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.
Social Media
FBI Tampa (Facebook)
@FBITampa (X)
@FBITampa (Instagram)
The Tampa 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 six weeks prior to your presentation date. Requests are subject to availability.
The Citizen Academy is an engaging six-to-eight-week program that gives business, religious, civic and community leaders an inside look at the FBI. Classes are held in the evening annually at the Tampa Field Office, along with an annual class taking place at one of the eight resident agencies. 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 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 Tampa Field Office.
To Apply
Tampa Bay Citizen Academy program is currently closed. If you are interested in participating in the next Citizen Academy session, please email TampaOutreach@fbi.gov.
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 Federal Teen Academy program allows a diverse group of 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 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 TampaOutreach@fbi.gov.
To Apply
The 2025 Tampa FBI Teen Academy is open to students in 10th to 12th grade during the 2024/2025 school year. It will be held on July 30 and 31.
Students should submit this application by email (preferred) or mail no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 30, 2025. We will notify students of their application status by email no later than June 6, 2025. Students selected to participate in the FBI Teen Academy will be given additional information about the program and will be required to confirm their acceptance into this program. If selected students do not respond to the acceptance email by the deadline given, the student’s application will be discontinued.
The FBI Tampa Youth Academy works with the Tampa Citizen Academy Alumni Association aiming to provide middle school students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to engage with FBI agents and support staff for the purpose of fostering academic excellence, leadership skills, team building, and career exploration.
To Apply
FBI Tampa Youth Academy is currently closed. If you are interested in your school participating in the next session, please email TampaOutreach@fbi.gov.
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.
