The FBI’s Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) was revised and updated based on comments and feedback received since the original DIOG was issued on December 16, 2008. This new version was approved by Director Mueller on October 15, 2011.
The changes primarily clarify and enhance the definitions of terms and procedures used in the original DIOG. Each change has been carefully looked at and considered against the backdrop of the tools our employees need to accomplish their mission, the possible risks associated with the use of those tools, and the controls that are in place. The DIOG was first issued to help implement the new Attorney General’s Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations that were issued earlier that year.
Those guidelines had reconciled a number of previously separate guidelines, the first of which had been issued in 1976. A redacted version of this manual was released and posted to the FBI’s FOIA website in early 2011 along with some training materials used in briefing FBI personnel on Section 4 of that manual. The second edition of the DIOG was released on October 15, 2011. A redacted version of this revised edition was released on 11/07/2011.
Declassified Documents
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) [689 Pages, 18.59mb] – FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) This release consists of the October 15, 2011 revision of the DIOG; it was first made on 11/07/2011. This version of the DIOG was revised and updated based on comments and feedback received since the original DIOG was launched in 2008. The changes primarily clarify and enhance the definitions of terms and procedures used in the original DIOG. It also incorporates several older, separate policies that remained in force after the first version of the DIOG went into effect. Training materials based on this 2008 version were previously released and posted on the Vault; these may be found in a separate folder below. Key changes include the following: 1. Advice of rights in connection with operational terrorists inside the US (the Quarles rule). 2. Uniform file review procedures for Assessments and Predicated Investigations. 3. Clarifications and enhanced definitions of terms and procedures described in the original DIOG, including electronic and physical surveillance; Sensitive Investigative Matters, and assessment types. 4. New NSL delegation policy. 5. Creation of the Sensitive Operations Review Committee (SORC), a joint DOJ/FBI committee to review and monitor sensitive activities not within the purview of other oversight committees. 6. Allow the use of trash covers to check the credibility of potential informants.
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) 2008 Version [381 Pages, 18.93mb] – The FBI’s DIOG was issued on December 16, 2008 to help implement the new Attorney General’s Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations that were issued earlier that year. These guidelines reconciled a number of previously separate guidelines, the first of which had been issued in 1976. This release consists of the first version of the DIOG, issued on December 16, 2008.
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) 2008 Version Training Material and Related Documents[298 Pages, 12.58mb] – This release contains training material and other documents pertaining to Section 4 of the FBI’s Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG). Section 4 of the DIOG outlines the FBI’s oversight, self-regulation, and strict adherence to the Constitution of the United States in dealing with “Privacy and Civil Liberties, and Least Intrusive Methods,” as the section is titled. The section states that the FBI is “responsible for protecting the American public, not only from crime and terrorism, but also from incursions into their constitutional rights.” (Page 32). We released this material on January 5, 2011, in answer to multiple FOIA requests for additional information on Section 4 and to explain more fully the established rules under which FBI employees carry out their mission with full respect for the constitutional and statutory rights of U.S. citizens. The section largely consists of presentations from two FBI components, the Corporate Policy Office and the Directorate of Intelligence. Documents in this release were created to provide instruction regarding the concepts and principles underpinning Section 4 of the DIOG. Redactions were made to protect personal privacy, internal personnel rules and practices, and law enforcement techniques and procedures. This release was partially updated on February 3 to make images more legible.
