Community Outreach
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.
The Portland FBI offers public speakers on a limited basis on a variety of topics pertaining to the Bureau’s investigative mission. Submit a speaker request at least four weeks prior to your engagement.
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
Applications for the 2024 Portland FBI Citizens Academy are no longer open.
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.
The FBI’s Teen Academy program in Portland allows high school students the opportunity to develop leadership skills and to investigate the world of law enforcement. Active explorations of fitness and forensic science grow students’ minds and bodies while age-appropriate lessons on topics such as violence prevention, sextortion, and hoax threats teach them how to stay safe. FBI staff, including special agents, intelligence analysts, and professional staff, lead discussions and interactive sessions focused on the work we do, how we do it, and, most importantly, why we choose this work in service of all Americans.
Any student with an interest in leadership and service is welcome to apply for this free opportunity. An interest in a law enforcement career is not a pre-requisite.
Requirements
Students who are high school sophomores and juniors are eligible to apply.
Students who are 16 or older may be subject to a simple background check process, and they must provide their Social Security number for that purpose. Students 16 and older are also required to show Real ID-compliant photo identification when entering FBI space.
The selection process is competitive, and all students should give their best effort in completing this application. A selection committee will evaluate each application based on a review of the information provided, and no single element (GPA, school/community service, or essay) is disqualifying. Applications that are incomplete, illegible, or late will not be accepted.
Students are expected to advocate for themselves throughout this process, including asking for further information about the program or the application process, if necessary. Students may request information by contacting Outreach.pd@fbi.gov at any time.
To Apply
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.
