9.9.1 Employee Criminal Investigation Management Information System Responsibilities and Procedures

Manual Transmittal

October 27, 2017

Purpose

(1) This transmits revised text for IRM 9.9.1, Employee Criminal Investigation Management Information System Responsibilities and Procedures.

Material Changes

(1) IRM 9.9.1 is revised in its entirety to expand on the Criminal Investigation Management Information System (CIMIS) database details; its input documents; and the responsibilities and duties of CI employees and specialty units to ensure that the database contains accurate and timely information.

(2) Subsection 9.9.1.1 is revised to include internal controls as mandated by the IRS Deputy Commissioners’ September 14, 2016, Heightened Awareness, Sensitivity, and Understanding of Internal Controls memorandum to the Senior Executives.

Effect on Other Documents

This IRM supersedes IRM 9.9.1 dated March 25, 2011.

Audience

CI

Effective Date

(10-27-2017)


Eric C. Hylton for Don Fort
Chief, Criminal Investigation

Program Scope and Objectives

  1. This section is designed to describe the Criminal Investigation Management Information System (CIMIS) database, its input documents, and the responsibilities and duties of various Criminal Investigation (CI) employees and specialty units to ensure that the database contains accurate and timely information.

Authority

  1. See IRM 9.1.2, Authority for the delegated authority relating to 9.9.1.

Acronyms

  1. Acronym Definition
    ASAC Assistant Special Agent in Charge
    CI Criminal Investigation
    CI-OPS Criminal Investigation-Operations Policy & Support
    CIMIS Criminal Investigation Management Information System
    COP Conditions of Probation
    CSA Compliance Support Assistant
    GI General Investigation
    GOV Government Owned (Operated) Vehicle
    HQ Headquarters
    IDRS Integrated Data Retrieval System
    IDS Investigation Development and Support
    IRS-CI Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation
    JCO Judgment & Commitment Order
    NCIU Nationally Coordinated Investigations Unit
    OL5081 Online 5081 – IRS electronic system used to track CIMIS access approval
    OPS Office of Operations, Policy & Support
    PI Primary Investigation
    POD Post of Duty
    QRP Questionable Refund Program
    RAC Resident Agent in Charge
    RPP Return Preparer Program
    SA Special Agent
    SAC Special Agent in Charge
    SAR Special Agent’s Report
    SCI Subject Criminal Investigation
    SDC Scheme Development Center
    SIA Seizure Investigative Activity
    SME Subject Matter Expert
    SSA Supervisory Special Agent
    TFIA Tax Fraud Investigative Aide
    TIMS Total Inventory Management System
    TIN Taxpayer Identification Number
    USC United States Code

Description

  1. The CIMIS is a web-based application which provides a central location for users with various levels of access to input, monitor, and report on CI employee information, investigative equipment, investigations, and time reporting. The CIMIS integrates various CI management systems composed of systems that track the status and progress of CI investigations, time expended by CI employees on investigations (Monthly Activity Reports), employee (Personnel) information, and investigative equipment. Authenticated and authorized users can enter specific data for validating online transactions, processing of queries, and integrating report features. Data from this application may also be exported to other CI applications, as well as affiliated Federal and State government agencies.

Input Documents

  1. Information regarding CI employees, investigative equipment and motor vehicles, and criminal investigations is entered directly into the application from various source documents. Because the information is being entered by the same person who would ordinarily handle preparation of any input form(s), senior management made the decision to eliminate the extra process steps and have the employee enter the information directly into the application. In situations where support staff is providing assistance with the input of investigative information, it is expected that the lead agent or manager will provide all necessary guidance to the staff, including source documents, to ensure that accurate data is entered into CIMIS in a timely fashion.

  2. The recommended method of recording in CIMIS all 1811 time expended on investigative and non-investigative activities is for the individual reporting the time to use the “Upload 5043 from Diary” activity in CIMIS. This activity was designed to allow the user, with a few simple keystrokes, to pull the pertinent data from his/her local Diary application file into CIMIS, thereby eliminating the need to essentially perform dual input of the data (i.e., record it first in the Diary and then record it again in CIMIS). This input method will only work for an individual uploading his/her personal diary file. If a manager or other designee needs to enter time reporting information from an agent’s diary into CIMIS, it will have to be done by “manual” input as described below.

  3. As an alternative to using the “Upload 5043 from Diary” activity, a Form 5043, the Criminal Investigation Monthly Activity Report, that has either been printed from an agent’s diary or prepared manually, may be used as an input form when entering special agent time into the system through the “Add New 5043” manual input activity.

  4. The manual input of mileage and usage information for the GOV in the CI fleet is performed on a monthly basis by administrative support staff. The input form used for this information is typically the IRS-CI Government Owned Vehicle Usage Report, a periodic report generated from the Diary application by special agents.

  5. Entry of necessary information to create a new CI employee or non-CI employee profile in CIMIS can be done from any reliable data source(s). For the sake of convenience and consistency, an Excel worksheet was created by HQ CIMIS staff and is accessible on the CI Connections CIMIS Reference Materials website under the Personnel link.

Procedures and Responsibilities of Criminal Investigation Employees

  1. Source documentation regarding investigation updates should be gathered, analyzed and prepared so that the data is input on the same day the investigative action takes place but no later than five calendar days following the investigative action. In this case, the five calendar days “timeliness rule” specifically refers to inputting status updates on SCIs approved for work in CIMIS. However, it is imperative that all investigative information is input in a timely manner.

  2. Monthly activity time expended by all CI special agents should be uploaded or input no later than the second workday of the subsequent calendar month to allow for that time to be included in the monthly data snapshot. The agent needn’t wait until the last minute (i.e., the first or second workday) to upload/ input his/her time because monthly activity time can be recorded in CIMIS for future dates and subsequently updated if necessary.

  3. Source documentation regarding personnel updates is to be gathered and submitted to update the employee profile, as soon as the change occurs (e.g., change in grade and/or position, move to a new POD, transfer or detail to another assigned CI office/group, completion of training, new room or phone numbers, etc.).

  4. Source documentation regarding monthly GOV usage and mileage should be gathered, analyzed and input into CIMIS no later than the 5th workday of the subsequent month.

  5. The responsibility for the accuracy of the database rests with each CI employee. The following subsections describe those responsibilities and the corresponding procedures.

Special Agents

  1. Special agents are responsible for updating CIMIS when an investigative action takes place for immediate review and approval by his/her manager. At management discretion, or in the event that the SA is off the CI network and cannot log into CIMIS in a timely manner, the SA will gather, analyze, and submit to designated support staff (i.e., SME, CSA, TFIA, etc.) the source documentation needed to input the investigative action into CIMIS. See subsections 9.9.1.4.8 through 9.9.1.4.10 for further descriptions of designated support staff and their responsibilities.

  2. Special agents are responsible for inputting their monthly activity into CIMIS, either through the “Upload Diary to CIMIS” activity or by entering the information manually through the “Add New 5043” activity, so that it is in the database no later than the second workday of the subsequent month. This policy helps ensure that management and HQ staff has the most accurate data available to them when running reports against the monthly snapshot.

  3. When SAs request approval to initiate an investigation of a subject who resides in another field office’s territory, the SA will prepare a memorandum for his/her SACs signature requesting concurrence of the other field office’s SAC to authorize an investigation of the subjects.

Supervisory Special Agents and Management Officials

  1. Supervisory Special Agents and management officials are responsible for establishing employee access to the live database by working with the CIMIS SME/User Administrator to first register the employee as a CIMIS user in the OL5081 system and then create an appropriate user profile in CIMIS.

  2. The SSAs review and approve all requests for a PI with the exception of those initiated/developed:

    1. by the NCIU;

    2. by the SDC;

    3. by the IDS unit;

    4. with the charges for Title 18 USC §1956 and/or 18 USC §1957; and

    5. with the charges for Title 31.

    Note:

    The SAC may grant authority to the ASAC or SSA through local delegation orders to approve the PIs with charges for Title 18 USC §1956, 18 USC §1957, and/or Title 31.

  3. The SSA, or his/her designee, will conduct a 100% review of all information entered into CIMIS for the initiation request of all SCIs. This review shall constitute the mandated initial CIMIS Accuracy Review and should be recorded as an Accuracy Review in CIMIS. Although Accuracy Reviews generally only involve twelve key fields of data, the initial managerial review must cover 100% of the entries. Once all data has been verified and is accurate, the SSA will forward to the SAC (through the ASAC if appropriate) if he/she decides that approval is warranted.

  4. The SSAs will review all discontinued investigations. The SSAs have the authority to approve discontinued PIs if they have been delegated that authority in their field office; however, they are not authorized to discontinue PIs if it involves a money laundering investigation. Additionally, the SSAs are not authorized to discontinue GIs or SCIs.

  5. The SSAs have the authority to approve discontinued PIs that were evaluated in his/her group and which were originally numbered as a PI in the NCIU, SDC or IDS.

  6. The SSAs and management officials have the option to approve the Monthly Activity Reports (Form 5043) or allow the SA to upload the information directly into CIMIS.

Assistant Special Agents in Charge

  1. Assistant Special Agents in Charge are to review all PI and SCI requests to initiate investigations. The authority to approve the initiation of PIs and SCIs, including 18 USC §1956 and/or 18 USC §1957 investigations or Title 31 investigations, may be delegated to the ASAC. This delegated authority should be recorded and stored in the field office files.

  2. Correspondingly, ASACs have the authority to approve discontinued PIs or SCIs, if they have been delegated the authority to approve them in their field office. The ASAC is not authorized to discontinue SCIs, if they involve 18 USC §1956 and/or 18 USC §1957 investigations or Title 31 investigations.

Special Agents in Charge

  1. Special Agents in Charge approve and date initiating requests for all types of investigations, as well as SIA. The approval date the SAC enters for the investigation in CIMIS is the authorized, or “approved for work”, date of the investigation. The authority to approve PIs and SCIs including Title 18 and 31 investigations may be redelegated to the ASAC. The authority to approve GIs and SIA may not be redelegated.

    Note:

    The Director, Field Operations must approve all SCI and SIA requests on sensitive investigations. (See IRM 9.4.1, Investigation Initiation).

    Note:

    The Director, Field Operations must approve specialized GIs for imprest funds. The Director, CI:OPS will approve any GI that is national in scope.

  2. The SAC or his/her designee ASAC has approval authority for investigations based upon alleged violations of 18 USC §1956 and/or 18 USC §1957 or alleged violations of Title 31.

  3. The SAC has the authority to authorize the discontinuance of all types of criminal investigations.

  4. The SAC will be responsible to ensure that investigations are numbered only on individuals and entities alleged to have violated statutes under the jurisdiction of the IRS.

  5. The SAC will request in writing, CI-HQ approval to initiate an investigation when an open investigation of an individual or entity already exists (i.e., “dual numbering”).

  6. The SAC will request concurrence to authorize an investigation of a subject(s) who resides in another field office's territory. This concurrence memorandum will be made part of the investigation's administrative file.

  7. The SAC is responsible for the accuracy of the employee and user profiles and to assure the profiles are updated as needed. At a minimum, on an annual basis, employee and user profiles will be reviewed and certified as accurate.

Resident Agent in Charge

  1. The RAC is responsible for reviewing all QRP and RPP schemes to ensure that they meet referral criteria prior to initiating a PI and assigning the PI to a field office to be worked. The RAC is responsible for following up with the field office to ensure that the evaluation time frames are being followed.

Investigation Development and Support Unit

  1. RESERVED.

Directors, Field Operations

  1. The Director, Field Operations must approve all SCIs and SIA involving sensitive individuals and entities such as clergy, politicians, attorneys, and accountants. (See IRM 9.4.1, Investigation Initiation).

CIMIS Subject Matter Experts

  1. The CIMIS-SME in each field office is the primary point of contact for CIMIS issues within that field office. The SME will be the only individual with the ability to correct erroneous status code entries for investigations, as well as the ability to correct employees’ historical employee position and monthly activity report records. Additionally, the SME will be granted the permissions to perform normal editing of nearly all of the investigative and time reporting data that is originally entered by SAs or administrative support staff. The CIMIS-SME is to be the contact point for field office information requests.

  2. The SME will also function as the principal User Administrator for CIMIS in his/her respective field office or Director, Field Operations office. This duty entails advising potential users and their managers on what permissions to request; creating and editing user profiles with the appropriate roles; deactivating user profiles when applicable; and running user profile reports on an annual basis, or as needed by management to assist with OL5081 recertification.

  3. The CIMIS-SME will also be responsible for conducting CIMIS accuracy reviews. Annually, the CIMIS-SME must perform accuracy reviews on a sample basis – 25 percent of total SCIs (open and pipeline) in each group. It is suggested that the CIMIS-SME perform these reviews in conjunction with group administrative (Administrative Office) reviews. For each sampled investigation, the review should cover, at a minimum, the following 12 CIMIS entries:

    1. TIN

    2. CI Program Area

    3. Grand Jury Code

    4. Industry

    5. Occupation

    6. Source

    7. Fraud Schemes/Criminal Activities

    8. Provable Money Laundering Amount (if applicable)

    9. Other Agencies

    10. Total Criminal Deficiency (if applicable)

    11. COP expiration date (if applicable)

    12. COP terms met (if applicable)

  4. For each SCI reviewed, the CIMIS-SME is to review the source documents in TIMS and/or the hardcopy files (with the CSA, TFIA, SA, or SSA, if necessary) to verify the 12 fields. The CIMIS documentation is not to be used for verification. Depending on the outcome, an expanded review (beyond 25 percent) can be undertaken, if necessary.

  5. The CIMIS-SME will also be responsible for reviewing the aforementioned 12 fields for accuracy upon closing or discontinuance of all investigations, which will include verifying the information against the SAR, indictment, plea agreement, and/or JCO.

  6. Following each review, the CIMIS-SME or SSA will make an entry in the “Accuracy Review” section under “Review Comment”, listing the type of review conducted (i.e., Initial, 25 percent Sample, or Closing) and a brief mention of whatever corrections resulted from the review. If desired, further annotation can be made in the Accuracy Review activity to specify the documents reviewed in verifying the information (IDRS information, referral, grand jury documentation, SAR, JCO, etc.). In lieu of listing in the Review Comment all of the documentation reviewed, a statement can be made to refer to the TIMS folder for further information.

Headquarters Criminal Investigation Management Information System Staff

  1. The CIMIS staff at HQ is available to answer questions in regards to the preparation and input of investigative equipment, as well as personnel and Form 5043 information into CIMIS. The HQ-CIMIS staff, as data administrators, may make corrections and solve problems. Some CIMIS activities can only be done by the HQ-CIMIS staff, including but not limited to, the following areas:

    1. The establishment or realignment of a group or branch.

    2. The establishment or relocation of POD.

    3. The establishment or realignment of field offices.

    4. The shutdown of a POD.

    5. The transfer of an investigation from one field office to another. This action must have the approval of both SACs involved in the transfer.

    6. Enable the numbering of dual investigations. The system will display a message to alert the agent when initiating an investigation if an open investigation already exists on an individual or entity. The HQ-CIMIS staff, upon receiving authorization from CI:OPS, will make the appropriate entries in CIMIS.

    7. Reactivate/reinstate CI employee profiles when occurring in a different organization from where they were terminated.

    8. Handle ad hoc reporting and specialized data requests.

    9. Add and/or modify tracking information reference values in the database (e.g., violations, fraud scheme/criminal activities, skills, etc.).

Administrative Support

  1. Employees in various professional staff positions may assist SAs and SSAs in updating CIMIS records regarding ongoing investigations, active equipment, and monthly time activity. The accuracy and timeliness of the CIMIS entries remain the responsibility of the SSA and SA.