An FBI agent who has spent his whole profession working instances and constructing relationships in Erie is now on the helm of the company’s native workplace.
Jason T. Crouse, 47, a 19-year veteran of the FBI, was just lately promoted to supervisory senior resident agent of the FBI workplaces in Erie and New Fort. Crouse fills a seat in Erie that was vacated this previous summer season by the retirement of Supervisory Particular Agent Mark Beneski.
The Erie FBI workplace covers seven counties in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Beneski mentioned Crouse is a good selection for the workplace, noting his expertise, drive and enthusiasm for the job.
“He is positively a hard-working man, positively devoted to the Erie space,” Beneski mentioned. “He is been right here a very long time, and in that time he is made numerous nice relationships all through the entire space.”
Crouse, a Pennsylvania native, earned an undergraduate diploma in legal justice on the College of Maryland, the place he joined the U.S. Military Reserves, and a regulation diploma from the College of Legislation at Wake Forest College. He labored as a public defender in Maryland for 2 years earlier than becoming a member of the FBI, fulfilling a childhood dream.
“Legislation enforcement was at all times behind my thoughts, one thing I at all times wished to do,” he mentioned. “As I progressed by means of faculty and regulation college, I at all times considered the FBI as the head of regulation enforcement, so that is what I set my sights on.”
Crouse began his profession with the FBI in Erie as coordinator of the Erie Space Gang Legislation Enforcement process drive, or E.A.G.L.E., a place he held for seven years. The duty drive, in place because the Nineties, entails representatives of varied federal, state and native regulation enforcement businesses who work to fight violent crime, together with drug and gun crime.
Crouse mentioned he later transitioned to violent crimes towards youngsters, which he did for about 10 years.
“Whereas that was my major focus, primarily based on small quantity brokers now we have right here and the broad spectrum of investigations now we have to undertake, I’ve had expertise in all these violations. So I’ve labored counterterrorism investigations, financial institution theft, white collar fraud, well being care fraud. And never at all times as a case agent accountable for an investigation however actually in a supporting position right here,” he mentioned.
Crouse mentioned that whereas the primary precedence of the Erie FBI workplace, in addition to the whole company, is on nationwide safety and counterterrorism, the large points that the FBI is specializing in within the area embrace a rise in violence, a rise in shootings and the fentanyl epidemic.
“We even have the crimes towards youngsters menace that’s quickly increasing,” he mentioned.
Crouse mentioned the COVID pandemic put youngsters at residence extra and on-line extra, and it put adults inside extra and on-line extra.
“So the perpetrators had extra entry to a larger pool of victims,” he mentioned. “The victims are on their units for longer durations of time, so these instances elevated dramatically.”
One other side to that’s when youngsters are at residence and have much less publicity to the neighborhood, there are “much less crimson flags to see,” Crouse mentioned.
“Academics do not observe it, coaches do not observe it, church members do not observe it. All that mixed made them very weak in a really harmful time,” he mentioned. “With the rise in social media platforms and the know-how, all of that’s resulting in a big menace in our space and throughout the nation.”
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Crouse mentioned his key focus as head of the Erie FBI workplace is on strengthening its partnerships with different regulation enforcement businesses by enhancing these relationships that exist and constructing them the place they do not.
“I consider everyone seems to be more practical once we work collectively on initiatives,” he mentioned. “There are issues that state and native regulation enforcement do higher than we will, and I believe there’s some experience that we will deliver to investigations that possibly state and native regulation enforcement both do not have or do not have readily accessible to them. So I am at all times searching for avenues to use what we will deliver to the desk to boost the investigations and type these partnerships.”
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Crouse mentioned he likes working within the Erie FBI workplace for a wide range of causes. One is for the standard of labor, as brokers in a smaller workplace similar to Erie work each FBI investigative program.
“So the range of labor is implausible. It provides us all alternatives to discover issues,” he mentioned.
Crouse, who’s married and has six youngsters, mentioned he additionally enjoys the standard of life within the Erie space.
“It is an ideal place to work. The neighborhood may be very supportive, state and native regulation enforcement may be very supportive. So all of these issues mixed make this a really wanted workplace, for my part,” he mentioned.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Comply with him on Twitter @ETNhahn.
