If you walked through the squad areas of our FBI Omaha field office, you would see desks laden with computers, evidence reports, surveillance photographs, policy manuals, tactical gear and family photos. However, you might be hard-pressed to know if the desk belonged to an FBI agent, police officer, sheriff’s deputy or state trooper. To a greater degree than many people realize, we work shoulder-to-shoulder with our state and local partners every day to combat criminal and national security threats across Nebraska and Iowa.

Over 100 officers, deputies, and troopers from over 40 departments partner with us on 13 FBI Task Forces across Nebraska and Iowa. Our Task Forces investigate and mitigate gang violence, drug trafficking organizations, crimes against children, human trafficking, cybercrime, terrorism, violent crime and federal crimes on tribal lands. This combination of federal investigative resources with local expertise is a force multiplier for all of us. The dedication, professionalism, expertise and sheer work ethic of our task force officers is critical to our mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution.

In 2023, we worked with our partners to make over 330 arrests across Nebraska and Iowa. We obtained over 500 search warrants for physical locations and digital evidence. We took over 200 weapons off the street. In one drug trafficking case, we worked with our partners to arrest, indict, convict and sentence 11 individuals responsible for distributing 500-1,000 fentanyl pills a day in Omaha and Council Bluffs. Six drug deaths were attributed to this network. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49. It has fueled the opioid epidemic ravaging families and communities across the United States.

In 2024 we will continue focusing efforts on dismantling and disrupting drug trafficking organizations, violent gangs and violent criminals targeting our neighborhoods. Even when no federal crime will be prosecuted, we often provide our partners with tactical, technical, crisis negotiation, victim assistance and analytical resources. In one example, following a request from the Gering police chief and Scotts Bluff County sheriff, our national Hostage Rescue Team, local SWAT team, and crisis negotiators responded to help resolve a hostage situation in Gering this September.

Since the attacks by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7, we have worked closely with our Jewish, Muslim and Arab-American communities to prevent and respond to threats of violence. No member of our community should be targeted because of who they are, how they identify or where they worship. We provided active shooter awareness training to hundreds of citizens representing churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, community groups and businesses in our area.

While it is unthinkable, every year children continue to become victims of crime, through kidnappings, sexual abuse or human trafficking. In 2023, FBI Omaha put over 70 child predators behind bars. One investigation resulted in a sentence of 60 years for one defendant and 52 years for another. Our mission to identify, locate and recover child victims and bring predators to justice will remain one of our highest priorities in 2024.

For all these programs, there will be challenges in the year ahead. Not only will threats evolve, but we also face the emerging challenge of losing access to evidence due to encryption. Criminals and terrorists across the spectrum are increasingly using warrant-proof encrypted devices and communication services to hinder law enforcement. This challenge affects all our law enforcement partners, impeding our ability to protect the American people from violent crime, cyber-attacks, public corruption, hate crimes, violence against children, drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism.

The approach of a new year is often a time for reflection and aspirations for the year to come. For our field office, we are profoundly grateful for the contributions of our task force officers. We look forward to strengthening existing law enforcement, community and private-sector partnerships and building new ones. But we need your help. Our success is directly correlated to the assistance and trust of the community we serve. As the criminal, cyber and national security threats we face continue to evolve, the FBI’s commitment to innovate, address the threats coming over the horizon, protect the American people and uphold the Constitution remains steadfast. And the federal, local, state and tribal partners who serve on our task forces are the most vital partners we have.

This editorial was republished from the Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. It is part of the national nonprofit States Newsroom. Find more at nebraskaexaminer.com.