Department of Defense
INSTRUCTION
NUMBER 5505.10
August 15, 2013
IG DoD
SUBJECT: Criminal Investigations of Noncombat Deaths
References: See Enclosure 1
1. PURPOSE. This instruction:
a. Reissues DoD Instruction (DoDI) 5505.10 (Reference (a)) pursuant to section 113 of Title
10, United States Code (Reference (b)), and the authority in DoD Directive (DoDD) 5106.01
(Reference (c)).
b. Establishes policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures for the criminal
investigation of noncombat deaths by military criminal investigative organizations.
2. APPLICABILITY. This instruction:
a. Applies to OSD, the Military Departments, the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff and the Joint Staff, the Combatant Commands, the Office of the Inspector General of the
Department of Defense, the Defense Agencies, the DoD Field Activities, and all other
organizational entities within the DoD.
b. Applies to noncombat deaths under military criminal investigative organization (MCIO)
investigative jurisdiction.
c. Does not apply to a noncombat death under circumstances that clearly indicate an accident
rather than possible homicide, suicide, or undetermined death, requiring specialized investigative
techniques to rule out the possibility of criminality. Examples of such deaths under
circumstances that clearly indicate an accident include traffic accidents that are investigated by
responsible traffic law enforcement authorities or aircraft crashes investigated by responsible air
safety officials.
d. Does not apply to a death that occurs on a military installation solely because the decedent
was transported to or treated at a military medical facility emergency room due to geographic
proximity. If events causing such a death occurred in another jurisdiction with no DoD interest,
other law enforcement authorities have investigative responsibility.
