Coast Guard Investigative Service

Mission

The mission of the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) is to conduct professional criminal investigations, engage in law enforcement information and intelligence collection, provide protective services, and establish and maintain law enforcement liaison directed at preserving the integrity of the Coast Guard, protecting the welfare of Coast Guard people, and supporting Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maritime law enforcement and counter-terrorism missions worldwide.

Authority

The Coast Guard Investigative Service is a federal law enforcement agency whose law enforcement authority is derived from 14 U.S.C. § 95. This authority provides for Coast Guard special agents to conduct investigations of actual, alleged or suspected criminal activity; carry firearms; execute and serve warrants; and make arrests. The criminal investigative function of the Coast Guard Investigative Service is similar to that of a major crimes unit at a large metropolitan police department, investigating crimes such as those "internal" to the Coast Guard, including fraud, larceny, homicide and rape, as well as "external" investigations of maritime-related crimes ranging from migrant and drug smuggling, false distress calls, and violations of the environmental laws. The Coast Guard Investigative Service is a centralized directorship managed by a professional criminal investigator who reports directly to the Coast Guard's Assistant Commandant for Intelligence. It is located outside the Coast Guard's operational chain of command.

Criminal investigations

Commandant/Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard

Intelligence operations

Anti-fraud, waste and abuse

Task force & liaison activities

International policing

CGIS Special Agents

The CGIS special agent workforce is composed of active duty military, reserve, and civilian personnel. However, virtually all CGIS investigators, criminal, counterintelligence, and force protection personnel are sworn civilian personnel with powers of arrest and warrant service, with the exception of a small number of reserve military personnel. All CGIS Special Agents have full arrest powers under Title 14 section 95 of the United States Code.

The active duty military component is composed of Enlisted Personnel, Chief Warrant Officer and Commissioned Officer investigator positions. The civilian component is composed of GS-1811-11 to SES criminal investigator positions.

Firearms

The Coast Guard Investigative Service's standard issue firearm is the SIG Sauer P229R DAK or SIG Sauer P239 DAK in .40 S&W.

Appearance in popular culture

In March 2010, the character of Abigail Borin, a fictional CGIS Special Agent portrayed by actress Diane Neal, appeared on the hit television drama NCIS in an episode entitled "Jurisdiction". Special Agent in Charge Borin appeared again in January 2011, in the episode "Ships in the Night", as CGIS joined the NCIS team in the investigation of the murder of a U.S. Marine Corps officer on a dinner boat cruise on the Potomac River. The story illustrates CGIS's law enforcement responsibilities along the United States' rivers, coastlines, and inland waterways in support of the Coast Guard. She returned for a third time in the episode "Safe Harbor", which had a plot that illustrated the role of the CGIS in supporting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through maritime law enforcement and counter-terrorism missions worldwide. Borin also appeared in the 2012 episode "Lost at Sea," the 2013 episode "Oil and Water," and the 2014 episode "The San Dominick."

Diane Neal reprised her role as Special Agent in Charge Borin in the 2015 episode of NCIS: New Orleans "The Abyss," which showcases CGIS' role in interviewing and interrogating suspected terrorists aboard USCG vessels, and their role in the recovery of remains in US waters. She returned in the subsequent episode "The Walking Dead," and again at the conclusion of the first season, bringing Borin's total appearances to 9.