The Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Division of the FBI, Janice K. Fedarcyk, was a guest speaker in a graduate level criminal justice course on WCU’s campus this past week. The topic of the seminar course is the Patriot Act, and is taught by Ralph J. Saturno J.D., who is the Chief Division Counsel of the Philadelphia FBI office.While shedding light on how the FBI uses the Patriot Act to fight terrorism, Fedarcyk also spoke on a variety of issues the FBI currently faces including the crime crisis in the city of Philadelphia as well as the growing criminal activity stemming from the nation’s economic crisis such as mortgage scams.
Fedarcyk then went on to talk about how the tragic events of 9/11 molded the current direction of the FBI. Fedarcyk explained, “The 9/11 victims said ‘you failed, you weren’t talking, you weren’t sharing, you weren’t collaborating,’ and the entire community failed.” She went on to say that “the American public won’t stand for it again” and the outcry specifically by the victims and their families was the biggest and strongest push for the FBI and the entire intelligence community to take strong action in combating terrorism.
Fedarcyk also pointed out that many terrorist attacks have been thwarted such as the 2007 Fort Dix plot, in which a group of radical Islamist men plotted to stage an attack on the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey. On the other hand, she also asserted that “many [thwarted attacks] are never seen by the public.” Fedarcyk also stated that as time goes on people become more complacent of terrorist attacks stating, “The threats are still real, there are people who don’t like our way of life.” She cited the recent arrests of an alleged terrorist plot in the United Kingdom as a reminder that terrorism is still a very real threat.
Fedarcyk affirmed to the class that the Patriot Act gives the FBI vital tools to be able to fight terrorism. She also addressed the many criticisms of the Patriot Act by civil libertarian groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and assured everyone that numerous policies are in place to ensure protection of citizen’s rights.
The enthusiastic class was very grateful for her visit and was abuzz after class.