Community Outreach 

The 2018 Orlando Citizens Academy class participated in Range Day at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Practical Training Site. The class received an opportunity to see first-hand the training special agents conduct to serve and protect their communities. Civic and business leaders in the class received a hands-on look into FBI Tampa's SWAT, Bomb Tech, and HAZMAT programs.

The FBI’s Community Outreach Program supports the Bureau’s investigative mission by working to address multiple interrelated societal problems—including crime, drugs, gangs, terrorism, and violence. Linking community service, prevention, and law enforcement is a national trend spurred by grass roots efforts around the country, and FBI employees have joined this movement, volunteering in a wide variety of community-related efforts.

Outreach Specialist

Community Outreach Team
Columbia_outreach@fbi.gov

Social Media Outreach

Community Relations Facebook
@FBIColumbia (Twitter)
@FBI (Instagram)

Upcoming Events 

Romance Scams Presentation

FBI Columbia will host a Romance Scams Presentation on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. in Lexington, South Carolina. This is a free event and open to the public.

To register, email Columbia_Outreach@fbi.gov and include your name, email, and phone number, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 15, 2024.

Registrants will receive additional information regarding the event location by March 18, 2024. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact at Columbia_Outreach@fbi.gov.

Mentoring Program 

The FBI Columbia Field Office is not currently accepting applications for the FBI Columbia Mentoring Program.

The FBI Columbia Mentoring Program is a free program that affords college sophomores and juniors the opportunity to receive one-on-one mentoring from FBI employees. This is a great opportunity for students to connect with a mentor who can offer insight about FBI careers and help them navigate the next stages of their careers. There is a limit on the number of students we can accept into the program, and students will be selected based on their essay submission.

Who May Apply:

  • Sophomores or juniors with a GPA or 2.8 or higher
  • Open to all majors

Time Commitment: Meet monthly with mentor (in-person, telephonic, or virtual) and attend scheduled monthly program events.

Citizens Academy 

The FBI Citizens Academy is an engaging program that gives business, religious, civic, and community leaders an inside look at the FBI. The mission of the FBI Citizens Academy is to foster a greater understanding of the role of federal law enforcement in the community through frank discussion and education.

The FBI Columbia Fall Citizens Academy will be held on Thursday evenings from September 5 – October 24 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Lexington, South Carolina.

Candidates can be nominated by FBI employees, former Citizen Academy graduates, and community leaders. Participants are selected by the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Columbia Field Office.

To Apply

Please use this link to submit a nomination form for consideration for the FBI Columbia Fall Citizens Academy. The deadline to submit is July 1, 2024.

Director's Community Leadership Award 

Since 1990, the Director’s Community Leadership Awards has been the principal means for the FBI to publicly recognize achievements of individuals and organizations that make extraordinary contributions to education and the prevention of crime and violence in their communities. Each field office nominates an individual or organization for the award, and, once selected, the recipients are invited to a ceremony and reception at FBI Headquarters.

Teen Academy 

A member of the FBI Las Vegas Evidence Response Team instructs participants in the 2014 Teen Academy on evidence collection techniques.

Our Teen Academy program allows high school students an opportunity to get a comprehensive look into today’s FBI. Generally, each course iteration is a minimum of eight hours but can be a week-long program with blocks of instruction and demonstrations at a local field office. Students are provided with several presentations on topics including terrorism, cyber crime, public corruption, polygraph exams, evidence response, SWAT, and the day-to-day operations of a typical FBI office. Students also learn from special agents, intelligence analysts, language specialists, and professional staff about investigative tactics that include gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and assisting with cases.

To Apply

FBI Columbia is currently accepting applications for its Teen Academy.

The 2024 Columbia FBI Teen Academy is open to rising high school juniors and seniors. The academy will be held at the FBI Columbia Field Office on June 26 – 27, 2024 .

Child ID App 

The Child ID app—the first mobile application created by the FBI—provides a convenient place to electronically store photos and vital information about your children on your smartphone (note: no information is stored or collected by the FBI). In the event your child goes missing, users can show the pictures and provide physical identifiers such as height and weight to security or police officers on the spot. Using a special tab on the app, users can also quickly and easily e-mail the information to authorities.

The app also includes tips on keeping children safe, as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing.

Chasing the Dragon 

The FBI, in partnership with the DEA, created a short documentary focusing on the crisis of prescription drug and opioid abuse. The film, Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict, outlines the dangerous cycle of opioid and prescription drug abuse—how the problem starts, how the addiction takes hold, and how that addiction damages one’s life and body. High school students and all ages above are the target audience for this video and the curriculum/facilitated discussion that accompanies it.

FBI SOS 

FBI-SOS is a free, fun, and informative program that promotes cyber citizenship by educating students in third to eighth grades on the essentials of online security. For teachers, the site provides a ready-made curriculum that meets state and federal Internet safety mandates, complete with online testing and a national competition to encourage learning and participation. A secure online system enables teachers to register their schools, manage their classes, automatically grade their students’ exams, and request the test scores.

Anyone—young or old, in the U.S. or worldwide—can complete the activities on the FBI-SOS website. The testing and competition, however, are only open to students in grades 3-8 at public, private, or home schools in the U.S. or its territories.

Think Before You Post 

Informational graphic depicting a cell phone texting conversation that states the fact that making hoax threats against schools and other public places is a serious federal crime.

The FBI has an awareness campaign to educate the public about the consequences of making hoax threats of violence to schools, events, and other public places. The Think Before You Post campaign serves to remind everyone that any threat is taken with the utmost seriousness and will be quickly and thoroughly addressed by law enforcement. Hoax threats are not a joke; they are a crime.

In the aftermath of tragic shootings like the ones at Santa Fe High School in Texas and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, the FBI and law enforcement agencies around the country often see an increase in threats made to schools, events, and other public buildings. Issuing a threat—even over social media, via text message, or through email—is a federal crime (threatening interstate communications). Those who post or send these threats can receive up to five years in federal prison, or they can face state or local charges.

Adopt-A-School 

The Adopt-A-School Program puts FBI special agents and staff members into local schools to mentor and tutor kids. In most cases, our volunteers create programs to help kids who are “at risk” or disadvantaged learn how to improve academically and become good citizens. They hope, above all, to show kids how to resist bad influences that could lead them to crime, drug use, gang participation, and violence. It goes without saying that our volunteers respect the privacy of the students and their families, and all information is kept confidential.

Community Engagement Council 

The Community Engagement Council (CEC) is composed of community ethnic, religious, and minority leaders who help the FBI better understand the cultures and committees they represent. The mission of the CEC is to provide a trusting environment that allows council members to discuss issues and concerns within their communities and collaborate with the FBI to identify solutions. The CEC helps build strong relationships between communities and the Bureau.

 

Speaker Requests 

The Columbia FBI offers public speakers on a limited basis on a variety of topics pertaining to the Bureau’s investigative mission. All requests for speakers must be submitted online a minimum of 60 days prior to your presentation date. Requests are subject to availability.