Thank
you, Len (Cooke) and good morning everyone. I am honored to be
here today with so many great leaders, not only on the platform
dais, but throughout this room.
I want
to start with a word of thanks. The past year has been tough
for all of us. After September 11, more has been demanded from
law enforcement -- from all of us in this room -- than at any
other time in our history. And the stakes have never been higher.
We have a new national challenge, larger than any one agency
can handle. We learned a great deal from the 19 hijackers and
their attacks. We learned that terrorists can be hiding in plain
sight in any of our cities. They can be looking at potential
targets and landmarks in our areas. They can be planning attacks
with weapons of mass destruction or committing common crimes
to fund those who are. That has put all of us in a constant
state of alert. It has brought with it a host of changes - new
ways of doing business, new ways of relating to one another.
But what it has really taught us is that each piece of information
is important. Everything from the most prolific foreign source
to the officer on the beat noticing something that doesn't quite
look right is all important in our new mission of prevention.
We are in this fight together.
I want
to thank you for stepping up to the challenge. You have done
an outstanding job of supporting the nationwide homeland security
effort these past ten months. And as always, you have done the
job with an unfettered commitment to your various departments
and communities.
I wish
I could say that the toughest days are behind us. But in many
ways, I think the coming years are going to be equally hard.
Those who want to hurt us are still out there. If we have learned
anything from all the captured terrorists and recovered documents,
it is that we have a long way to go. We cannot lose focus for
even a moment.
And that
won't be easy, because before September 11 came along, our plates
were already full. For years, we have been battling together
all manner of crime problems: drugs, gangs, violent crime, white
collar crime, civil rights violations. We have made some progress,
but unfortunately these challenges have not gone away either.
In fact, we are seeing traditional crime rates inch back up.
And we are seeing explosive growth in entirely new areas like
cyber crime.
The way
I see it, there is only one way we can respond. We have to do
things differently, and we have to move quickly. We needed change
before September 11. We need it more now. In the FBI, we are
undergoing probably the most fundamental transformation in our
history. We are changing, reorganizing, and refocusing virtually
everything we do - our mission, our structure, our training
and technology, our records, and our security.
I know that all of you are anxious for new ideas and better
ways of doing things. That is why you are part of NOBLE, an
organization of change, and that is why you are here in Tampa.
This conference allows you the opportunity to share ideas and
hear about new strategies from a host of experts. In some cases,
your own members are those experts. People like Captain Ron
Davis, your Region 4 vice president, a nationally recognized
voice on racial profiling.
Together,
you are cementing your place as leaders in our communities.
It's no surprise that your outgoing President Len Cooke was
recently asked to lead the Department of Criminal Justice Services
for the state of Virginia.
There is
one other thing you are doing here that I believe is critically
important to your future and our future in law enforcement.
And that is building partnerships. In recent years, the entire
law enforcement community has recognized the need for greater
cooperation. We have started training together more and more.
We have begun linking our systems electronically. We have joined
hands operationally in a variety of task forces and other initiatives.
The events
of September 11, though, made it clear that we still have a
great deal more to do when it comes to partnerships. And quite
frankly, we in the FBI have come to recognize that at times
we were part of the problem. Some of you have told us that we
haven't always done the best job of sharing information. We
know that we can't expect you to be our partners in the war
on terror if we don't do the best we can at including you and
giving you the information you need to do your jobs.
We are
responding. We put together an advisory group of law enforcement
leaders that comes together regularly to talk about issues and
find solutions. We have created two high level posts in the
FBI specifically devoted to building relationships. And we filled
both jobs with individuals who have extensive experience in
law enforcement and are respected throughout this profession
- Kathleen McChesney and Louis Quijas.
Kathleen
is Executive Assistant Director for Law Enforcement Services.
She has broad responsibility for relationships and for all the
support services that we provide to you.
Louis Quijas
is the Assistant Director for a new Office of Law Enforcement
Coordination. Louis brings to the FBI 30 years as a law enforcement
officer, most recently as Chief of Police in High Point, North
Carolina. Louis is here with me this morning, and I hope you
will have a chance to meet him. His job - and it is an important
one - is to be your voice: not only to listen to your thoughts
and concerns and bring them back to FBI management so we can
act on them, but also to be there as we develop major investigative
plans and strategies so that we can factor in the unique strengths
and skills of law enforcement.
The FBI is also tackling the many complex dimensions of the
information-sharing issue. A few weeks ago, we appointed Bill
Eubanks - the former SAC of St. Louis - to lead a National Intel
Sharing Program that is working to get you more information
to help you do your jobs. We are working with law enforcement
to find the right system or combination of systems to pass along
threats and advisories. The fact is, the national threat advisory
system is one of the most frustrating communications methods
I have ever encountered. We should be at least as fast as television
news. We are overhauling our own technology so that we can share
information with you more effectively and more quickly. Over
the next couple of years, I think you will see dramatic improvements.
We are
also improving our analytic capabilities so that we can give
you better information - information that is meaningful and
actionable. And we are working within the government to design
the new Department of Homeland Security. There are some very
good ideas in the mix that will eliminate some of the confusion
you now face.
We are
also working to build relationships directly with NOBLE. A couple
of months ago, I met with your leadership. We talked about ways
we could support one another. For example, your leaders offered
to lend your expertise on racial profiling and other areas to
help us train Special Agents and law enforcement professionals
at our FBI Academy. I and NOBLE, along with our Training Assistant
Director Cassandra Chandler, are working together to incorporate
a class into our National Academy program.
We are
also talking about ways to graduate more NOBLE members from
our National Academy and National Executive Institute programs
and to take advantage of NOBLE's network of professionals to
help us recruit new Agents. The fact is, the FBI wants and needs
more diversity in its workforce. We have made a concerted effort
to reach out to the African-American community. However, we
are not as successful as we need to be. We need your support
beyond recruiting events and advertisements. We need the personal
support of NOBLE members in increasing the diversity and skills
of our workforce. The FBI is falling short of the diversity
I would like to see. Your advice and assistance are welcomed.
As we move
forward, I would like to ask for your support in two more critical
areas.
First,
as you know, the FBI's overriding priority today is preventing
future terrorist attacks. We can not meet that mandate without
moving more resources to prevention. In May, we announced our
plans to the public and asked for the approval of Congress.
We have proposed shifting 480 investigators to counterterrorism
- about four percent of our total Agents. Of that number, around
400 would come from narcotics cases. The rest would come from
violent crime and less substantial white collar crime.
If this
plan is approved - and we expect it will be - we will need your
help to make it work. We recognize that budgets are strained
and that everyone is trying to do more with less. But as we
all know, this is a time of great national need, and I must
put more resources directly into the fight against terror. This
realignment of resources may impact you.
In narcotics, for example, we will probably do fewer stand-alone
investigations. We will remain on OCDETF and other task forces,
but where we had ten to fifteen Agents on a task force, we may
cut back to five or ten.
We will
also continue working with you on violent crime. As a former
homicide prosecutor, I know how important it is to protect our
communities from this threat. But again, we may have fewer representatives
on task forces, and we may work fewer bank robberies and similar
cases.
Let me
assure you, as we move forward, we will continue to support
you. And where we do serve side-by-side, we are committed to
building strong relationships with you. As I say both inside
and outside the Bureau, I am convinced that the FBI is and will
be only as good as its relationships with law enforcement at
every level. You are that important to our future.
The second
area where we need your help is in the area of leadership. Leadership
and integrity are critical to the success of everything we do
in law enforcement. We need you to continue being visible and
vocal leaders in your departments and communities. We need for
you to continue your efforts in helping shape the character
of our communities. We need members of NOBLE to reach out and
develop partnerships with your colleagues in law enforcement.
As we refocus our missions, the FBI needs your leadership more
than ever.
I mentioned
earlier that this past year has been tough for all of us. In
less than two months, the one-year anniversary of the attacks
of September 11 will be upon us. And it will bring back a flood
of memories for us all -- not only the shock and horror, but
the feelings of gratitude and respect for the incredible heroes
of that day.
Recently,
we unveiled a powerful memorial built at Quantico honoring the
law enforcement and public safety heroes of September 11. The
memorial was a gift of the 207th session of the National Academy,
the first class to graduate following the attacks. It stands
eight feet tall, and it shows the twin towers rising from a
base shaped like the Pentagon. Connecting the towers is an outline
of the state of Pennsylvania, a tribute to the victims of Flight
93.
The towers carry the following inscription: "Dedicated
to the courage, spirit, and sacrifice of those who perished
in the struggle to save others and those who persevered to protect
freedom, September 11, 2001."
This memorial
reminds all of us at the FBI of how we are one family in law
enforcement, how the loss of each and every one of our colleagues
affects us all so deeply. The memorial reminds us of FBI Special
Agent Lenny Hatton, who died that morning trying to save lives.
And it reminds us of the 70 other brave law enforcement professionals
who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. They are an
inspiration to all of us, reminding us of what we are fighting
for every day.
The heroic efforts of our own on September 11 reminds us of
the real strength of our law enforcement community. We need
that strength more than ever. We need to be one family, united
in friendship and trust. We need to be leaders committed to
building the close and abiding partnerships so vital to safeguarding
our children and protecting our country. Together, we can assure
justice and realize the dream of all law enforcement for a strong,
safe, and diverse America.
Thanks
and God bless.