Episode #66
National Police Association Podcast with Guest, John Nantz, FBI Supervisory Special Agent (Retired) and Columnist Part 2
In Part Two of her conversation with retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent John Nantz , National Police Association spokesperson Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.) continues an inside look at Nantz’s recent sit-down with FBI Director Kash Patel at FBI Headquarters. Nantz, a former FBI supervisory special agent and contributor to Townhall and Restoration News, discusses what he learned about Patel’s efforts to reshape the FBI—from budgets and technology to violent crime, counterterrorism, recruiting, and the Bureau’s relationship with state and local law enforcement. Smith and Nantz discuss Patel’s emphasis on returning the FBI’s attention to its fundamental law-enforcement mission. While FBI special agents do not perform the same day-to-day functions as patrol officers, Nantz argues that the Bureau remains an integral part of the American law-enforcement community. Patel’s message of allowing “cops to be cops,” he says, translates into letting FBI agents concentrate on investigating criminals and doing the work they were hired to do. Nantz discusses FBI violent-crime enforcement and explains how federal investigations can affect crime rates even when crimes such as homicide are primarily investigated by state and local agencies. Taking violent gang members and other dangerous offenders off the streets, he notes, can directly affect violence in communities. The conversation also explores a part of the FBI’s mission the public may rarely see: its enormous influence on state and local law enforcement. Smith recalls receiving FBI training as a hostage negotiator and describes how Bureau agents provided regional training and continued supporting local officers after their formal courses ended. The FBI National Academy and other training programs similarly allow federal expertise to flow directly to departments around the country. Nantz, who began his career in local law enforcement, says that relationship works in both directions because many FBI agents bring state or local policing experience with them into the Bureau. He believes the relationship between the FBI and its law-enforcement partners has strengthened under Patel. Betsy Smith and John Nantz discuss: The realities of the FBI’s multibillion-dollar budget and changing congressional priorities How funding shifted from drug enforcement in the 1980s to counterterrorism after 9/11 The FBI’s role in protecting the homeland while continuing traditional criminal investigations Patel’s modernization of the Director Strategic Information Center How FBI leadership receives real-time information during critical incidents Reducing bureaucratic layers between field agents, FBI Headquarters, and the White House Patel’s “let cops be cops” approach to FBI leadership The Bureau’s role in combating gangs and violent crime The FBI’s influence on state and local policing https://x.com/TheJohnNantz https://www.facebook.com/TheJohnNantz/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-nantz-4323451a8/
