Definitions

1. "Department of Justice Law Enforcement Agency" or "JLEA" -
   
   
   1. The Drug Enforcement Administration;
   2. The Federal Bureau of Investigation;
   3. The Immigration and Naturalization Service;
   4. The United States Marshals Service; and
   5. The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.
2. "Field Manager" - a JLEA's first-line supervisor, as defined by the JLEA (typically, GS-14 rank or higher).
3. "Senior Field Manager" - a JLEA's second-line supervisor, as defined by the JLEA (typically, GS-15 rank or higher).
4. "Federal Prosecuting Office" or "FPO" -
   
   
   1. The United States Attorneys' Offices;
   2. The Criminal Division, Tax Division, Civil Rights Division, Antitrust Division, and Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice; and
   3. Any other litigating component of the Department of Justice with authority to prosecute federal criminal offenses.
5. "Chief Federal Prosecutor" - the head of a FPO.
6. "Confidential Informant" or "CI" - any individual who provides useful and credible information to a JLEA regarding felonious criminal activities, and from whom the JLEA expects or intends to obtain additional useful and credible information regarding such activities in the future.
7. "Cooperating Defendant/Witness" - any individual who:
   
   
   1. meets the definition of a CI;
   2. has agreed to testify in a proceeding as a result of having provided information to the JLEA; and
   3. 
      
      
      1. is a defendant or potential witness who has a written agreement with a FPO, pursuant to which the individual has an expectation of future judicial or prosecutive consideration or assistance as a result of having provided information to the JLEA, or
      2. is a potential witness who has had a FPO concur in all material aspects of his or her use by the JLEA.
8. "Source of Information" - any individual who:
   
   
   1. meets the definition of a CI;
   2. provides information to a JLEA solely as a result of legitimate routine access to information or records, such as an employee of the military, a law enforcement agency, or a legitimate business (e.g., phone company, banks, airlines), and not as a result of criminal association with persons of investigative interest to the JLEA; and
   3. provides such information in a manner consistent with applicable law.
9. "High Level Confidential Informant" - a CI who is part of the senior leadership of an enterprise that
   
   
   1. has: (i) a national or international sphere of activities, or (ii) high significance to the JLEA's national objectives, even if the enterprise's sphere of activities is local or regional; and
   2. engages in, or uses others to commit, any of the conduct described below in paragraph (I)(B)(10)(b)(i)-(iv).
10. "Tier 1 Otherwise Illegal Activity" - any activity that:
    
    
    1. would constitute a misdemeanor or felony under federal, state, or local law if engaged in by a person acting without authorization; and
    2. that involves -
       
       
       1. the commission, or the significant risk of the commission, of any act of violence by a person or persons other than the Confidential Informant;1
       2. corrupt conduct, or the significant risk of corrupt conduct, by senior federal, state, or local public officials;
       3. the manufacturing, importing, exporting, possession, or trafficking of controlled substances in a quantity equal to or exceeding those quantities specified in United States Sentencing Guidelines § 2D1.1(c)(1);
       4. financial loss, or the significant risk of financial loss, in an amount equal to or exceeding those amounts specified in United States Sentencing Guidelines § 2B1.1(b)(1)(I);2
       5. a Confidential Informant providing to any person (other than a JLEA agent) any item, service, or expertise that is necessary for the commission of a federal, state, or local offense, which the person otherwise would have difficulty obtaining; or
       6. a Confidential Informant providing to any person (other than a JLEA agent) any quantity of a controlled substance, with little or no expectation of its recovery by the JLEA.
11. "Tier 2 Otherwise Illegal Activity" - any other activity that would constitute a misdemeanor or felony under federal, state, or local law if engaged in by a person acting without authorization.
12. "Fugitive" - an individual:
    
    
    1. for whom a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency has placed a wanted record in the NCIC (other than for a traffic or petty offense);
    2. who is located either within the United States or in a country with which the United States has an extradition treaty; and
    3. whom the law enforcement agency that has placed the wanted record in the NCIC is willing to take into custody upon his or her arrest and, if necessary, seek his or her extradition to its jurisdiction.
13. "Confidential Informant Review Committee" or "CIRC" - a committee, created by a JLEA for purposes of reviewing certain decisions relating to the registration and utilization of CIs, the chair of which is a JLEA official at or above the level of Deputy Assistant Director (or its equivalent) and the membership of which includes the following two representatives designated by the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (each of whom shall be considered a "Criminal Division representative"): (i) a Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division; and (ii) an Assistant United States Attorney.

¹ Bookmaking that is significantly associated with, or substantially controlled by, organized crime ordinarily will be within the scope of paragraph (I)(B)(10)(b)(i). Thus, for example, where bookmakers have a financial relationship with members or associates of organized crime, and/or use members or associates of organized crime to collect their debts, the conduct of those bookmakers would create a significant risk of violence, and would therefore fall within the definition of Tier 1 Otherwise Illegal Activity.

² The citations to the United States Sentencing Guidelines (USSG) Manual are to the 2001 Edition. The references herein to particular USSG Sections are intended to remain applicable to the most closely corresponding USSG level in subsequent editions of the USSG Manual in the event that the cited USSG provisions are amended. Thus, it is intended that subsection (iii) of this paragraph will remain applicable to the highest offense level in the Drug Quantity Table in future editions of the USSG Manual, and that subsection (iv) of the paragraph will remain applicable to dollar amounts that, in future editions of the USSG Manual, trigger sentencing enhancements similar to that set forth in the current section 2B1.1(b)(1)(I). Any ambiguities in this regard should be resolved by the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division.

Last reviewed October 2024