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703

Utilization of Persons in Custody of BOP or USMS for Investigative Purposes, or as Targets of Investigative Activity

Requests by investigative agencies to use persons who are in the custody of the USMS or BOP, or who are under BOP supervision, for investigative purposes, or as targets of covert investigative activity, must be submitted, in writing, by personnel at the agency's headquarters to the Chief of the Witness Security and Special Operations Unit, OEO, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Criminal Division, OEO, JCK Building, Suite 1100, Washington, D.C. 20530, or faxed to (202) 514-5143. (For security reasons, documents containing sensitive information are not to be e-mailed to OEO.)

All requests to OEO for approval for the investigative utilization, or targeting in a covert capacity, of a person in the custody of the BOP or the USMS, whether by Federal, State, or local authorities, must contain, at a minimum, all of the information listed below:

  1. Identification data:

    1. Name/Race/Sex
    2. DOB/POB/Citizenship
    3. Federal Register #
    4. FBI #
    5. SS #
    6. Miscellaneous #s

  2. Current Location of Individual: Facility/City/State.

  3. Agency having custody, or supervision, of prisoner.

  4. Charges, including specific statutes, for which individual is being detained, whether sentenced or unsentenced, and sentencing details, including date.

  5. Copy of arrest record.

  6. Discussion of the necessity of using the individual in the investigation, including alternative investigative techniques which have been tried or considered, and why these techniques have not worked or have not been tried.

  7. Name(s) and DOB(s) of the target(s) of the investigation, role in the crime or organization under investigation, relationship to or association with the person whose use is requested, and a citation to the principal criminal statute(s) involving the target.

  8. Whether the target(s) is/are aware of the cooperator's arrest or incarceration. If so, indicate any cover story to be used to mask cooperation in order to safeguard both the cooperating individual and the investigation.

  9. Details of the activity in which the prisoner will be involved:

    1. Role of the prisoner whose use is requested;
    2. Length of time needed;
    3. Whether the individual must be released from custody of the USMS or BOP and, if so, into whose custody;

    4. Details of surveillance to be conducted to ensure the prisoner's safety and to alleviate the risk to the public and to prevent escape (this must include the number of agents/officers to be assigned to the security detail and which law enforcement agencies they represent); and,

    5. Use of surveillance devices (body wires, video, etc.) and where they will be hidden, whether they will be monitored in real time, and, if so, by which agency.

  10. Whether the individual is expected to be needed as a witness.

  11. Whether a redesignation in custodial location is expected to be necessary during, or upon completion of, the investigative activity.

  12. Whether or not the cooperating individual is represented by counsel and, if so, an acknowledgement by the agency that the counsel concurs with his or her client's participation in this activity; whether or not the cooperating individual is facing pending criminal charges. (If the cooperating individual is facing pending criminal charges but is not represented by counsel, the agency must indicate that the cooperating individual is participating in the activity voluntarily and does not wish to consult with an attorney.)

  13. Name, district, and telephone number of Federal prosecutor endorsing the requested activity.

  14. Acknowledgement by the agency that the Federal prosecutor has considered the entrapment issue and foresees no issues.

  15. Acknowledgement by the agency that the Federal prosecutor has determined that the planned operation is not violative of 28 U.S.C. Section 530(B) or the Attorney General's "Contact with Represented Persons" guidelines with regard to either the cooperating individual or any target(s) or other persons to be contacted during this operation. See USAM 9-13.200 et seq. and 28 CFR Part 77.

  16. Reason for the prisoner's cooperation.

  17. Whether or not the activity is part of an OCDETF case.

[updated January 2009] [cited in USAM 9-21.050]