Authority for maintenance of the system:

5 U.S.C. 301; 6 U.S.C. 113(b); the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended.

Purpose(s):

The records and information collected and maintained in this system are used to receive and process allegations of violations of criminal, civil, and administrative laws and regulations relating to DHS programs, operations, and employees, as well as contractors and other individuals and entities associated with DHS; monitor case assignments, status, disposition, and results; manage investigations and information provided during the course of such investigations; track actions taken by management regarding misconduct and other allegations; track legal actions taken following referrals to the Department of Justice for prosecution or litigation; provide information relating to any adverse action or other proceeding that may occur as a result of the findings of an investigation; provide a system for creating and reporting statistical information; and to provide a system to track firearms qualification and training records of OIG employees performing investigative functions and accountable property records.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses:

In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:

A. To the Department of Justice (including United States Attorney Offices) or other Federal agency conducting litigation or in proceedings before any court, adjudicative or administrative body, when it is necessary to the litigation and one of the
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following is a party to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation:

1. DHS or any component thereof;

2. any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity;

3. any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where the Department of Justice or DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or,

4. the United States or any agency thereof, is a party to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and DHS determines that the records are both relevant and necessary to the litigation and the use of such records is compatible with the purpose for which DHS collected the records.

B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the request of the individual to whom the record pertains.

C. To the National Archives and Records Administration or other Federal agencies pursuant to records management inspections being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and Sec. 2906.

D. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of performing audit or oversight operations as authorized by law, including peer reviews, but only such information as is necessary and relevant to such audit or oversight function.

E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:

1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or confidentiality of information in the system of records has been compromised;

2. The Department has determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether maintained by DHS or another agency or entity), or harm to the individuals that rely on the compromised information; and

3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.

F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants, and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to accomplish an agency function related to this system of records. Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are applicable to DHS officers and employees.

G. To an appropriate Federal, State, tribal, local, international, or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate authority charged with investigating or prosecuting a violation or enforcing or implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, where a record, either on its face or in conjunction with other information, indicates a violation or potential violation of law, which includes criminal, civil, or regulatory violations and such disclosure is proper and consistent with the official duties of the person making the disclosure.

H. To a Federal, State, or local agency, or other appropriate entity or individual, or through established liaison channels to selected foreign governments, in order to provide intelligence, counterintelligence, or other information for the purposes of intelligence, counterintelligence, or antiterrorism activities authorized by U.S. law, Executive Order, or other applicable national security directive.

I. To international and foreign governmental authorities in accordance with law and formal or informal international agreements.

J. To an appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, foreign, or international agency, if the information is relevant and necessary to a requesting agency's decision concerning the hiring or retention of an individual or issuance of a security clearance, license, contract, grant, or other benefit, or if the information is relevant and necessary to a DHS decision concerning the hiring or retention of an employee, the issuance of a security clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an employee, the letting of a contract, or the issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit and when disclosure is appropriate to the proper performance of the official duties of the person making the request.

K. To third parties during the course of a law enforcement investigation to the extent necessary to obtain information pertinent to the investigation, provided disclosure is appropriate to the proper performance of the official duties of the officer making the disclosure.

L. To the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) and other Federal agencies, as necessary, if the records respond to an audit, investigation or review conducted pursuant to an authorizing law, rule or regulation, and in particular those conducted at the request of the CIGIE's Integrity Committee pursuant to statute.

M. To complainants and/or victims to the extent necessary to provide such persons with information and explanations concerning the progress and/or results of the investigation arising from the matters of which they complained and/or of which they were a victim.

N. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the Chief Privacy Officer in consultation with counsel, when there exists a legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the information or when disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of DHS or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of DHS's officers, employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to the extent it is determined that release of the specific information in the context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:

None.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system:

Storage:

Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records are stored on magnetic disc, tape, digital media, and CDROM. Retrievability:

Paper media are retrieved alphabetically by name of subject or complainant, by case number, and/or by special agent name and/or employee identifying number. Electronic media are retrieved by the name or identifying number for a complainant, subject, victim, or witness; by case number; by special agent name or other personal identifier; or by field office designation.

Safeguards:

Information in this system is safeguarded in accordance with applicable laws, rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the information for the performance of their official duties and who have appropriate clearances or permissions.

Retention and disposal:

Investigative case files that involve substantive information relating to national security or allegations against
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senior DHS officials, that attract national media or congressional attention, or that result in substantive changes in DHS policies or procedures are permanent and are transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration 20 years after completion of the investigation and all actions based thereon. All other investigative case files are destroyed 20 years after completion of the investigation and all actions based thereon. Accountable property records, training and firearms qualification records, and management reports are destroyed when no longer needed for business purposes.

System manager(s) and address:

The System Manager is the Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, DHS OIG, Mail Stop 2600, 245 Murray Drive, SW., Building 410, Washington, DC 20528.

Notification procedure:

The Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted this system from the notification, access, and amendment procedures of the Privacy Act because it is a law enforcement system. However, the Office of Inspector General will consider individual requests to determine whether or not information may be released. Thus, individuals seeking notification of and access to any record contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content may submit a request in writing to the Headquarters or Office of Inspector General's FOIA Officer, whose contact information can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/ foia under ``Contacts.'' If an individual believes more than one component maintains Privacy Act records concerning him or her, the individual may submit the request to the Chief Privacy Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, Department of Homeland Security, 245 Murray Drive, SW., Building 410, STOP0550, Washington, DC 20528.

When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 5. You must first verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name, current address, and date and place of birth. You must sign your request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under 28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty of perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific form is required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from the Chief Privacy Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, http:// www.dhs.gov or 18664310486. In addition you should provide the following:

Without this bulleted information the Component(s) may not be able to conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to lack of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations. Record access procedures:

See ``Notification Procedure'' above.
Contesting record procedures:

See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Record source categories:

Records are obtained from sources including, but not limited to, the individual record subjects; DHS officials and employees; employees of Federal, State, local, and foreign agencies; and other persons and entities.

Exemptions claimed for the system:

The Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted this system from the following provisions of the Privacy Act, subject to the limitations set forth in 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3) and (4); (d); (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (e)(5) and (e)(8); (f); and (g) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2). Additionally, the Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted this system from the following provisions of the Privacy Act, subject to the limitations set forth in 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552a(c)(3); (d); (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H); and (f) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1), (k)(2) and (k)(5).

Dated: October 20, 2009.
Mary Ellen Callahan
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E925945 Filed 102709; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 91109BP

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

For general questions please contact: Doris A. Wojnarowski (2022544211), Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, Mail Stop 2600, 245 Murray Drive, SW., Building 410, Washington, DC 20528; or by facsimile (202) 2544299. For privacy issues please contact: Mary Ellen Callahan (7032350780), Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.