Protocol between local police and the FBI

[Munin]

In my modern game, the players will soon be posing as FBI agents in order to gain information contained in case files and access to crime scenes. The local police department is quite small and not saddled with a lot of red tape.
They also do not deal with the FBI or other federal agencies frequently.

My questions are what kind of clout do you think FBI agents would have with a small town police department, and what kind of jurisdictional authority can they wield? Could they take over any ongoing investigations?

I don't expect a by the book reply, just your own opinions will do.

Thanks.

 

[Henry]

From what I understand, the FBI would not have jurisdiction to simply invade a small police department's files and resources without sufficient cause (an ongoing case, etc.) Even then, they stress cooperation more than invasion of procedure. If a small police department were to NOT cooperate, they could possibly get the State Governor or his office to call the local chief and "pull rank," and FORCE him to cooperate in that manner.

All this is of course a layman's understanding, and not terribly accurate.

 

[Umbran]

The real question is - how much do the PCs know of standard operating procedures, and how much do the locals know? The "real" case isn't so much the issue as how much the PCs try to get away with

The single biggest misunderstanding I think one is likely to run into is this - in general, the FBI is restricted to dealing with federal crimes. Fox Mulder notwithstanding, the FBI doesn't get to stick it's nose in any time a thing looks interesting.

 

[Munin]

Layman's understanding is all I need.
I'm just looking for the general attitude the department will have towards the players and what the players can and cannot get away with. They will probably seek to be cooperative with the local police, at least initially

Laying down who has jurisdiction (I keep thinking of that juris-my-DIC-tion line from the Matrix) will help me figure out who will have the upper hand in this exchange.

The scoop is that nearly a dozen people have gone missing in this town over the last two months. Most of the people were just passing thru, and several were from out of state. The assumption is that since this involves persons from outside the locality, the FBI could step in and help out, but I could be totally speaking out of my butt.

The good thing is that the players are not sticklers when it comes to playing by the 'real life' rules, so as long as the story goes along with popular culture I should be safe.

 

[Shallown]

I think the FBI has jurisdiction in Serial cases and kidnappings so they could play that angle as well as the crossing state lines of missing persons. Just a thought. How difficult getting the information is, mor eor less, going to be set by you in how the local police reeact. Each department has its own Personality so to speak. So its really up to you. So decide how hard you want them to work for the info then imagine the department that way.

Later

 

[diaglo]

when we worked with the FBI, they required us to sign forms for near everything....

the custody of evidence ones mostly...since i'm in a lab.

 

[Wolffenjugend]

I believe the FBI has jurisdiction in any case that involves a federal investigation (i.e. federal charges).

In terms of the original post, the FBI would simply have to provide some kind of evidence that they are investigating the person on federal charges (heck, they could probably bluff their way past if they're good enough!).

 

[Hand of Evil]

Just a quick search on FBI Jurisdiction

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title1/doj00009.htm

 

[cybertalus]

Well you don't get much more "layman's knowledge" than TV and movies, and I don't recall ever seeing local police on television or in the moivies being at all happy about having the FBI come in. On NYPD Blue the FBI are usually portrayed as incompetant rich boys who rely too much on their gadgets and budgets and not enough on their brains. In fact I'd say it's a toss up as to whether the FBI, Internal Affairs, or defense attorneys are the most despised.

 

[GMVictory]

First, as long as they don't act like jackasses, have a proper federal ID, and ask permission, the local PD is likely to let them have a look. However, that's only going to go so far. Just because it is a small dept, there is still a lot of procedural red tape that's imposed by local, state, and federal regulations regarding evidence handling and investigative procedures.

Secondly, is the Chief elected or appointed? If elected, he can tell the FBI to scram and only has to answer to his voters at the next election. If appointed by the Mayor, City Commissioners, etc, then he has to explain why the FBI should go away to them and they could order him to let them assist. Taking over an investigation happens only when federal charges can be made.

Finally, some departments are so small they do not have detectives and will usually request a detective from a larger, nearby agency to handle serious investigations for them. Small departments also can't do any or very minimal labwork and have to send things off to the state lab(s) to get it done.

*I'm a former PD dispatcher. I tried to put in some of the restrictions and legalities without going overboard.