Partnerships

Partnerships

In this complex, globalized, post 9/11 world, our operational partnerships have never been more important to our efforts to protect your communities.

Today, we work with colleagues at every level of government—local, state, federal, even international—across the law enforcement, intelligence, and first responder communities. We lead and take part in multi-agency task forces, intelligence groups and fusion centers, and public and private sector alliances. A number of our partners literally sit shoulder-to-shoulder with us in FBI space, just as we share our agents and analysts with other agencies. We work closely on joint investigations—sometimes taking the lead, sometimes taking a back seat to others, sometimes contributing equally among many agencies. Our work with our colleagues, in fact, is so intertwined today that it’s often nearly impossible to separate the contributions of one agency—and one nation—from the next.

In Tampa, our major partnerships include:

• The Tampa Joint Terrorism Task Force brings together representatives of more than 20 local, state, and federal agencies to run down any and all terrorism leads, develop and investigate cases, provide support for special events, and proactively identify threats that may impact the area and the nation. We also have satellite Joint Terrorism Task Forces working out of Orlando and Fort Myers.
• The Tampa Field Intelligence Group, a team of FBI agents and analysts, provides a full range of intelligence support on terrorism and criminal threats which supports law enforcement and intelligence partners in 18 counties across central and southwest Florida.
• The Tampa Division participates in the FBI Counterintelligence Domain Program, a national partnership between private industry, academia, government agencies, the FBI, and its counterintelligence community partners to identify and protect projects of great importance to the U.S. government.
• To battle cyber crime, we have a number of key partnerships:
• Our Cyber Crime Task Forces in Tampa, Fort Myers, and Orlando bring together local, state, and federal experts to combat computer intrusions, viruses, and other cyber threats.
• Our Innocent Images Task Force combines multiple agencies to combat crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children. In one of its most successful preventative measures, task force members pose as teenagers in online undercover operations to catch predators before they strike.
• The Tampa InfraGard chapter is the local arm of a national information-sharing alliance between private industry, academia, and government focused on protecting critical national infrastructures in both the online and offline worlds.

• We also lead the Tampa Violent Crimes Task Force, a major partnership of our agents and local law enforcement investigators from the Tampa region. They pool their expertise and resources to target street gangs and violent criminals of all kinds.