DOD INSTRUCTION 5505.16
I
NVESTIGATIONS BY DOD COMPONENTS
Originating Component: Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense
Effective: June 23, 2017
Releasability: Cleared for public release. Available on the DoD Issuances Website at
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives.
Reissues and Cancels: DoD Instruction 5505.16, “Criminal Investigations by Personnel Who Are
Not Assigned to a Defense Criminal Investigative Organization,” May 7,
2012
Approved by: Glenn A. Fine, Acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense
Purpose: This issuance:
• Establishes policy, assigns responsibilities, and provides procedures for the DoD Components to
conduct investigations in accordance with the authority in DoD Directive (DoDD) 5106.01 and Title 5,
United States Code (U.S.C.) Appendix 3 (also known and referred to in this issuance as “the Inspector
General Act of 1978, as amended”).
• Establishes that DoD Components will not conduct criminal investigations unless the agency or
organization has law enforcement authority established by statute in the U.S.C., or Inspector General
authority, as prescribed by the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, or as granted by the
Secretary of Defense under Section 2672 of Title 10, U.S.C.
