or to help monitor a Title III or court-authorized wiretap. Such assignments typically last from a few weeks to a few months. It is rare for an agent to be assigned to permanent shift work, absent the agent's requesting such an assignment.

Lest one gain the impression that the FBI is an uncaring institution by asking for all this work time, understand that it is not. Families are routinely involved in office social functions, and many offices have special days for agents' kids. The field office is also a source of support during many difficult personal situations; there are countless stories of officemates dipping into their own pockets to help a fellow agent when he or she is faced with family medical emergencies, house fires, and the like. Agents also become friends and often socialize together, as do their families.

The squad to which an agent is assigned will normally have 10 to 15 members with varying degrees of experience. All are "street" agents, meaning they are investigators holding General Service (GS) ratings of 10 to 13. The squad supervisor is a GS-14. The more senior squad members transmit much useful information and learning and will greatly assist newcomers in acclimating. This help could involve providing data on pending cases, input on the tendencies of local federal prosecutors, names of useful informants and their areas of knowledge, insights into relationships with local law-enforcement agencies, the criminal history of the area, and the personality and preferences of the Special Agent in Charge. Items of a more personal nature include information on neighborhoods and schools, good lunch places, fitness clubs, after-hours hangouts, and more. Agents assigned to counterterrorism squads, task forces, or intelligence squads get much the same treatment, but their contacts are with federal, state, and local intelligence groups and agencies. Absent having a prickly personality, the newcomer will quickly be assimilated into the squad and absorb its unique culture within the field office.


Reports and Other Agent Communications

The FBI is a thing of rules and regulations, and these apply to how it communicates and manages cases. An agent carrying a caseload has periodic file reviews with the squad supervisor, during which the supervisor reviews the progress made on each case and offers suggestions for ways to advance it. The supervisor also approves or signs out all communications on the case. These may be periodic reports on case activity made to FBI Headquarters or requests to other field offices for assistance. There are various types and forms of communication in the FBI, and each has its own requirements and format. Learning these will take a new agent a year or so, under the watchful tutelage of the supervisor and field training agent.


Performance Reviews and Transfers

Each agent in the field is given an annual performance review, based on workload and performance in other matters. These reviews are taken quite seriously and can affect promotions, salary increases, and other matters. An agent who is unhappy with a performance review does have an avenue of appeal, but documentation of the basis of the displeasure is required. Agents who are veterans have an additional level of appeal to a government-wide entity, the Merit Systems Protection Board.

After several years' service on one squad and completing the probationary agent program, an agent may request a transfer to another squad in the office, usually for a change of pace or to have the opportunity to learn new skill sets. Within reason, these transfers are normally accommodated. Some agents request a transfer to a resident agency (RA)—a suboffice—either for the chance to work a broader range of cases or to be closer to their residence. These transfers usually go to more senior agents, as RA assignments are often highly prized within most field offices.


Sick Leave and Vacations

Special Agents are, by law, granted 13 sick days a year—enough to cover most illnesses and operations. These days are cumulative, so each year's unused balance rolls forward. Thus, after five or ten years without serious health issues, an agent could be off work for a matter of months and still be drawing full pay. In severe cases, the agent may qualify for a disability retirement from the FBI.

Agents also take vacations, like everyone else. During their first three years of service, agents receive 13 days' vacation time a year. Up to 15 years' service, they receive just under four weeks a year, and after 15 years' service, just over five weeks. Unused vacation time, not to exceed one year's entitlement, can be carried forward from year to year. At the time of retirement or separation from the Bureau, unused vacation days will be paid out to the agent as salary.


The Physical Setting

There is no set design for FBI offices. Many buildings are new, but some are quite old. Generally, each agent has a desk or cubicle, and squad supervisors have private offices. Squads are grouped together in areas informally referred to as "bull pens." The Special Agent in Charge and Assistant Special Agent in Charge have much larger offices, with doors, sofas, and overstuffed chairs. Support personnel are interspersed in the squad areas. These support personnel may include file clerks, word processing personnel, computer technicians, financial analysts, or translators. Increasingly in the FBI, because of the terrorism threat, there also are a significant number of intelligence analysts. There will be a gun vault for the storage of ammunition and shoulder weapons, and also an evidence vault for the maintenance of items of physical evidence. Files are in abundance, as are computers, phones, secure file cabinets, and fax machines. Squads working national security matters and terrorism also have encrypted telephones that permit secure transmission of sensitive information. Identification cards are worn at all times, and holstered firearms and dangling handcuffs are a common sight.

FBI agents in field office assignments normally wear business attire, but they can revert to casual clothes depending on their assignments. For male agents, weapons are worn in hip holsters, riding slightly above the belt and slightly behind the right or left hip bone. Shoulder holsters are frowned upon in the FBI, for safety reasons. Female agents can also wear hip holsters under a suit jacket or sweater, or they can utilize holsters cleverly built into purses or fanny packs. Some agents who have permission to carry a smaller frame weapon of their own choosing use ankle holsters. However, the reality of the situation is that jackets almost always win out, since the weapon is not the only item of equipment many agents carry. If they are on a squad that routinely makes a lot of arrests, such as a bank robbery, fugitive, street gang, or surveillance squad, most agents also carry one or more magazines of ammunition, handcuffs, and perhaps pepper spray or an extendable baton.


Working with Other Agencies

The ability of an agent to relate well to personnel in other agencies is probably a key indicator of his or her ultimate success as a Special Agent. Relationships with state and local law enforcement were, years ago, not one of the FBI's strengths. In many cities, there was a perception that the "locals" were second cousins to the FBI and could often not be trusted with sensitive information. In some isolated instances that may have been true, but all too often the Bureau had a generally condescending attitude toward those in other agencies.

Times have changed. Beginning in the 1970s, the Bureau began to actively court other agencies, as it realized that cooperation was preferable to competition. It was also at this time that the first informal task forces began to appear, in at least some FBI field offices. This shift in attitude, coupled with vastly improved training and selection standards in many law-enforcement agencies, helped level the playing field significantly. Improved cooperation followed shortly thereafter. Today, agents who cannot or will not get along with their state and local counterparts have a tough time succeeding in their work, as much valuable intelligence, criminal and otherwise, is lost.


Cooperation with Federal Prosecutors and Local Police

FBI cooperation with local federal prosecutors is important because agents do not authorize prosecutions. That is done by U.S. Attorneys (USAs) and their assistants, Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs). The United States is divided into 94 Federal Judicial Districts, each with its own judges and U.S. Attorney. The USAs are political appointees, nominated by the president. The AUSAs are employees of the U.S. Department of Justice and function as the main force behind prosecutorial decisions. The latter are typically young, bright, aggressive lawyers who are the main point of contact for the street agents. AUSAs do not direct investigations, but close collaboration with them is necessary for FBI agents to build strong cases. AUSAs typically serve 6 to 15 years before they are lured away by the much larger salaries offered to them by private law firms, which are attracted to AUSAs because of their vast courtroom experience.

Productive contacts with state and local law-enforcement authorities are also important, since the FBI does not automatically take over an investigation, even a big one. Some crimes are purely federal in nature, while others are purely local and some, called "concurrent jurisdiction," are both local and federal. For example, espionage is purely a federal crime, while murder—absent unusual circumstances—is purely a state and local crime. Some crimes, like bank robberies, are both federal and state and local violations. Under state statutes, a bank robbery is no different from the robbery of a supermarket. But under federal statutes, bank robbery is a federal offense because the bank is insured by the federal government. Because of these issues, there is a premium on sharing resources and intelligence, since there is more than enough work to go around for all concerned.

In areas that involve concurrent jurisdiction, it is not unusual for one agency to hand off a case to another agency. This can be done under the terms of a preexisting Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the agencies or on an ad hoc, informal basis. For example, in one city it may be routine for the FBI to handle bank robbery cases, but in an instance in which a police officer was killed or wounded during the bank robbery, a decision may be made to shift the case to local authorities for prosecution. The investigation of the matter would still be a joint effort, but the local authorities and community would have the satisfaction of handling a matter that had deeply affected one of their own. In other instances, local authorities may hand a matter off to the FBI, since the federal penalties for the crimes are more severe than those under state statutes.

The above distinctions may be confusing to some people, who have heard news reports about FBI involvement in a local murder case. While murder is almost always a state and local offense, the FBI does get involved in such matters under a number of conditions. The first of these could be if there's been a request from a state or local agency for assistance. Second, if the perpetrator of the crime has been charged locally and is believed to have fled, state or local authorities may request the FBI to get federal charges filed under the Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution (UFAP) statute. This allows the FBI to search for the subject throughout the United States and the world. Third, if the person who committed the crime was tried and convicted but escaped, the FBI could be asked to file federal charges under the Unlawful Flight to Avoid Confinement (UFAC) statute, which again would allow the Bureau to search for the fugitive. In the past several decades, the role of the FBI in UFAP and UFAC matters has dwindled somewhat, as some of these responsibilities were taken over by the U.S. Marshal's Service. Even so, at any given time the Bureau is seeking about 12,000 fugitives, most of them charged with the most serious felony offenses.


The Role of Task Forces

Many, if not most, field offices now have task forces within them. Larger field offices may have a dozen or more. These are cooperative efforts of the FBI to team with other federal agencies, state, and local law-enforcement personnel to address crime problems in their area. Task forces can be formed to handle bank robberies, terrorism, narcotics cartels, street gangs, or serial killers. Task force members operate as a squad within the office. All non-FBI personnel assigned to task forces undergo full field background investigations, have top secret clearances, and have full access to FBI files and data systems. Given the often tight budgets of many state and local agencies, the FBI often provides cars, radios, and other support for task force members from other agencies.

One of the effects of the events of 9/11 was to restructure the squad composition of FBI field offices. Prior to that day, intelligence squads working national security matters (NSM) were found in all large FBI offices—and many medium-sized ones, as well—as were Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) squads. Now all FBI field offices have at least one NSM squad and one JTTF squad.


The Extensive FBI Resources

One of the most important aspects of an FBI field office is not actually in the office: indexes. At one time, these were little more than 3 by 5 cards, maintained in scores, if not hundreds, of file cabinets in every FBI field office. For example, the New York Office of the FBI had over 7 million such cards before the system was automated. The FBI has long prided itself on information management, and under Director Hoover, the development of the index system was a notable first for the FBI. The Bureau has many complex rules about indexing, and laborious though it may be, it is one of the most important things an agent does. If, for example, an agent conducts an interview of a witness to a bank robbery, the person's name, address, and phone number are indexed. So, too, are the names and information developed during the course of the interview. This indexing is now done on a computer system, so that all FBI field offices share the same information. If, years later, only the phone number came up in another investigation, it could be traced back to the original interview. Indeed, many cases have been made or advanced over the years through the ability of the FBI to retrieve information from its own files.

New agents will probably spend the first days or even weeks reading case files and informant reports to catch up on the history of existing cases. Then they will begin the work of being agents, developing a work plan to advance the cases to which they are assigned. To some degree these steps will be discussed informally with the squad supervisor. The work then begins and could consist of conducting interviews, meeting with local law enforcement and federal prosecutors, contacting informants, coordinating surveillances, or requesting investigative assistance from other FBI field offices. Depending on the nature of the case load and the manner in which the agent chooses to pursue it, the agent may then develop a pattern of being in the office seldom or on a regular basis. There is, however, an old saying in the FBI: "You don't solve them in the office." This reflects the age-old consensus in law enforcement that the best use of one's time is being on the street, talking to people and asking questions.


The Types of Cases the FBI Agent Handles

Generally there are three types of cases within the FBI: small, medium, and large. These are terms never used within the Bureau to describe an investigation, but are a convenient way to introduce some examples of FBI jurisdiction and activity. A brief examination of each type provides some working idea of what life as an FBI agent is like.


Small Cases

A small case may be a relatively minor violation, such as a crime aboard an aircraft, known as a CAB. In the case of a hijacking, this would be considered a major case, however most of these involve an unruly or drunken passenger giving the flight crew a hard time. Usually, persons who fall into this category are arrested by local airport police upon the aircraft's arrival at its destination and held until the FBI shows up. The Bureau first checks with the local AUSA to see if the prosecutor is willing to authorize prosecution. By authorizing prosecution, the AUSA is saying, in effect, "If you investigate this and substantiate what we think happened, I am willing to take it to trial."

In an instance like this, the agents would take the prisoner into federal custody, search, fingerprint, and photograph him, and interview him. The prisoner would then be taken before a U.S. Magistrate for a preliminary hearing, which could result in being released on bond or returned to confinement. The agents would also interview the members of the flight crew who dealt with the person and also any passengers who may have been witnesses to the event. They would then write up their report, provide it the AUSA, and conduct any additional investigation the AUSA might believe is necessary. If the matter later goes to trial, the agents would appear to testify and also introduce evidence.


Medium Cases

A bank robbery is a good example of a medium case in terms of complexity, but it offers a platform to introduce almost the full range of FBI Special Agent duties. For example, the FBI is normally notified of a bank robbery by the local police or an alarm company servicing the bank. Agents respond, using lights and sirens, and secure the crime scene. Witnesses are located and segregated. This is important, as there is often a human tendency to compare notes about what just happened and arrive at a consensus story. This is not an attempt to deceive, but rather a human behavior to make sense of a highly unusual event.

A "neighborhood" is conducted to ascertain if there are persons in the area or on the street who might have seen or heard something of value. By this point the police have broadcast a description, as best they have it, of the subjects and the getaway car. One group of agents begins to interview the witnesses, one at a time. The FBI never does group interviews, since human beings have the tendency to influence each other and one witness's account may shade or overshadow that of another witness. Another group of agents begins to process the crime scene, looking for fingerprints, cartridge cases, and projectiles if shots were fired, or items the robbers may have dropped. Still a third group of agents is handling the "bait money," which is prerecorded currency that tellers are trained to provide in the case of a robbery. The serial numbers of these bills are entered in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer as quickly as possible, in case the offenders have been apprehended some distance away by police unfamiliar with the robbery. If these officers find a large quantity of cash, they run it through NCIC to see if it is connected to a crime. These agents also work with bank management to determine the amount of the loss.

Still other agents work with the bank and their security provider to access photos of the robbery. In most banks, when an alarm button is hit or bait money is removed from a drawer, various systems begin to video-record the scene. Owing to advances in technology and the relative cheapness of digital recording equipment, some banks have their floors and working areas under video surveillance at all times, not just when an alarm has been triggered. These photos are copied and distributed to all agents in the field office and might also be provided to local news outlets for broadcast in the hope of generating leads as to the identities of the perpetrators. In some localities there are tipster programs that offer rewards for information provided confidentially about crimes and wanted persons, and these may also be utilized.

Finally, other agents work with the local police to ascertain what they know of the robbery and who they believe might be likely suspects. It is not uncommon for the getaway car in bank robberies to be found by local police within a mile or two of the bank, usually indicating a switch car was used to get away from the bank. Since the first car was likely stolen, agents are dispatched to the scene of that theft to develop any information as to who might have stolen it. The switch car is then processed by agents, again looking for fingerprints or any other productive evidence. A "neighborhood" is again conducted, as there is always the chance that someone may have seen the robbers switch from one vehicle to another. In an era of video surveillance, local shops and residences might be contacted to determine if there were surveillance cameras in operation and if they were positioned to pick up the switching of vehicles.

At the beginning of the investigation, the squad supervisor designates one agent as the case agent, meaning the individual is responsible for the investigation until it is concluded. This agent must tie all this concurrent activity together and determine the next steps. The case agent is also responsible for all written reports on the case and setting out the leads, which are requests for assistance from other FBI field offices. When the leads are set out, in FBI parlance, the office that has the case is called the office of origin and the office supporting the investigation is called the auxiliary office.

Assuming the robbers are not apprehended fairly quickly or turned in by a tipster from a television broadcast, the work of the case agent begins in earnest. The individual circulates the description of the robbery and the photos to surrounding FBI offices and law-enforcement agencies in the hope that someone will either recognize the persons in the photos or the modus operandi (MO) used in the robbery. Many perpetrators are career criminals and return to a life of crime when released from prison. Most also do not move great distances from home, so it is always possible that someone who has arrested them before will recognize them again. Likewise, some criminals fall into patterns of behavior when they commit their crimes, and it is possible another law-enforcement officer will recognize some odd or pronounced element of the crime and tie it to a technique the officer has seen before.

The case agent also begins to check informants and other sources of information who might have knowledge of the robbers' activities. When one or more suspects is developed through this process, the case agent then requests the Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the FBI to check their fingerprints on file against those of value recovered at the scene. Also, with the development of suspects, the case agent may return to show witnesses a photo spread of the suspects' photos intermingled with those of other criminals not involved in this robbery. From such spreads one or more witnesses may choose the perpetrators of the robbery.

As the investigation proceeds, the case agent provides periodic reports to FBI Headquarters and also to the U.S. Attorney's Office. If the case agent and the AUSA believe they are zeroing in on the likely perpetrators of the robbery, they may go before a Grand Jury and try to get a "true bill," or indictment. In other instances, they may go before a federal judge to obtain a bench warrant, based on convincing the judge that they have developed probable cause to charge certain individuals with this robbery.

With the issuance of warrants for arrest (called "paper" by most law-enforcement agencies), the case then becomes a fugitive investigation. Now the identities of the perpetrators are known; only their location is not. Conducting the fugitive investigation involves many elements used in the initial bank robbery investigation. Names and identifying data are entered into the NCIC computer database; wanted flyers are sent to FBI offices and other law-enforcement agencies; the media may be enlisted to publicize the names, photos, and descriptions of the fugitives; informants are contacted to see if they have information of value; relatives and former criminal associates are questioned to see if they have information of value; banks are alerted in the event the fugitives are spotted casing another bank. There might also be fixed surveillances of addresses or locations where the fugitives are known to hang out or there may be moving surveillances of their friends, family, or associates.

These processes continue until the bank robbers are caught. This might take years, or in some instances may never occur, although about 85 percent of all bank robbers are eventually caught.

When the fugitives are taken into custody, the job of the case agent is in many ways just beginning, for now the individual must prepare for trial. The agent works closely with the AUSA, organizes evidence, conducts follow-up investigations, contacts witnesses, arranges fingerprint or scientific testimony if needed, and remains alert to the possibility that one or more of the subjects may "reach out" to the case agent. It is not unusual for criminals, in custody and facing trial, to try to cut deals by informing on other criminals. The case agent normally is the conduit through which criminals initiate this process, but the negotiation must be closely coordinated with the AUSA assigned to the case and also the defense counsel for the accused.


Major Cases

A classic example of a major case is the investigation of a mob family. This could be generated from an informant tip, input from local police, items overheard in a wiretap on another case, a mobster looking to help his situation when facing a long sentence for a crime, information received from foreign authorities, tips coming out of an FBI undercover operation or perhaps one run by another law-enforcement agency, complaints from a business or entire industry tired of being extorted and exploited, or some mixture of one or more of these elements. The initiation of such a case requires considerable study by the SAC, consultation with FBI Headquarters, and discussions with the USA, since one or more squads may be involved on a full-time basis for several years.

For example, various groups on the squad or squads will be involved in reviewing past intelligence files and informant reports or in listening again to tapes from wiretaps not previously believed to be related. Other agents may visit foreign countries to gain a better understanding of the information possessed by those authorities. Massive amounts of surveillance time may be scheduled as agents begin to track and understand the hierarchy and operations of the group in question. Often, this surveillance involves the use of aircraft. Frequently, the surveillance target may travel to a distant state, requiring coordination and planning with one or more other FBI field offices. Other agents will be tasked with attempting to develop informants likely to be in positions to provide intelligence of value. When there is probable cause, applications will be made for Title III wiretaps and, perhaps, the installation of closed-circuit television coverage. Once in place, these installations have to be monitored 24 hours a day for perhaps years. The agents working on the wire have to practice the demanding art of "minimization," a requirement handed down by the federal courts that stipulates that only those portions of a conversation that relate to or appear to relate to criminal activity can be recorded.

Another group of agents performs the laborious and largely thankless task of completing all of the paperwork required by FBI and Department of Justice policy, and also detailed in court decisions, as to how wiretaps are recorded, logged, duplicated, transcribed, stored, and treated. Still other agents are tasked with providing contact and cover for informants and cooperating witnesses (CW) who may travel throughout the United States and the world in support of the investigation. A CW is a person who has some relationship with the target group but is not believed to be a major player. Oftentimes, these persons are convinced that it is their best long-term interests to be on the side of the good guys. They may report back on the target group and its members, record consensual telephone conversations, or wear a wire on their body. Some agents on the investigation deal with technical specialists at FBI Headquarters who will work with these tapes to filter and remove static and background noise. Still other agents may travel abroad to help foreign authorities coordinate arrests in their countries that will advance the investigation.

The demands of major task-force investigations are so great and so complex that in some instances one agent is detailed to act as a scheduler and coordinator for other agents' travel and work assignments. Even as agents are working on an investigation that might span three to five years, vacations are taken, illnesses occur, training is received, the requirement for firearms qualification does not go away, and kids get sick. Coordinating so large an undertaking involving so many specialties is no small task.

FBI support personnel play a number of significant roles in so large and lengthy an investigation. Word processing personnel listen to perhaps thousands of hours of tape-recorded conversations, replaying them many times to ensure they are accurately transcribing what is on the tapes, which are often full of the coarsest language imaginable. When they are done, agents then have to sit for countless hours comparing those transcripts to the tapes to ensure their accuracy. Still other support personnel (financial analysts) assist Special Agent accountants in the effort to map the financial infrastructure of the family and chart its business dealings. Intelligence analysts study the details of the investigation to seek patterns, tendencies, and possible links to other persons and groups. Still other support personnel provide language translation services or process and enhance surveillance photographs. Others enter daily updates into special mapping software programs designed to provide a hierarchical picture of the family and the relationships within it.

At each step of the investigation, continuing assessments have to be made as to what techniques seem to be most productive, which targets are the most likely to be candidates for criminal prosecution, how accurate and comprehensive informant coverage is, if persons have been identified who might be receptive to development as new informants, if new players of significance are being identified, and if the range of the group's criminal activities is broader or deeper than expected. All of these factors may cause the investigation to expand or contract for shift direction or emphasis.

Indeed, it is not uncommon for such investigations to become international in scope fairly quickly, which may require agents to work closely with the local U.S. Attorney's office and also attorneys at the Department of Justice (referred to usually as Main Justice) to craft and effect international warrants, extraditions, and other procedures in the criminal justice process. Likewise, it is also not unusual for two or more criminal investigations to bump into each other. Given that some of these criminal enterprises are huge, it is likely some other federal, state, or local agency is also investigating some element of it. When this occurs there may be a brief turf fight, but usually these situations result in two, three, or more agencies coming to work together to achieve the dismantling of the group.

When one of these investigations is concluded—or "brought down," in law-enforcement parlance—much work is still to be done. Mobsters have access to high-priced legal counsel and mob trials can be lengthy and complicated. As the government prepares its case, there will be additional investigations to be conducted and, usually, deals to be considered, since mobsters also watch out for themselves before their allegiance to their "family." Witnesses may have to be relocated or even entered into the Witness Protection Program to ensure their safety. Search warrants may have to be drawn up and executed to secure evidence that could consist of a murder weapon, a stash of stolen goods, or even one or more bodies of mob victims buried long ago.

The successful conclusion of so long and complicated an investigation is the conviction of all the subjects of the investigation in court. When this happens, as one might suspect, a large party occurs. Lifelong bonds may form on task forces and between investigators and prosecutors, since they have lived in the crucible of this investigation for many years and have seen it through its ups and downs and twists and turns. The success is sweet, but the costs are not inconsiderable.

Special Skills for Solving Special Crimes

It should be noted that the above examples all involve criminal cases. The FBI has equally diverse categories of cases in three other fields: counterintelligence, counterterrorism, and intelligence. Indeed, at present the FBI is considering a somewhat more formal approach to the career development of field office investigative agents, or "street agents" as they are known in the Bureau. This is a marked departure from traditional FBI thinking, and it seeks to recognize that different skill sets and developmental experiences are required in the four major lines of FBI investigative activity. The idea is to document the career progression believed to produce the "ideal" investigator in each line of work, then attempt to structure agents' career progression so as to provide them with the needed developmental experiences. The concept, while sound, is subject to vigorous debate within the FBI. On the one hand, the need for specialized expertise is recognized if the FBI is to succeed in demanding new areas of responsibility, such as counterterrorism. On the other hand, segmenting agents by investigative specialty also tends to reduce the flexibility needed to shift to new duties as needs arise. At this point, the FBI still has the concept under review.


The Dangers of the Job

An FBI agent, whether newly out of training school or a 25-year veteran, lives in a world that is different in many ways from that of his or her fellow citizens. One of the first differences is danger.

A substantial amount of time is spent in training school on firearms and defensive tactics training. There is a reason for this. Criminals are dangerous people and when the agent is confronted, his or her priorities are, in order: don't get hurt, don't let any innocent bystander get hurt, don't let the bad guy get hurt. If the bad guy has to be hurt, or even killed, so be it if that is necessary, but it is not a desirable outcome. In this regard, the FBI has a substantial advantage over state and local law enforcement. The vast majority of injuries and deaths in law-enforcement work come as a result of unplanned encounters. These could be police officers coming upon a robbery in progress, responding to a burglary call, attempting to break up a domestic dispute, seeking to enforce a court order, or stopping a vehicle for a traffic violation. Even though they receive the best training and equipment possible, state and local officers almost always work at the disadvantage of not knowing who or what they are dealing with. The vehicle they just stopped could be driven by a middle-aged executive with no criminal history or someone fresh out of prison with a gun and a grudge.

The FBI, on the other hand, almost always has time, resources, and planning on its side. If a dangerous fugitive is to be arrested, it is rarely on the spur of the moment. The FBI works to carefully plan, staff, and time the arrest to give the fugitive as little chance to resist as possible. Things can go wrong and people, even the good people, do get hurt and killed, but the odds are vastly in the agents' favor. In its history, the FBI has lost 34 agents to hostile fire in the line of duty, a fair number of them in the gangster days of the 1930s. The most recent death was in 2001. The made-for-TV movie In The Line of Duty: The FBI Murders is an excellent and accurate depiction of one of the bloodiest days in FBI history, when two FBI agents were killed and a number of others seriously wounded in a running gun battle with two heavily armed bank robbers in Miami in the 1980s.

In addition to the agents who lost their lives to hostile fire, 14 others died in the performance of a law-enforcement duty. These tragic deaths could have occurred during a training exercise, in car crashes while on duty, or in aircraft crashes while training or conducting a surveillance.

Undercover Work

Although it is not part of the career development program, some agents volunteer for service as an undercover agent (UCA). All UCAs are volunteers, and there is no special compensation for performing these duties. Generally, UCAs must have a solid investigative background before being considered for such work and also receive the full support of their superiors. Their undercover activities may take place in the office territory to which they are assigned or another field office many miles away. Volunteers for this program are evaluated for their expertise and psychological suitability. Special training programs are also available at Quantico to teach agents the tricks of pulling off an undercover assignment.

The vast majority of undercover operations are criminal in nature, but intelligence-directed undercover operations also take place. Generally, undercover assignments fall into one of two categories. Group II undercover operations can be approved by the Special Agent in Charge, with the concurrence of the local U.S. Attorney. Group IIs, as they are called, still require careful coordination and planning, but generally they are less sensitive, less dangerous, of shorter term, and less costly than other types of operations. Group I undercover operations are the opposite. They may be dangerous, elaborate, lengthy, technically challenging, involving prominent personages, be very costly, or have foreign aspects involved. Group Is require painstaking planning, substantial amounts of documentation, lots of coordination, and minute review by a panel of senior FBI Headquarters and Department of Justice officials. Perhaps the most legendary FBI Group I undercover operation was ABSCAM, a political corruption investigation that resulted in the conviction of members of Congress in the 1980s. Probably the most well known Group I operation was that of Special Agent Joe Pistone, who infiltrated the La Cosa Nostra (Mafia) with devastating results to the mobsters. So successful was Pistone in his role that he carried it out for years and was on the verge of becoming a "made guy" when the operation was terminated. His exploits were recounted in the book and movie that bears his undercover name, Donnie Brasco.

Agents serving as a UCA may be in either a light or deep cover role. Those in a light cover capacity, generally those involved in Group IIs, may have little disruption to their normal routine and family lives. Those in Group I operations may be in very deep cover and may be away from their families for extended periods. They may also be required to adopt a foreign persona for an extended time, posing as a drug dealer, crooked businessman, hit man, terrorist, or stock swindler.

Owing to the personal and psychological risks associated with all undercover operations, but especially deep-cover Group Is, each UCA active in an undercover operation has a contact agent for the duration of the operation. This contact agent is the UCA's link to the real world and serves a number of roles. The contact agent can relay messages to family and friends, can provide physical and psychological support, can be available in times of danger, and is also charged with continually evaluating the physical and psychological health of the UCA. At any sign of deterioration or excess danger, the UCA is extracted from the operation, even if this means shutting it down. Perhaps the best evidence of the amount of thought and planning the FBI puts into its undercover operations is the fact that in the face of tremendous danger and some ticklish situations, only one FBI agent has been killed while working in an undercover capacity.

© 2006 Joseph W. Koletar.
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