Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: The FBI collaborates with national and international partners to counter piracy on the high seas.

I’m Mollie Halpern of the Bureau, and this is FBI, This Week. The FBI opens cases when piracy involves the kidnapping of American citizens and the takeover of American vessels in exchange for ransoms—usually money. Our investigations include crisis negotiators, victim assistance specialists, and more. Janelle Miller is the chief of the FBI’s International Violent Crime Unit…

Janelle Miller: We work in conjunction with United States intelligence community and also our foreign partners to collect intelligence to see if we can make a difference in bringing the numbers down to zero.

Halpern: The collaboration is working; the number of piracy at sea cases is sinking.

Miller: We have—not just the U.S. government, but other governments—have been able to positively reduce the number of piracy cases due to their security. So when the pirates approach the vessel, armed security guards on the vessels engage the pirates in the water and do not allow them on the vessel.

Halpern: To learn more about the FBI’s role in combating crimes on the high seas, visit www.fbi.gov.