2003 Alicia Santos is a young woman from Riverbend City who has wanted to be an
ID: 3525636 • Letter: 2
Question
2003
Alicia Santos is a young woman from Riverbend City who has wanted to be an FBI agent since she was nine years old. After her military service, she passes the Police Officer Selection Test and all other requirements, and becomes a police officer with the Riverbend City Police Department.
2008
With five years of police experience, Alicia Santos decides that she has the right experience and skills for an FBI career, and starts applying.
2011
Alicia Santos has been applying to the FBI for almost four years with no success. But at her younger brother’s college soccer game, she meets Walter Crayton, a Treasury agent whose son John is on her brother’s team.
When Walter learns that Alicia has been applying with no success, he offers to talk to his friend – who just happens to be the Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the Washington, D.C. field office. “This is ridiculous!” he says. “Let me do what I can to break through the logjam.”
2013
Alicia Santos graduates from the FBI Academy and becomes an FBI agent.
2015
Walter’s son John starts his own training at the FBI Academy.
Three Days Ago
The following day, Mr. Brewer agrees to come to the precinct to answer some questions. After voluntarily being fingerprinted, he is escorted to a private room for questioning.
Agent Santos: What’s up, Agent Westlake?
Agent Westlake: There’s something I think you need to see.
Agent Santos: Okay, what’s that?
Agent Westlake: Early this morning, the trainees in the Constitutional Law course took an exam. The exam was under video surveillance, like always, but we usually don’t look at the footage unless we suspect something. But I had to step out and handle a small emergency for about 10 minutes. So I decided I needed to review the footage.
Now, if you look here, in the second seat of the third row from the window, this trainee is working right along, until…here.
Agent Santos: What am I looking at?
Agent Westlake: Can’t you see the white thing sticking out of his sleeve?
Agent Santos: Yes, but what is it?
Agent Westlake: It’s a cheat sheet.
Agent Santos: It’s too small to be a cheat sheet.
Agent Westlake: No, it’s not.
Agent Santos: Westlake, it’s a constitutional law course. You can’t even fit the words “constitutional law” on that thing.
Agent Westlake: Agent Santos, he stares at that thing more than once during the 10 minutes I’m out of the room.
Agent Santos: That doesn’t mean he’s cheating.
Agent Westlake: [sounds floored] What?
Agent Santos: We don’t know what that is. For all you know it’s a stray piece of fabric, or a reminder card to meditate.
Agent Westlake: Agent Santos, you’re reaching.
Agent Santos: I’m not reaching. I know who this trainee is.
Agent Westlake: I know you know.
Agent Santos: Well, I also know he wouldn’t cheat. He’s a good kid. He’s not like that.
Agent Westlake: Agent Santos.
Agent Santos: He wouldn’t! Does the video get any more conclusive than that? Because I can’t see launching an accusation of cheating based on that.
Agent Westlake: Santos. I know you like John.
Agent Santos: Dam right I do! But I also know him. He’s not cheating.
Agent Westlake: [Sighs] Look. I know you don’t want to believe this. I don’t either. I like John. But if this were any other trainee, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. We would already be scheduling a conversation with the trainee already to confront him with the evidence and ask him if he wants to tell us anything. You know it, and I know it.
Agent Santos: [Pauses] It’s not just John.
Agent Westlake: I know. It’s Walter.
Agent Santos: I owe my career to him.
Agent Westlake: I know.
Agent Santos: Shit.
What variables would you consider in determining your approach to the situation?
Would you report an FBI trainee for cheating on a written examination?
What are the possible implications of not reporting the misconduct?
Explanation / Answer
Q1: What variables would you consider in determining your approach to the situation?
A : If I had to handle the given situation, I would have never argued with agent Westlake whether John can or cannot cheat. See its not important whether John can or can not cheat in the examination, the main concern is, whether he was cheating or not. So after watching the video surveillance, i would have suggested to question John about that piece of paper he was looking at, during the exam. After that only we can approach to any particular conclusion.
Q2: Would you report an FBI trainee for cheating on a written examination?
A : I would definately report an FBI trainee for cheating on a written examination.
Q3: What are the possible implications of not reporting the misconduct?
A: In a situation like this, where a FBI trainee is cheating on a written examination, it must always be reported. If the supervisor fails to report this misconduct in any circumstances than there are few consequences:
a) if the candidate is not taking the eaxm seriously and is unprepared, than how we can we expect from him to take his duty seriously after completing the training.
b) the candidate has no ethics, can not be trusted, he....who breaks the law himself, how will he protect the law?
c) some other 'deserving' candidate might get rejected.
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