ICE, Memorandum: Coordination of Investigative Activity - May 12, 2008

U.S. Deparfmtnt af Hometnd Sceuri$ 4 2 5 I S t r e P ~ N W Washington, DC 20536 U.S. -1rnmigration and Customs Edorcemmt MAY 1 2 2008 MEMORANDUM FOR: FROM: Assistant Directors Deputy Assistant Directors All Special Agents in Charge M m y M. Forman qfl f- Director SUBJECT: Coordination of Investigative Activity This memorandum is being sent as a reminder that all investigative activity occurring in multiple SAC AORs must be coordinated by the affected SAC offices at the earliest possible o p p o w t y . There have been several recent incidents involving investigative activity that originated in one SAC AOR and later extended into another AOR without adequate notification, coordination and deconfliction between offices. A failure to coordinate jeopardks the safety of law enforcement officers, coniidential informants andlor the public. Moreover, it is detrimental to the mission and success of the Office of Tnvestigations.

Effective immediately, each SAC will be held accountable for timely and proper notification to other offices when investigations overlap jurisdictions or may belong in another SAC'S AOR. At no time should a SAC office initiate an investigation of a person or organization when the primary violation or venue occurs outside their AOR without first coordinating and deconflicting with the affected SAC office. The SAC is ultimateIy responsible for evaluating investigative leads and determining if they should be investigated within hisher AOR or if they should be referred to another SAC for investigation. Regardless of the decision, it is the responsibility of the SAC andlor his designee (not lower than a DSACIASAC) to coordinate these activities prior to initiating an investigation.

Overlapping jurisdictional investigations are a common occurrence in federal law enforcement and, as such, require cooperation by a11 affected parties to achieve maximum results. SACS should make every effort to resolve overlapping jurisdictional issues at the field level prior to elevating such matters to the Assistant Directors for Operations.