Protocol between local police and the FBI

[Ampolitor]

ok

ok here it goes, I can give you what happens here in NYsince Im a Police Lieutenant.
The FBI are only peace officers in NY state so they have no police powers and they use the local, (Like NYPD ) to do raids etc for them. They also have NO jurisdiction over any department in NY unless it is a crime involving aircraft, military, a bank, US mail, or Terrorism. Anything else belongs to the locals and if cooperation is requested then it is usally given. But no unlike TV the Feds have no police powers to bully there way in.

 

[diaglo]

the real question then to someone in the know is:

is kidnapping a federal offence? i always heard it was...but that is purely based on TV shows and cheap dimestore novels.

 

[Barak]

Well Diaglo, according to my extensive TV and book lore (so it's not worth much!) a kidnapping becomes a federal crime once enough time has elapsed for the kidnapper to -possibly- have crossed state line. So if it occurs close to a state line, it becomes a federal crime quickly. If it happens in the heart of Texas, it takes a while.

As for the reaction of local police, I'd say it depends. In some case they'd get p'd off, seeing the feds as "seeing them as country bumpkins" or "glory-hogs". In other cases, they might just be happy to see a particularly horrible/difficult case taken off their hands. Not to mention the facts that they know the FBI can bring in a lot of resources, so they might be thankful for that. So, really it depends.

 

[DMScott]

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?

Others have covered the jurisdictional matters. Something that might help you in the portrayal - even when jurisdiction is lawfully asserted, police officers (of any type) usually don't like to hand over cases unless the case is clearly over their heads (and sometimes not even then). A classic movie/TV plot is to have local police run an "unofficial" parallel investigation even after the feds show up.

 

[Felon]

ok here it goes, I can give you what happens here in NYsince Im a Police Lieutenant.
The FBI are only peace officers in NY state so they have no police powers and they use the local, (Like NYPD ) to do raids etc for them. They also have NO jurisdiction over any department in NY unless it is a crime involving aircraft, military, a bank, US mail, or Terrorism. Anything else belongs to the locals and if cooperation is requested then it is usally given. But no unlike TV the Feds have no police powers to bully there way in.

Can they lawyer their way in? The FBI has lawyers that go before federal judges all the time, and those guys have nigh-godlike power when it comes tio issuing court orders.

 

[cybermonkey]

The biggest problem the characters may have is elected officials: the local or county Sheriff and the local prosecuting attorney. They want the clout of a big case and will frown upon "outside" involvment.

 

[Garmorn]

I am just a layman my self, but if this was my game the most important thing I would concider is how they approached the local departments. If the approach is because this looks like possible federal crime; we can offer you our help; then they are going to get more cooperation then if the come in and give the impersion that they are going to take over or boss around the locals.

Some thing else to remember, in something where you have missing person you are going to have two to three layers of lawenforcement involved(sp?). Example in Texas such a case routinly pulls in the state agency (Department of Public Saftey - DPS), the county officials and any towns involved.

I hope your players can pull of the scam and even provide some extra resourses to the investigation other wise they will eventauly be suspects.

 

[Munin]

Wow, thanks for all the advice, and the link!

That link is pretty great, btw. In game the Control (I'm using some Spycraft elements in this campaign) handed them a brief on FBI protocol as reading material for their flight to the investigation area.

Initially, the police chief (who is appointed, not elected) is actually eager to hand over the investigation to an outside source, since his hands are essentially tied by his corrupt superiors.
If the party insults his pride, though, this will change.
So the party has an ally at the start, one of the only ones they will have, but if they come in with an attitude, that will change, and quickly.

For those who are curious, This adventure takes place in Rio Hevrir, from Modern Backdrops.

 

[Mapleaxe]

Fox Mulder notwithstanding, the FBI doesn't get to stick it's nose in any time a thing looks interesting.

Actually, it seemed to me, especially in the first couple seasons, that they went out of their way to put the X-Files stories in a place or situation that would involve a federal investigation.