Titling by Department of Defense Criminal Investigation Organizations and the Current, Long-Term, and Second and Third-Order Effects on Service Members and Veterans

Titling is the recording (indexing) of the subject (suspect) of an investigation in the title block of an ROI at the beginning of the investigation. “[T]he primary purpose of titling and indexing subjects of criminal investigations is to ensure that information in a report of investigation can be retrieved at some future date for law enforcement and security purposes.” When titled by DoD (at the beginning of the investigation), the subject’s information is transferred to DoJ to be included in NCIC/NICS and is viewed by civilian law enforcement as an “arrest.”

With this “arrest,” titled individuals who were never indicted, charged, or tried, may not be able to find meaningful employment, maintain a security clearance, earn professional licenses, or obtain other benefits and entitlements that require a background check where an “arrest” is a bar. Moreover, titled Service members are routinely, adversely, and severely prejudiced through long delays in promotions and assignments while the Service Secretaries adjudicate whether the alleged misconduct warrants removal from a promotion list or scroll.

Titling before sufficient evidence is established to determine probable cause is a pervasive, and arbitrary and capricious administrative function that serves no legitimate government purpose. Additionally, DoD has not enacted Section 545 of the FY21 NDAA requiring the adoption of titling expungement standards, policies, and processes. Through titling, the Department of Defense punishes Service members more harshly than their civilian counterparts and that punishment lasts for 40 years. The Department of Defense’s current 40-year titling policy has 2nd and 3rd order effects that adversely affect current readiness. Recruiting is also affected when Service members, along with their families, friends and colleagues who influence potential applicants, describe their “arrest.”

  1. Arrests” prevent Service members and Veterans from receiving benefits, employment, etc. When service members are “titled” (indexed) by DoD law enforcement, that information is viewed as an “arrest” by civilian law enforcement, other government agencies, and other non-government organizations, and is used as an adverse decision factor for determinations related to employment, benefits, entitlements, licenses, permits, etc.

  2. Titling information is entered at the beginning of the investigation. Service members are being titled (indexed) by DoD law enforcement at the beginning of the investigation when the investigator merely has information “sufficiently believable to lead a trained DoD LEA person to presume the fact or facts in question are true.” Titling is then forwarded to the DoJ NCIC/NICS where it is listed as “arrested or received.” Whereas civilian law enforcement agencies do not enter information in NCIC/NICS until probable cause is determined by a prosecutor, or by indictment or arrest.

  3. Many DoD LEA investigations lead to no action. At the conclusion of an investigation that results in no adverse or military justice action taken by a commander, DoD LEAs do not remove the tilting information from DCII or NCIC/NICS. The existence of this titling information in the database becomes a de facto blacklist, resulting in a form of unsanctioned punishment. It is nearly impossible to expunge titling information, and it remains in DCII and NCIC/NICS for 40 years.

  4. DoD has not yet enacted Section 545 of FY21 NDAA requiring expungement procedures. DoD released an update to Department of Defense Instruction (“DoDI”) 5505.07 in August 2023. The DoDI provides no guidance as to: the initial decision or appeal authorities, the minimum requirements for processing applications, whether individuals need to be notified of titling, or to the policies, processes, procedures, timelines, and composition of decision boards, etc.

  5. DoD uses titling as an unauthorized punishment. “Titling and indexing are administrative procedures and will not imply any degree of guilt or innocence … judicial or adverse administrative actions will not be taken based solely on the existence of a DoD LEA titling or indexing record.” Yet, titled Service members are routinely, adversely, and severely prejudiced through delays in promotions, assignments, and other personnel decisions.

  6. Hundreds of thousands of Service members and Veterans have likely been affected. Given the number of DoD LEA investigations annually (g., the Navy conducted 6,000+ investigations in 2020) and considering the 106,000 individuals investigated for G-RAP (“Guard Recruiting Assistance Program”) alone, it is possible that more than 1,000,000 Service members, Veterans, and DoD Civilians have been titled. DoD LEAs do not inform Service members when they have been titled. In fact, many do not know they have been titled until an application, benefit, promotion, or security clearance is denied, many times years in the future.

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ACRONYMS

DCII – Defense Central Index of Investigations
DoD – Department of Defense
DoDI – Department of Defense Instruction
DoJ – Department of Justice
LEA – Law Enforcement Agency
NCIC – National Crime Information Center
NDAA – National Defense Authorization Act
NICS – National Instant Criminal Background Check System
ROI – Report of Investigation


If you have been titled by the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force, or Coast Guard, and you need assistance, please contact us below.

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