The better we know our communities, the better we can protect them.
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
(623) 466-1999
PX_outreach@fbi.govSocial Media Outreach
Twitter: @FBIPhoenix
Facebook: FBI
Instagram: @FBI
The Citizens Academy is an engaging six-to-eight-week program that gives business, religious, civic, and community leaders an inside look at the FBI. Classes meet in the evening at the FBI field office. 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.
Candidates are nominated by FBI employees, former Citizens Academy graduates, and community leaders. Participants are selected by the special agent in charge of the local FBI field office.
To Apply
The next FBI Phoenix Field Office/Flagstaff Resident Agency (RA) Citizens Academy will be held in person on Thursday evenings from February 6 to March 20, 2025, from 5:15 PM to 9:00 PM.
The FBI Tucson RA classes will be in person on Wednesday evenings from February 5 to March 19, 2025, from 5:15 to 9:00 PM. Both sessions will have a range day on Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Phoenix.
If you are interested in applying—or if you are a Citizens Academy graduate or past/present FBI employee who would like to recommend someone you know—please submit this online nomination form by the November 8, 2024, deadline.
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.
2024 Teen Academies
The FBI Phoenix Teen Academy will be held June 12, 2024, and the FBI Tucson RA Teen Academy will be held June 14, 2024. Each academy at each location will be a full day event, running 7 to 8 hours.
Applications
Applications for the FBI Phoenix Teen Academy and the FBI Tucscon RA Teen Academy are currently closed.
The Phoenix 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 received online at least six weeks prior to the presentation date. All requests are subject to availability.
The Community Awareness Presentation (CAP) is a shorter, more focused version of the FBI Citizens Academy program and is conducted in partnership with a specific community group, generally at an offsite location. The program is designed to build trust and strengthen relationships between the FBI and the communities we serve. Community groups are encouraged to identify topics that are of concern or relevant to their group or organization for the FBI to discuss. Classes are taught by FBI subject matter experts. Generally the participants are selected by members of their organizations or community and there is no restriction on audience size. To request a presentation, please contact your local FBI field office.
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.
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 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.
