Army to put civilian in charge of criminal probes, add staff

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Army to put civilian in charge of criminal probes, add staff

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
May 6, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army is putting a civilian in charge of its criminal investigations, adding staff and freeing up more agents to work on cases, in a plan to address widespread failures that surfaced last year after a string of murders and other crimes at Fort Hood, Texas.

Army officials announced the plan Thursday but provided few details on how much the reorganization will cost or how long it will take, other than to say some changes will unfold over months. The changes are aimed at addressing complaints that Army investigators are overwhelmed and inexperienced.

The plan reflects recommendations made by an independent review panel in the wake of the violence at Fort Hood, including the death of Vanessa Guillén, whose remains were found about two months after she was killed.

A key change will separate the Army Criminal Investigation Command, or CID, from the Office of the Provost Marshall General, and instead of being run by a general officer it will be overseen by a yet-to-be-named civilian director. The intention is to improve the capabilities of the command and address the findings of the Fort Hood commission.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/army-government-and-politics-48eef9347a4df592d69c9eb173bd8d9c

[qazplm135]

1. The problem with CID

is not who runs it, but who it uses to conduct investigations.

To become a CID agent they seek out E4s and E5s. Train them, and turn them into "special agents."

There are a few warrant officers sprinkled in, but primarily it is an enlisted/NCO run organization.

Now, we have great, smart and high speed enlisted and NCO in the Army. But quite frankly, if I have someone working as a CID agent on a sex assault or murder case, I don't want it to be low level NCOs doing the investigating. They need to at least make it like pilots where you have to be a warrant officer to be a CID agent. Require a bachelor's degree. Make the training last a lot longer. Have an age cutoff or years of service minimum, or make it an MOS where you pick the high achievers on the ASVAB and send them off to a year of training.

I spent too many years a military prosecutor or defense attorney lamenting the poor job done by CID agents in the initial investigation stages. And it wasn't because of interference from on high, it was because it was Specialists and Sergeants who were 22, 23, 24, 25 years old, no degree, and not nearly enough training doing the initial crime scene stuff and interviews. Attorneys are always having to step in and do basic investigative work on both sides.

[Baked Potato]

2. The command structure is always designed to keep problems in-house.

Good until it isn’t.

“Many of the problems stem from CID’s subordination to military police officers, who lack backgrounds in felony investigations but influence priorities. Equally troubling are the security details to protect senior Pentagon officials, which steal away a large number of investigators in their prime, said the four agents, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their current and future jobs.”

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/12/15/army-cid-is-burned-out-and-mismanaged-by-military-police-leadership-special-agents-say/