Our Mission

Welcome to the Defense Intelligence Agency's Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties. Privacy and Civil Liberties are fundamental rights and freedoms protected by the Constitution of the United States. The Defense Intelligence Agency will protect civil liberties to the greatest extent possible, consistent with operational requirements.  Contact us at:

Defense Intelligence Agency
200 MacDill Bld.
Washington, DC.
20340-5100

Email: DIA_Privacy_Civil_Liberties_Office

Reporting Allegations

Report Issues to the DIA Privacy and Civil Liberties relating to a violation of Civil Liberties as defined in the United State Constitution Bill of Rights.

How to Report a Civil Liberties Violation

Prior to reporting a Civil Liberties violation, ensure it relates to a freedom defined in the Bill OF Rights. Please send your complaint letter by US Mail or Email.

Your letter will help DIA determine if your complaint raises a Civil Liberties concern. Your letter will also help decide whether the complaint can be referred to another office for review. If you r letter does not include all of the requested information, DIA may be unable to process your compliant. The following information must be included in your letter.

Your Current Contact Information

•  Name
• Address (please indicate as home or business)
• Phone Number (please indicate the number as home, cell or business and if DIA may leave a voice mail)
• Email address
• Preferred method of contact
• Contact information of any other person(s) representing the complaint
• Sign and date complaint

Information about Your Complaint

• Date and location of the alleged violation; please state if the violation is ongoing
• Information about the basis of the complaint ( person, program, policy or procedure) 
• Civil Liberty that has been violated, if it has been reported to any other authority and what action, if any, was taken
• Any other relevant information you believe will help DIA assist with your complaint.

Prior to Submitting Complaint Letter

• Maintain a copy for your files
• Ensure the letter is concise and legible
• Be prepared to answer additional questions
• Recognize inability to investigate or respond to anonymous complaints

After you submit Your Complaint Letter

• DIA will acknowledge receipt
• DIA will make an initial determination as to an association of a Civil Liberties Violation
• Investigate applicable complaints

Bill Of Rights

Freedoms protected by the Constitution of the United States

AMENDMENT I - Freedom of Speech:  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition.  It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual’s religious practices.  It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely.  It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government.  

AMENDMENT II - Right to Bear Arms: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

The Second Amendment has most recently been interpreted to grant the right of gun ownership to individuals for purposes that include self-defense.  At first it was thought to apply only to the Federal government, but through the mechanism of the Fourteenth Amendment, it has been applied to the states as well.

AMENDMENT III - Quartering of Soldiers: No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered  in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 

Described by some as “a preference for the Civilian over the Military,” the Third Amendment forbids the forcible housing of military personnel in a citizen’s home during peacetime and requires the process to be “prescribed by law” in times of war,

AMENDMENT IV - Search and Seizure: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The Fourth Amendment originally enforced the notion that “each man’s home is his castle”, secure from unreasonable searches and seizures of property by the government.  It protects against arbitrary arrests, and is the basis of the law regarding search warrants, stop-and-frisk, safety inspections, wiretaps, and other forms of surveillance, as well as being central to many other criminal law topics and to privacy law.

AMENDMENT V - Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

The Fifth Amendment creates a number of rights relevant to both criminal and civil legal proceedings.  In criminal cases, the Fifth Amendment guarantees the right to a grand jury, forbids “double jeopardy,” and protects against self-incrimination.  It also requires that “due process of law” be part of any proceeding that denies a citizen “life, liberty or property” and requires the government to compensate citizens when it takes private property for public use. 

AMENDMENT VI - Criminal Prosecutions - Jury Trial, Right to Confront and to Counsel: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees the rights of criminal defendants, including the right to a public trial without unnecessary delay, the right to a lawyer,  the right to an impartial jury, and the right to know who your accusers are and the nature of the charges and evidence against you.  It has been most visibly tested in a series of cases involving terrorism, but much more often figures in cases that involve (for example) jury selection or the protection of witnesses, including victims of sex crimes as well as witnesses in need of protection from retaliation.

AMENDMENT VII - Common Law Suits - Jury Trial: In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

The Seventh Amendment continues a practice from English common law of distinguishing civil claims which must be tried before a jury (absent waiver by the parties) from claims and issues that may be heard by a judge alone.  It only governs federal civil courts and has no application to civil courts set up by the states when those courts are hearing only disputes of state law. 

AMENDMENT VIII - Excess Bail or Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment:  Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Most often mentioned in the context of the death penalty, the Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments, but also mentions “excessive fines” and bail.  The “excessive fines” clause surfaces (among other places) in cases of civil and criminal forfeiture, for example when property is seized during a drug raid.

AMENDMENT IX: Non-Enumerated Rights: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

The Ninth Amendment ensures that the Bill of Rights was not seen as granting to the people of the United States only the specific rights it addressed.  In recent years, some have interpreted it as affirming the existence of such “unenumerated” rights outside those expressly protected by the Bill of Rights.

AMENDMENT X: Rights Reserved to States or People: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

The Tenth Amendment helps to define the concept of federalism, the relationship between Federal and state governments. As Federal activity has increased, so too has the problem of reconciling state and national interests as they apply to the Federal powers to tax, to police, and to regulations such as wage and hour laws, disclosure of personal information in recordkeeping systems, and laws related to strip-mining.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: Public Law 458, Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Protection Act of 2004; Public Law 110-53, Implementing Recommendations of the 911 Commission Act of 2007; E.O. 12333-2008, Governing the Conduct of United States Activities; 5 U.S.C. 552a, Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, DoD 5400.11-R, Department of Defense Privacy Program; DIA 5400.001, Defense Intelligence Agency Privacy and Civil Liberties Program and E.O. 9397 (SSN), as amended.

Purpose: To receive, log and track the processing of Privacy Act violations, inquiries, and allegations of violations of civil liberties.

Routine Use: In addition to the disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act of 1974, these records may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:

The DoD Blanket  Routine Uses set forth at the beginning of the Defense Intelligence Agency's compilation of systems records notices apply to this system.

Information is provided on a voluntary basis; however failure to provide requested information may result in an inability to process a complaint.