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Attorney General's Guidelines on Domestic Security/Terrorism Investigations

NCJ Number
89512
Date Published
1983
Length
21 pages
Annotation
These guidelines cover general principles for all investigations, general crimes investigations, criminal intelligence investigations, investigative techniques, information dissemination, and cooperation with the Secret Service.
Abstract
In the statement of general principles, it is stated that preliminary inquiries and investigations governed by the guidelines are conducted for the purposes of preventing, detecting, or prosecuting violations of Federal law and that they shall be conducted with as little intrusion into the privacy of persons as the needs of the situation permit. The guidelines for general crimes investigations cover definitions of 'exigent circumstances' and 'sensitive criminal matter,' preliminary inquiries, and investigations. Guidelines for criminal intelligence investigations cover racketeering enterprise investigations and domestic security and terrorism investigations. The racketeering investigations focus on enterprises engaged in racketeering activities involving violence, extortion, or public corruption, and the domestic security/terrorism investigations are concerned with enterprises which seek to achieve political or social change through violence. The guidelines for both types of investigations pertain to general authority, purpose, scope, and authorization and renewal. In the section on investigative techniques, restrictions on various techniques are noted. Conditions are specified for the dissemination of information to another Federal agency or criminal justice agency during investigations.