In this complex and globalized world, partnerships form the basis for effective law enforcement. Today, we collaborate with other federal agencies, state and local governments, law enforcement and first responders, and non-governmental organizations. We participate in multi-agency task forces, intelligence groups, and public and private sector alliances. Task force officers representing a variety of partner organizations work in our space, and many of our agents are assigned to other agencies.

Joint investigations have become the standard, and the synergy developed by working cooperatively with other agencies maximizes our use of resources and enhances the effectiveness of our operations. In fact, our work with colleagues outside the FBI is so intertwined that it’s often nearly impossible to separate the contributions of one agency—and one nation—from the next.

In San Francisco, our major partnerships include:

• The San Francisco Joint Terrorism Task Force brings together representatives of 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 run Joint Terrorism Task Forces from some of our resident agencies.

• The San Francisco InfraGard Chapter is the local arm 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 participate in the FBI Counterintelligence Strategic Partnerships Program, which builds relationships 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.

• We also take part in the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, a multi-agency initiative that collects, evaluates, analyzes, and disseminates timely information to government and private agencies relating to terrorist and crime threats, organized crime, narcotics trafficking, gang activity, and serial crime.

• The Silicon Valley Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, located in Menlo Park, provides computer forensic services to a wide range of federal, state, and local agencies in the Bay Area. The Lab received full accreditation from the American Society of Crime Lab Directors in 2006. It draws its staff from participating local and state agencies. Read an article on the Lab.

• The San Francisco Division leads the Northern California Mortgage Fraud Task Force, which is made up of law enforcement and regulatory agencies at every level.

• Our four Safe Streets Task Forces—which consist of local, state, and federal officers—conduct criminal enterprise gang investigations and work to identify and apprehend the region’s most violent fugitives.
• The San Francisco Division also has an Art Crime Team made up of FBI agents and Department of Justice prosecutors who investigate the theft of artworks and antiquities in the region.

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