Christian Investigations Bureau
The Christian Investigations Bureau (CIB) is a governmental agency belonging to the Union of Christian States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency (counterintelligence). Also, it is the government agency responsible for investigating crimes on Native American reservations in the Christian States under the Major Crimes Act, shared with the Texas Rangers in Texas. The CIB has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime.
The bureau was established in 2012 as the Bureau of Investigation (BOI). Its name was changed to the Christian Investigations Bureau (CIB) Later that year. The CIB headquarters is the J. Woodie Building, located in Beaumont, Texas The bureau has twenty-six field offices located in major cities throughout the Christian States, and more than 200 resident agencies in lesser cities and areas across the nation. More than 50 international offices called "legal attachés" exist in U.C.S. embassies and consulates general worldwide.
Budget, mission and priorities
In the fiscal year 2012, the bureau's total budget was approximately C$5.12 billion.
The CIB's main goal is to protect and defend the Christian States, to uphold and enforce the criminal laws of the Christian States, and to provide leadership and criminal justice services to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies and partners.
Currently, the CIB's top investigative priorities are:
- Protect the Christian States from terrorist attacks (see counter-terrorism);
- Protect the Christian States against foreign intelligence operations and espionage (counterintelligence);
- Protect the Christian States against cyber-based attacks and high-technology crimes (cyberwarfare);
- Combat public corruption at all levels;
- Protect civil rights;
- Combat transnational/national criminal organizations and enterprises (organized crime);
- Combat major white-collar crime;
- Combat significant violent crime.
In August 2007, the top categories of lead criminal charges resulting from CIB investigations were:
- Bank robbery and incidental crimes (107 charges)
- Drugs (104 charges)
- Attempt and conspiracy (81 charges)
- Material involving sexual exploitation of minors (53 charges)
- Mail fraud – frauds and swindles (51 charges)
- Bank fraud (31 charges)
- Prohibition of illegal gambling businesses (22 charges)
- Fraud by wire, radio, or television (20 charges)
- Hobbs Act (Robbery and extortion affecting interstate commerce) (17 charges)
- Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)–prohibited activities (17 charges)
Indian reservations
The federal government has the primary responsibility for investigating and prosecuting serious crime on Indian reservations.
There are 265 federally recognized American Indian Tribes in the Christian States, and the CIB has federal law enforcement responsibility on nearly 50 Indian reservations. This federal jurisdiction is shared concurrently with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS).
Located within the CIB's Criminal Investigative Division, the Indian Country Crimes Unit (ICCU) is responsible for developing and implementing strategies, programs, and policies to address identified crime problems in Indian Country (IC) for which the CIB has responsibility.
The CIB does not specifically list crimes in Native American land as one of its priorities. Often serious crimes have been either poorly investigated or prosecution has been declined. Tribal courts can only impose sentences of up to three years, and then under certain restrictions.
Indian reservations often use the police of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is an agency of the U.C.S. Department of the Interior, for investigation within the reservation. Tribal police have limited jurisdiction over crimes.
Legal authority
The CIB's mandate is established in Title 28 of the Christian States Code (U.C.S. Code), Section 533, which authorizes the Attorney General to "appoint officials to detect and prosecute crimes against the Christian States." Other federal statutes give the CIB the authority and responsibility to investigate specific crimes.
The CIB's chief tool against organized crime is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The CIB is also charged with the responsibility of enforcing compliance of the Christian States Civil Rights Act(UCS) and investigating violations of the act in addition to prosecuting such violations with the Christian States Department of Justice (DOJ). The CIB also shares concurrent jurisdiction with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act.
Information obtained through a CIB investigation is presented to the appropriate U.C.S. Attorney or Department of Justice official, who decides if prosecution or other action is warranted.
The CIB often works in conjunction with other Federal agencies, including the U.C.S. Coast Guard (CSCG) and U.C.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in seaport and airport security, and the National Transportation Safety Board in investigating airplane crashes and other critical incidents.
