Field Intelligence Groups

Field Intelligence Groups

The Directorate of Intelligence oversees field intelligence operations through Field Intelligence Groups (FIGs). The FIGs perform intelligence functions through integrated teams of intelligence analysts, language analysts, physical surveillance specialists, and a dedicated number of special agents.

The FIGs coordinate, manage, and execute all of the functions of the intelligence cycle in the field.

• They help determine what it is we don’t know about the threats our country is facing—and what we need to know to combat them. (Requirements)

• They help ensure that our agents in the field collect—through interviews, searches, and electronic and physical surveillances—the kind of information we and our partners in the law enforcement and intelligence communities are looking for. (Planning and Direction and Collection).

• They extract the information from cases being worked in their field offices and put it into a form usable by analysts. They do this using a variety of methods, including decryption, language translation, and data reduction. (Processing and Exploitation.)

• They put the information into context by answering questions such as: What does it mean? And why is it important? (Analysis and Production.)

• They compile the information into reports and disseminate them to FBI Headquarters, other law enforcement and intelligence agencies and key decision makers, including the President and the attorney general. (Dissemination.) Often, the dissemination process leads to new requirements being generated, and the process starts over again.

For more information on what goes on in the FIGs, see “Focus on FIGs; Networking Intelligence Across the U.S. to Prevent Crimes and Terror.”