The strategic plan for accomplishing the FBI's mission must begin by
identifying the core values which need to be preserved and defended
by the FBI in performing its statutory missions. Those values are: rigorous
obedience to the Constitution of the United States; respect for the
dignity of all those we protect; compassion; fairness; and uncompromising
personal and institutional integrity. These values do not exhaust all
the goals we wish to achieve, but they encapsulate them as well as can
be done in a few words. Our values must be fully understood, practiced,
shared, vigorously defended, and preserved.
Observance of these core values is our guarantee of excellence and
propriety in performing the FBI's national security and criminal investigative
functions. Rigorous obedience to constitutional principles ensures that
we always remember that constitutional guarantees are more important
than outcome of any single interview, search for evidence, or investigation.
Respect for the dignity of all whom we protect reminds us to wield law
enforcement powers with restraint, and to recognize the natural human
tendency to be corrupted by power and to become callous in its exercise.
Fairness and compassion ensure that we treat everyone with the highest
regard for constitutional, civil, and human rights. Personal and institutional
integrity reinforce each other and are owed to the nation in exchange
for the sacred trust and great authority conferred upon us.
We who enforce the law must not merely obey it. We have an obligation
to set a moral example which those whom we protect can follow. Because
the FBI's success in accomplishing its mission is directly related to
the support and cooperation of those whom we protect, these core values
are the fiber which hold together the vitality of our institution.