The Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) is the primary federal agency responsible for
investigating all allegations regarding violations
of applicable federal civil rights laws. These laws
are designed to protect the civil rights of all citizens
and persons within United States territory. The mission
of the FBI's Civil Rights Program is to enforce federal
civil rights statutes and to ensure that the protected
civil rights of all inhabitants are not abridged.
The FBI's Civil Rights
Program consists of the following sub-programs:
- Hate Crimes
- Color of Law/Police
Misconduct
- Freedom of Access
to Clinic Entrances (FACE)
- Involuntary Servitude/Slavery
The above sub-programs
are divided between two operational Units at FBI Headquarters:
the Color of Law Unit which administers Color of Law/Police
Misconduct investigations; and the Hate Crimes Unit
which is responsible for the oversight and management
of all investigations involving racial and/or religious
discrimination, violations of the Freedom of Access
to Clinic Entrances Act, and involuntary servitude
and slavery.
In addition to providing
oversight to field investigations, the two Units also
provide training to FBI New Agents, Field Agents, National
Academy Attendees and other state/local police officers
from around the country.
The FBI, pursuant to guidelines
established in cooperation with the Department of Justice's
(DOJ's) Civil Rights Division, requires each field
office to initiate a civil rights investigation whenever
information is received from any source not known to
be unreliable. Though most complaints are received
from the victim, witness or a third party related to
the victim, a significant number of cases are initiated
based on media reports, complaints from community interest
groups, referrals from DOJ or the local United States
Attorney's Office, and Congressional inquiries.
The FBI has the mission
to investigate allegations of civil rights violations
pursuant to federal statutes. Final prosecutive authority
rests with DOJ's Civil Rights Division.