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1 1 (December 22, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/goveabq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ress I flesearch Servk~s 1 4orrnrn~j Itw I ~jisI~tiv~ ~ ~&~n e V~14 9 December22, 2020 Department of the Interior (DOI) Law Enforcement Programs Overview As of November 2020, the Department of the Interior (DOI) employed nearly 3,400 law enforcement officers (LEOs) assigned to seven distinct organizationalunits within five DOI bureaus (see Figure 1). These seven units are the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA); Bureau of Reclamation (BOR); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FW S's) Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) and Division of Refuge Law Enforcement (REF); National Park Service (NPS); and U.S. Park Police (USPP) within NPS. DOI's law enforcement contingent is the fourth-largest among executive branch departments, after the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Veterans Affairs. Law enforcement on lands owned and administeredby the federal government is of perennial interest to Congress. This includes issues related to funding, juris dictional disputes between federal and nonfederal law enforcement agencies, and more recent concerns around excessiveforce and police-community relations. Figure I. Total DOI Law Enforcement Figures (as of November2020) Total LEO Employment: 3,366 1,475 1500 1000 50 522 0 254 BLM BIA BOR OLE REF NPS USPP FISH & WILDUlFE NATiONAXL PARK SERVICE SERVICE Source: Totals provided to CRS on November 18, 2020, by DOI for all law enforcement units exceptUSPPand BIA USPP and BlAfigures taken from Office of Person nel Management FedScope database (OPM, FedScope, Employment Trend cubes, Cabinet-Level Agencies parameter set to Department of the Interior, accessed November21, 2020, at https://www.fedscope.opm.gov/). Notes: BLM = Bureau of Land Management; BIA= Bureau of Indian Affairs; BOR = Bureau of Reclamation; OLE = U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Office of Law Enforcement; REF = U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Division of Refuge Law Enforcement; NPS = National Park Service; USPP = U.S. Park Police. All totals reflect on-board employment figu res, which calculate the n umber of employees in pay status at the end of the quarter. Data for on -board employment provides employee head count in most departments and agencies as of a particular date, including full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees. Table does not reflect law enforcement officers employed by DOI's Office of Inspector General. DOI defines law enforcement officer as a person who has entered the Federal service through established selection criteria, has receivedprofessional training according to published standards and has been commis sioned or sworn to performlaw enforcement duties (DOIDepartmental Manual Part 446 Ch. 1). Generally, LEOs include employees who are authorized to carry firearms, execute and serve warrants, search for and seize evidence, make arrests, and performs uch duties as authorized by law. The categorybroadly includes uniformedpolice officers, investigative agents, correctional officers, and various other positions within DOI. It does not include DOI employees clas sified under the security guard job series title, as these positions generally do not have authority to take the enforcement-related actions listed above. The specific duties ofDOILEOs can vary considerably based on the type (e.g., investigative agent vs. correctional officer), seniority (supervisory vs. nonsupervisory), and geographic location of the position. For example, in the American Southwest, officers may spend considerable time dealing with unauthorized recreational off-highway vehicle users and archaeological resource crimes, whereas LEOs working in urbanized areas may be responsible for managing special events and political demonstrations as well as performing more general law enforcement duties. Since 2001, DOI's Office of Law Enforcement and Security (OLES) has provided direction, oversight, and coordination across the department's various law enforcement units (Secretarial Order No. 3234, Enhanced Coordination of Department ofthe Interior Law Enforcement and Security). Bureau of Land Management Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. §§1701et seq.), the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to standup a law enforcement body to enforce federal laws and regulations with respectto lands and resources underBLM's jurisdiction. As ofNovember 2020, BLM employed 190 law enforcement rangers and 68 special agents foratotal of 258LEOs. BLM rangers typically are responsible for the everyday enforcement of laws and regulations governing BLM lands and resources. Special agents typically are plainclothes criminal investigators who plan and conduct investigations concerning possible violations on BLM lands. Bureau of Indian Affairs Jurisdiction over offenses or crimes committed on tribal lands may lie with federal, state, or tribal agencies, depending on the offense, the offense location, and whether or not the offender or victimis an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe. Although mos tpolice departments and detention centers ontriballands are https://crsreports.congress.go

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