Objective
We evaluated 163 Military Criminal Investigative Organization (MCIO) investigations of sexual assaults of children closed in 2012 to determine whether the MCIOs completed investigations as required by DoD, Military Service, and MCIO guidance. Our evaluation focused on:
- whether the MCIOs investigated child sexual assaults as required by guiding policies and procedures.
Findings
- A total of 153 of 163 MCIO investigations (94 percent) met investigative standards.
- A total of 10 of 163 MCIO investigations (6 percent) had significant deficiencies. We returned those 10 cases to the MCIOs for follow-up corrective action.
- A total of 57 of the 163 cases had no investigative deficiencies.
- The remaining 96 cases had minor deficiencies that had no impact on the outcome or resolution of the investigation.
- All three MCIOs had instances in which:
- they either did not issue or did not properly document the issuance of the DD Form 2701, “Initial Information for Victims and Witnesses of Crime,” to victims or the appropriate guardian or family member;
- subject, victim, and witness interviews were not thorough;
- logical investigative leads, such as interviews of witnesses, or leads gleaned during interviews were not addressed or conducted; and
- physical or digital evidence was not collected.
Recommendations
- The Director and Commanders of the MCIOs:
- continue to emphasize thorough completion of all child sexual assault investigations,
- implement measures to improve the issuing and/or recording the DD Form 2701, and
- consider enhancement of existing policy guidance regarding the collection of clothing and digital evidence
- The Director, Naval Criminal Investigative Service improve guidance and enhance supervision regarding responses to crime scenes.
Management Comments and Our Response
Management comments were generally responsive; however, the Commander, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) expressed concern regarding our review processes. The project’s evaluation and reporting processes were independently evaluated and were found to comply with the Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) standards. We considered management comments on a draft of this report when preparing the final report and made changes as appropriate.