Criminal Intelligence Systems Operating Policies (28 CFR part 23)

e-CFR data is current as of January 27, 2021
Title 28 → Chapter I → Part 23
Title 28: Judicial Administration
PART 23—CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS OPERATING POLICIES
Contents
§23.1 Purpose.
§23.2 Background.
§23.3 Applicability.
§23.20 Operating principles.
§23.30 Funding guidelines.
§23.40 Monitoring and auditing of grants for the funding of intelligence systems.
A

S

: 42 U.S.C. 3782(a); 42 U.S.C. 3789g(c).

: 58 FR 48452, Sept. 16, 1993, unless otherwise noted.

Back to Top
§23.1 Purpose.
The purpose of this regulation is to assure that all criminal intelligence systems operating
through support under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C.
3711, et seq., as amended (Pub. L. 90-351, as amended by Pub. L. 91-644, Pub. L. 93-83,
Pub. L. 93-415, Pub. L. 94-430, Pub. L. 94-503, Pub. L. 95-115, Pub. L. 96-157, Pub. L. 98473, Pub. L. 99-570, Pub. L. 100-690, and Pub. L. 101-647), are utilized in conformance with
the privacy and constitutional rights of individuals.
Back to Top
§23.2 Background.
It is recognized that certain criminal activities including but not limited to loan sharking,
drug trafficking, trafficking in stolen property, gambling, extortion, smuggling, bribery, and
corruption of public officials often involve some degree of regular coordination and permanent
organization involving a large number of participants over a broad geographical area. The
exposure of such ongoing networks of criminal activity can be aided by the pooling of
information about such activities. However, because the collection and exchange of
intelligence data necessary to support control of serious criminal activity may represent
potential threats to the privacy of individuals to whom such data relates, policy guidelines for
Federally funded projects are required.
Back to Top

§23.3 Applicability.
(a) These policy standards are applicable to all criminal intelligence systems operating
through support under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C.
3711, et seq., as amended (Pub. L. 90-351, as amended by Pub. L. 91-644, Pub. L. 93-83,
Pub. L. 93-415, Pub. L. 94-430, Pub. L. 94-503, Pub. L. 95-115, Pub. L. 96-157, Pub. L. 98473, Pub. L. 99-570, Pub. L. 100-690, and Pub. L. 101-647).
(b) As used in these policies:
(1) Criminal Intelligence System or Intelligence System means the arrangements,
equipment, facilities, and procedures used for the receipt, storage, interagency exchange or
dissemination, and analysis of criminal intelligence information;
(2) Interjurisdictional Intelligence System means an intelligence system which involves
two or more participating agencies representing different governmental units or jurisdictions;
(3) Criminal Intelligence Information means data which has been evaluated to determine
that it:
(i) Is relevant to the identification of and the criminal activity engaged in by an individual
who or organization which is reasonably suspected of involvement in criminal activity, and
(ii) Meets criminal intelligence system submission criteria;
(4) Participating Agency means an agency of local, county, State, Federal, or other
governmental unit which exercises law enforcement or criminal investigation authority and
which is authorized to submit and receive criminal intelligence information through an
interjurisdictional intelligence system. A participating agency may be a member or a
nonmember of an interjurisdictional intelligence system;
(5) Intelligence Project or Project means the organizational unit which operates an
intelligence system on behalf of and for the benefit of a single agency or the organization
which operates an interjurisdictional intelligence system on behalf of a group of participating
agencies; and
(6) Validation of Information means the procedures governing the periodic review of
criminal intelligence information to assure its continuing compliance with system submission
criteria established by regulation or program policy.
Back to Top
§23.20 Operating principles.
(a) A project shall collect and maintain criminal intelligence information concerning an
individual only if there is reasonable suspicion that the individual is involved in criminal
conduct or activity and the information is relevant to that criminal conduct or activity.

(b) A project shall not collect or maintain criminal intelligence information about the
political, religious or social views, associations, or activities of any individual or any group,
association, corporation, business, partnership, or other organization unless such information
directly relates to criminal conduct or activity and there is reasonable suspicion that the
subject of the information is or may be involved in criminal conduct or activity.
(c) Reasonable Suspicion or Criminal Predicate is established when information exists
which establishes sufficient facts to give a trained law enforcement or criminal investigative
agency officer, investigator, or employee a basis to believe that there is a reasonable
possibility that an individual or organization is involved in a definable criminal activity or
enterprise. In an interjurisdictional intelligence system, the project is responsible for
establishing the existence of reasonable suspicion of criminal activity either through
examination of supporting information submitted by a participating agency or by delegation of
this responsibility to a properly trained participating agency which is subject to routine
inspection and audit procedures established by the project.
(d) A project shall not include in any criminal intelligence system information which has
been obtained in violation of any applicable Federal, State, or local law or ordinance. In an
interjurisdictional intelligence system, the project is responsible for establishing that no
information is entered in violation of Federal, State, or local laws, either through examination
of supporting information submitted by a participating agency or by delegation of this
responsibility to a properly trained participating agency which is subject to routine inspection
and audit procedures established by the project.
(e) A project or authorized recipient shall disseminate criminal intelligence information
only where there is a need to know and a right to know the information in the performance of a
law enforcement activity.
(f)(1) Except as noted in paragraph (f)(2) of this section, a project shall disseminate
criminal intelligence information only to law enforcement authorities who shall agree to follow
procedures regarding information receipt, maintenance, security, and dissemination which are
consistent with these principles.
(2) Paragraph (f)(1) of this section shall not limit the dissemination of an assessment of
criminal intelligence information to a government official or to any other individual, when
necessary, to avoid imminent danger to life or property.
(g) A project maintaining criminal intelligence information shall ensure that administrative,
technical, and physical safeguards (including audit trails) are adopted to insure against
unauthorized access and against intentional or unintentional damage. A record indicating who
has been given information, the reason for release of the information, and the date of each
dissemination outside the project shall be kept. Information shall be labeled to indicate levels
of sensitivity, levels of confidence, and the identity of submitting agencies and control officials.
Each project must establish written definitions for the need to know and right to know
standards for dissemination to other agencies as provided in paragraph (e) of this section. The
project is responsible for establishing the existence of an inquirer's need to know and right to
know the information being requested either through inquiry or by delegation of this

responsibility to a properly trained participating agency which is subject to routine inspection
and audit procedures established by the project. Each intelligence project shall assure that the
following security requirements are implemented:
(1) Where appropriate, projects must adopt effective and technologically advanced
computer software and hardware designs to prevent unauthorized access to the information
contained in the system;
(2) The project must restrict access to its facilities, operating environment and
documentation to organizations and personnel authorized by the project;
(3) The project must store information in the system in a manner such that it cannot be
modified, destroyed, accessed, or purged without authorization;
(4) The project must institute procedures to protect criminal intelligence information from
unauthorized access, theft, sabotage, fire, flood, or other natural or manmade disaster;
(5) The project must promulgate rules and regulations based on good cause for
implementing its authority to screen, reject for employment, transfer, or remove personnel
authorized to have direct access to the system; and
(6) A project may authorize and utilize remote (off-premises) system data bases to the
extent that they comply with these security requirements.
(h) All projects shall adopt procedures to assure that all information which is retained by a
project has relevancy and importance. Such procedures shall provide for the periodic review
of information and the destruction of any information which is misleading, obsolete or
otherwise unreliable and shall require that any recipient agencies be advised of such changes
which involve errors or corrections. All information retained as a result of this review must
reflect the name of the reviewer, date of review and explanation of decision to retain.
Information retained in the system must be reviewed and validated for continuing compliance
with system submission criteria before the expiration of its retention period, which in no event
shall be longer than five (5) years.
(i) If funds awarded under the Act are used to support the operation of an intelligence
system, then:
(1) No project shall make direct remote terminal access to intelligence information
available to system participants, except as specifically approved by the Office of Justice
Programs (OJP) based on a determination that the system has adequate policies and
procedures in place to insure that it is accessible only to authorized systems users; and
(2) A project shall undertake no major modifications to system design without prior grantor
agency approval.
(ii) [Reserved]

(j) A project shall notify the grantor agency prior to initiation of formal information
exchange procedures with any Federal, State, regional, or other information systems not
indicated in the grant documents as initially approved at time of award.
(k) A project shall make assurances that there will be no purchase or use in the course of
the project of any electronic, mechanical, or other device for surveillance purposes that is in
violation of the provisions of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, Public Law
99-508, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2520, 2701-2709 and 3121-3125, or any applicable State statute
related to wiretapping and surveillance.
(l) A project shall make assurances that there will be no harassment or interference with
any lawful political activities as part of the intelligence operation.
(m) A project shall adopt sanctions for unauthorized access, utilization, or disclosure of
information contained in the system.
(n) A participating agency of an interjurisdictional intelligence system must maintain in its
agency files information which documents each submission to the system and supports
compliance with project entry criteria. Participating agency files supporting system
submissions must be made available for reasonable audit and inspection by project
representatives. Project representatives will conduct participating agency inspection and audit
in such a manner so as to protect the confidentiality and sensitivity of participating agency
intelligence records.
(o) The Attorney General or designee may waive, in whole or in part, the applicability of a
particular requirement or requirements contained in this part with respect to a criminal
intelligence system, or for a class of submitters or users of such system, upon a clear and
convincing showing that such waiver would enhance the collection, maintenance or
dissemination of information in the criminal intelligence system, while ensuring that such
system would not be utilized in violation of the privacy and constitutional rights of individuals or
any applicable state or federal law.
Back to Top
§23.30 Funding guidelines.
The following funding guidelines shall apply to all Crime Control Act funded discretionary
assistance awards and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) formula grant program subgrants,
a purpose of which is to support the operation of an intelligence system. Intelligence systems
shall only be funded where a grantee/subgrantee agrees to adhere to the principles set forth
above and the project meets the following criteria:
(a) The proposed collection and exchange of criminal intelligence information has been
coordinated with and will support ongoing or proposed investigatory or prosecutorial activities
relating to specific areas of criminal activity.
(b) The areas of criminal activity for which intelligence information is to be utilized
represent a significant and recognized threat to the population and:

(1) Are either undertaken for the purpose of seeking illegal power or profits or pose a
threat to the life and property of citizens; and
(2) Involve a significant degree of permanent criminal organization; or
(3) Are not limited to one jurisdiction.
(c) The head of a government agency or an individual with general policy making
authority who has been expressly delegated such control and supervision by the head of the
agency will retain control and supervision of information collection and dissemination for the
criminal intelligence system. This official shall certify in writing that he or she takes full
responsibility and will be accountable for the information maintained by and disseminated from
the system and that the operation of the system will be in compliance with the principles set
forth in §23.20.
(d)(1) Where the system is an interjurisdictional criminal intelligence system, the
governmental agency which exercises control and supervision over the operation of the
system shall require that the head of that agency or an individual with general policymaking
authority who has been expressly delegated such control and supervision by the head of the
agency:
(i) Assume official responsibility and accountability for actions taken in the name of the
joint entity, and
(ii) Certify in writing that the official takes full responsibility and will be accountable for
insuring that the information transmitted to the interjurisdictional system or to participating
agencies will be in compliance with the principles set forth in §23.20.
(2) The principles set forth in §23.20 shall be made part of the by-laws or operating
procedures for that system. Each participating agency, as a condition of participation, must
accept in writing those principles which govern the submission, maintenance and
dissemination of information included as part of the interjurisdictional system.
(e) Intelligence information will be collected, maintained and disseminated primarily for
State and local law enforcement efforts, including efforts involving Federal participation.
Back to Top
§23.40 Monitoring and auditing of grants for the funding of intelligence systems.
(a) Awards for the funding of intelligence systems will receive specialized monitoring and
audit in accordance with a plan designed to insure compliance with operating principles as set
forth in §23.20. The plan shall be approved prior to award of funds.
(b) All such awards shall be subject to a special condition requiring compliance with the
principles set forth in §23.20.

(c) An annual notice will be published by OJP which will indicate the existence and the
objective of all systems for the continuing interjurisdictional exchange of criminal intelligence
information which are subject to the 28 CFR part 23 Criminal Intelligence Systems Policies.