2. Minor Crimes and Traffic Offenses. The
majority of naval commands have investigative personnel within
their security departments. Such persons are normally limited
to investigating minor offenses. Any major criminal offense
should be referred immediately to the NCIS. This requirement
of referral does not in any way restrict command law enforcement
personnel from executing appropriate procedures. Appropriate
procedures include preventing the escape or loss of identity of
offenders, preserving crime scenes and the integrity of physical
evidence, or conducting on-scene inquiries as appropriate. Minor
offenses include most misdemeanors and traffic offenses. Both
the commanding officer (if the subject is military) and the U.S.
magistrates may dispose of these offenses. If criminal
prosecution before a U.S. magistrate is appropriate, it is
affected by the issuance of a U.S. magistrate's court violation
notice, as set forth in SECNAVINST 5822.1.
(f) Assimilative Crimes Act. To avoid the task of
maintaining a complete code of civilian criminal laws for
military bases and other federal property, Congress passed the
Assimilative Crimes Act. This statute provides that all acts or
omissions occurring in an area under federal jurisdiction that
would constitute crimes if the area were under state
jurisdiction will constitute the same crimes, similarly
punishable, under federal law. For example, Congress has not
enacted a traffic code for military bases. However, speeding on
a naval base could be a federal traffic violation because
military bases adopt for federal use the traffic laws of the
state in which they are located.
(g) Territorial Jurisdiction. Military reservations
generally are categorized as having either exclusive federal
jurisdiction or concurrent federal jurisdiction. The federal
government may also hold territory in a status of proprietary
interest. Jurisdiction in this context refers to the authority
to enact and enforce general criminal laws within a given area.
Two or three types of jurisdiction may exist within the same
installation. Because parts of a base might have been acquired
at different times in different ways, one portion might be under
exclusive jurisdiction and the next under concurrent. Law
enforcement personnel should consult with their local staff
judge advocate concerning the jurisdictional status of all
portions of their base.
1. Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction. Only the
federal government has the power to make and enforce federal
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