NCJ Number
79441
Date Published
1981
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Judge Webster, Director of the FBI, deflates myths about the agency, discusses how misperceptions have affected the agency, and describes recent innovations in the FBI's automated procedures.
Abstract
Webster notes the tendency in law enforcement to perpetuate myths that uphold the image of the agency, particularly regarding intelligence. He argues that some myths have influenced policy, such as statutes supporting the use of deadly force, a policy the FBI has never supported because it is considered unnecessary. Such statutes derive from the myth that deadly force will stop a criminal. Misperceptions of the FBI which have affected it adversely have led to the passage of the Freedom of Information Act, which provides that informants not be assured that their files will be held confidential, thus making it less likely that they will continue to cooperate with the FBI. Webster also describes recent activities of the FBI in the areas of training, forensic sciences, management information systems, and telecommunications. He notes such advances in the use of computer technology as the Criminalistics Information Laboratory System, to which more than 40 crime labs throughout the country are linked. He mentions ways in which the FBI is improving its domestic intelligence activities and describes a pilot project in Detroit to set up an organized-crime information system. During a question and answer session following the lecture, Webster addresses such topics as the hostage crisis in Iran and white-collar crime.