Partnerships help FBI Norfolk close a successful year

The end of 2022 is upon us. Like many of you, I like to take time to reflect on all the events that have happened over the course of a year, both the wins and losses.

This year the Federal Bureau of Investigation was frequently seen in the news worldwide, and some of the sentiment, I was surprised by.

When you think of the FBI, you may think of a character on a TV show, but the reality is that the FBI and its employees are people who live and work in this community right alongside you.

We are the ones who help support your local police department when they get an influx of threats to public schools and universities.

We are the ones who respond to late-night calls for assistance, like we did after the mass shooting at the Walmart in Chesapeake.

These are examples of high-profile cases, but it’s not the only work we’ve done in 2022. This year FBI Norfolk made significant progress in taking criminals off the streets of Hampton Roads and beyond.

Since January, our Violent Crimes Against Children squad arrested 33 individuals, helping to free countless young victims in the process. Some of whom were as young as two years old when they were first victimized.

Other successes we’ve made with our partners through 2022 include:

Securing sentences ranging from five years to life in prison for child predators arrested in years past.

Took 42 violent criminals off the streets over the summer as part of a nationwide crackdown on violent crime.

Helped disrupt a nationwide investment fraud scheme that took more than $20 million from innocent victims. The suspects in that case were sentenced to a combined 28-and-a-half years in prison.

Held individuals accountable for public corruption in Norfolk, as a CEO and former sheriff were sentenced for a bribery scheme that spanned 12 years. In another case, a contractor and government official both pled guilty for using taxpayer money to benefit themselves.

We’ve had several great accomplishments, but the work we do is not done alone. Today’s FBI is about partnerships. Inviting federal, state and local agencies into our space with a shared mission is how we best protect you. We have task forces to address everything from violent crime on the streets to terrorism and even to go after classified counterintelligence threats.

An example of the importance of this teamwork is our Joint Terrorism Task Force. Through the JTTF, we were able to put a stop to a potentially devastating crime in Hampton Roads — after a felon was found to have purchased large quantities of chemicals typically used to make explosive devices. We also found him in possession of eight illegal firearms and child pornography.

Through another program the FBI participates in, Project Safe Neighborhoods, two men were sentenced for their crimes in 2022. One included a man who sold fentanyl to a Chesapeake woman, which tragically resulted in her death. That suspect went on to receive a 45-year prison sentence.

Of course, alongside our partners, there is a whole team of FBI Norfolk personnel working investigations every day. While many of you know about our special agents, we also employ a complex cadre of professional staff who provide expertise and support to our investigations. Such as our forensic accountants who sift through large amounts of data to track how a criminal is spending their ill-gotten gains, or our linguists, who translate foreign languages to help find a child gone missing overseas.

There are many parts that go into solving a crime or preventing them before they happen. That’s why every person’s role in the FBI is critical to its mission; to protect the American people and uphold the constitution of the United States.

This is what FBI Norfolk does, day after day. It’s what we did in 2022, and it’s what we’ll continue to do in the years to come.