NCIS: Watching You Or Watching Over You?
Within the Department of the Navy, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the civilian federal law enforcement agency uniquely responsible for investigating felony crime, preventing terrorism and protecting secrets for the Navy and Marine Corps.
NCIS will defeat threats from across the foreign intelligence, terrorist and criminal spectrum by conducting operations and investigations ashore, afloat, and in cyberspace, in order to protect and preserve the superiority of the Navy and Marine Corps warfighters.
Comprised of about 2,000 personnel, with more than 1,000 serving as federal Special Agents, NCIS is unique among U.S. military criminal investigative organizations as it is a civilian-ran agency and is headed by a civilian law enforcement professional who reports directly to the Secretary of the Navy.
Today, NCIS operates in approximately 191 locations, in more than 41 countries. Given the organization’s worldwide forward presence, NCIS is often the first federal law enforcement agency on the scene when U.S. interests overseas are affected. In addition to serving at major naval commands around the world, NCIS Special Agents deploy aboard all Navy aircraft carriers and with amphibious task forces. NCIS agents routinely conduct advances before U.S. Navy ships visit non-Navy ports, working with domestic and foreign counterparts to identify and mitigate security threats. NCIS also conducts protective service operations for senior naval officials and visiting dignitaries.
Within the Department of the Navy, NCIS serves as the coordinating authority of all DON CI activities, and is the only Department of Navy (DON) Component authorized to conduct investigations into actual, potential or suspected acts of espionage, sabotage, and intelligence activities conducted on behalf of foreign powers.
NCIS is responsible for detecting, deterring, and disrupting terrorism worldwide through a wide array of investigative and operational capabilities. Within the Department of the Navy, NCIS has exclusive investigative jurisdiction into the actual, potential or suspected acts of terrorism.
The primary focus of the JTTFs is to investigate and thwart terrorist threats to the United States
NCIS is responsible for detecting, deterring, and disrupting terrorism worldwide through a wide array of investigative and operational capabilities. Within the Department of the Navy, NCIS has exclusive investigative jurisdiction into the actual, potential or suspected acts of terrorism.
The typical MCRT consists of 8-10 people and is led by a designated forensic specialist with advanced training, often including a Master’s Degree in Forensic Science. Individual team members have enhanced training in specialties such as crime scene management, photography, scene documentation, latent fingerprint processing, biological and trace evidence detection and collection, and the proper documentation of impression evidence