Minneapolis, like each of the FBI’s local field offices, has a community outreach program that complements and strengthens our many efforts to protect you, your businesses, and your families in concrete ways through a range of activities and initiatives.

Our recent activities include:

• On June 11, 2008, we awarded our annual Director’s Community Leadership Award to Suzanne Koepplinger. Ms. Koepplinger is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC) and a graduate of our FBI Citizens’ Academy. Special Agent in Charge Ralph S. Boelter said: “Ms. Koepplinger’s compassion towards the needs of American Indian women and the positive impact her work has had in the community merits special recognition. Suzanne is a point of light and a shining example of love and human compassion.” In addition to all of the programs offered by MIWRC, Ms. Koepplinger has become an expert in the area of human trafficking—in particular, of American Indian women. She has been a key advocate for educating the public on this topic—for helping the community understand the problem and the warnings signs of trafficked victims and for explaining how to help victims. Human trafficking is the second highest priority for the Civil Rights Division of the FBI, and Ms. Koepplinger’s efforts to educate the community and to assist victims of human trafficking have been significant.
• In the Fall of 2008, we held our latest Citizens' Academy, bringing together a cross section of 20 community leaders to learn firsthand about our operations and programs, not only demystifying our work but creating new contacts and channels for working together and sharing information. We plan to begin our next Citizens’ Academy in the Spring of 2009.
• On March 6, 2008, Special Agent in Charge Ralph S. Boelter awarded students at Valley View Middle School in Edina with back-to-back FBI-SOS (Safe Online Surfing) trophies for winning both January and February national Internet Safety competitions.

Among our other ongoing efforts:

• Holding quarterly meetings with minority groups and civic organizations to discuss key issues and to establish and maintain a collaborative working relationship between civic organizations, ethnic and minority communities, and law enforcement agencies;
• Sending our special agents and others from the FBI into schools, businesses, and civic meetings to explain emerging crime and security threats and to provide specific advice on how to prevent being victimized by these threats;
• Supporting the graduates of our Citizens’ Academies, who have created an FBI Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association to help create crime prevention programs and other initiatives that benefit communities. The Minneapolis Division FBI Citizens’ Academy Alumni, with the assistance of a special agent and the Cyber Squad, have created an Internet Safety presentation for adults called the “Internet Playground.” FBI Citizens’ Academy Alumni deliver these presentations to adults to help educate them and to bridge the generation gap, describing the different ways that young and old alike use a computer;
• Hosting programs that put volunteers inside classrooms to mentor and tutor at risk kids. The Minneapolis Division FBI Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association has created a Youth At Risk Program. The alumni have participated in the “Top 20 Teens” training and assist the teacher in facilitating the Top 20 Teens curriculum to at-risk students at a Saint Paul middle school. The alumni serve as mentors to these young people and have the opportunity to contribute something positive to the classroom;
• Serving on committees and boards for businesses, schools, community groups, and social and health services and launching drives to bring food, gifts, and toys to the less fortunate during the holidays and other times of the year;
• Encouraging citizens to step forward to report crime and serve as witnesses in court;
• Participating in “National Night Out,” which educates kids and adults alike on crime and drug prevention awareness, generates support for and participation in local anticrime programs, strengthens neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships, and sends a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back; and
• Partnering with the American Football Coaches Association and its National Child Identification Program to distribute Child ID kits at football games and other events;

Visit our national In Your Community website for more information about our overall outreach efforts and our work in other local FBI offices.

Minneapolis home