The United States Capitol Police projected they would have around 14,000 threat assessment cases by the end of 2025, compared with fewer than 9,500 threat assessment cases in 2024.
December 31, 2025
high
temporal
Projected caseload and year-over-year increase in threat assessments reported by the Capitol Police.
The U.S. Department of Justice can appoint special prosecutors to assist in conducting investigations.
November 20, 2025
high
procedural
Describes a standard DOJ investigative mechanism used to allocate prosecutorial resources or independence for particular matters.
Federal investigators and prosecutors commonly use subpoenas and witness interviews as routine tools to gather information during criminal and civil investigations.
November 20, 2025
high
procedural
General description of standard investigative and prosecutorial methods.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is the largest municipal police force in the United States.
November 19, 2025
high
organizational
General description of the NYPD's relative size
Counterterrorism investigations commonly use operational strategies that arrest clearly overt actors while continuing surveillance of associates to map and dismantle broader networks before executing coordinated arrests.
November 10, 2025
high
procedural
Describes a general investigative tactic used to preserve intelligence and identify wider network connections.
FBI field offices are overseen by officials with the title 'Special Agent in Charge'.
October 31, 2025
high
organizational
Leadership title used for heads of Federal Bureau of Investigation field offices.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation routinely conducts reviews of officer-involved shootings as a standard protocol.
October 31, 2025
high
procedural
Many state-level investigative agencies in the U.S. have protocols to review incidents in which law enforcement officers use deadly force; this statement refers specifically to North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation.
The WRAP is a black-and-yellow full-body restraint device designed to immobilize detained individuals.
October 30, 2025
high
definition
Descriptive definition of the restraint device mentioned in reporting about its use by detention and law enforcement authorities.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security purchasing records show DHS paid Safe Restraints Inc. $268,523 for WRAP devices since late 2015, with about 91% of that spending occurring during the Trump administration(s).
October 30, 2025
high
statistical
Aggregate procurement amount and temporal distribution reported from government purchasing records.
An Associated Press investigation in 2025 identified about a dozen fatal cases since roughly 2015 in which local police or jailers used the WRAP and autopsies indicated that restraint contributed to the deaths.
October 30, 2025
high
statistical
Aggregate finding from investigative reporting linking use of the restraint device to fatalities as indicated by autopsy reports.
The WRAP has been the subject of federal lawsuits alleging that incorrect use of the device can constitute punishment or torture.
October 30, 2025
high
legal
Ongoing legal challenges and allegations regarding the propriety and consequences of how the restraint is used.
The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issues advisories urging U.S. banks to monitor indicators such as bulk cash smuggling and cash repatriation patterns that can signal involvement by transnational criminal organizations, including those based in Mexico.
October 30, 2025
high
temporal
Describes a continuing supervisory and information-sharing practice used to detect criminal financial activity.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation maintains a unit that specializes in art crime, addressing offenses such as theft, forgery, antiquities trafficking, and cultural property trafficking.
October 30, 2025
high
general
Describes an FBI organizational capability relevant to investigations of cultural property and art-related offenses.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is an investigative component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
October 28, 2025
high
descriptive
Organizational relationship within U.S. federal law enforcement.
Homeland Security Investigations assigns attachĂŠs to U.S. embassies who conduct investigations into transnational criminal networks.
October 28, 2025
high
descriptive
Use of diplomatic postings by U.S. law enforcement to investigate cross-border crime.
The U.S. Department of Justice offers monetary rewards for information leading to the capture of individuals charged in federal criminal cases.
October 28, 2025
high
descriptive
Use of reward programs as a tool for fugitive apprehension by the U.S. federal government.
Soldiers are generally trained to engage in enemy combat, whereas police are trained for community-focused law enforcement and peacemaking.
October 21, 2025
high
descriptive
General distinction between military and policing training and missions.
As of 2025-10-20, Sangamon County officials stated that there is no practical way to determine and communicate background information about callers to police officers responding to emergency calls.
October 20, 2025
medium
operational
Local officials' explanation about limitations in sharing caller background information with responding officers.
Law enforcement agencies commonly issue 'be-on-the-lookout' (BOLO) alerts and use photographic identification to locate suspects in public safety incidents.
October 20, 2025
high
descriptive
Typical police search and notification practice during active investigations involving persons of interest in public spaces.
When a firearm is discovered in a public setting, standard police procedures include securing and clearing the weapon and conducting a safety sweep of the area before declaring the scene safe.
October 20, 2025
high
descriptive
Routine evidence handling and scene safety protocol followed by police upon locating weapons.
Anonymous tips can prompt law enforcement to revisit previously searched locations and can lead to new discoveries in investigations.
October 20, 2025
high
procedural
Tips from the public, including anonymous ones, are a recurring source of investigative leads that may change or refine search efforts.
Maritime interdiction operations by military and law-enforcement forces can include use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to engage vessels and deployment of naval ships to recover survivors or detainees.
October 18, 2025
medium
general
Describes commonly employed tactics and assets in maritime counter-smuggling and interdiction missions.
Universities can cooperate with law enforcement during criminal investigations and may impose administrative measures such as barring individuals from campus while investigations are ongoing.
October 16, 2025
high
procedural
Common institutional responses by higher-education institutions when criminal allegations involve members of the campus community.
Police departments commonly assign specialized major-crimes units (for example, robbery-homicide or major-investigations divisions) to handle investigations of serious sexual-assault allegations.
October 16, 2025
high
procedural
Organizational practice within many municipal police departments for investigating violent or complex crimes.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's 'rapid DNA' process can develop a DNA profile in less than two hours and uses family-member samples to compare to human remains.
October 15, 2025
high
technical
Description of a rapid DNA identification technique used by a state investigative agency.
Law enforcement can reconstruct an individual's movements on a university campus using the campus security camera network, enabling tracking without relying on cellphone records.
September 10, 2025
high
investigative method
Use of fixed surveillance infrastructure to map movements across campus areas.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that its Operation Midway Blitz campaign was associated with a 16% drop in murders, a 35% reduction in shootings, and a 20% decrease in transit crime in Chicago after the campaign began in September 2025.
September 10, 2025
medium
statistical
Crime-reduction outcomes attributed by Homeland Security officials to a targeted CBP enforcement campaign in Chicago.
The U.S. government designated drug cartel groups including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa cartel as foreign terrorist organizations in February 2025.
February 01, 2025
medium
temporal
Describes a policy designation by the U.S. government classifying specific transnational criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
U.S. Border Patrol, a component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is responsible for detecting and apprehending individuals who unlawfully enter the United States between ports of entry.
November 17, 2024
high
process
Border Patrol conducts patrols and initial apprehensions along the U.S. border outside official ports of entry.
Between 2021-02-01 and 2024-05-01, the U.S. Department of Defense provided $48,812,351 in research funding to Washington University, Saint Louis University, and Vandeventer Place Research Foundation located in Missouri's 1st Congressional District.
May 01, 2024
high
temporal
Federal Department of Defense research grant records for Missouri's 1st Congressional District.
CR-15 was the designation for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Washington Field Office's public corruption unit.
September 27, 2023
high
organizational
CR-15 is a unit designation used within the FBI's Washington Field Office for handling public corruption matters.
CAST is an acronym for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cellular Analysis Survey Team.
September 27, 2023
high
definition
CAST refers to a specialized FBI team focused on cellular data analysis.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST) conducts analysis of cellular and toll records to support investigative work.
September 27, 2023
high
procedural
CAST's functions include examining cell-site data and toll records as part of criminal and national security investigations.
By 2023, U.S. authorities had expanded the use of economic sanctions toolsâoriginally developed to target terrorism and narcotics networksâto also target human smuggling operations and other transnational criminal organizations.
June 01, 2023
high
temporal
Characterizes a policy trend in U.S. enforcement approaches toward transnational criminal activity.
The abbreviation 'AFO' is used in federal law enforcement to denote 'assaults on federal officers'.
high
terminology
Classification term used by federal agencies to categorize incidents involving assault on federal officers.
CAST is an FBI acronym that stands for Cellular Analysis Survey Team.
high
definition
CAST is an FBI unit name referenced in reporting about cellular data analysis.
Cellular toll analysis can identify phone numbers called and provide the approximate locations where a phone call originated and where it was received.
high
technical capability
Toll analysis of call detail records is a common digital-forensic technique used in investigations to trace calling patterns and locations.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) maintains a bomb squad that can be requested to respond to potential explosive threats.
high
institutional
The article describes MPD officers requesting assistance from the MPD bomb squad during a suspected explosives incident.
Members of the Pennsylvania State Police are commonly referred to as 'troopers'.
high
organizational
Common nomenclature for personnel of the Pennsylvania State Police as used in news reporting.
Surveillance camera footage and documented vehicle sightings can be used by police to trace a person's movements even when the person's mobile phone is turned off.
high
procedural
Investigative methods for reconstructing movements after a crime.
ICE is an abbreviation for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency involved in immigration enforcement.
high
contextual
The article refers to an ICE facility; the full agency name appears in the text.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) can provide chat transcripts from online platforms, including Discord, to law enforcement or foreign authorities to assist investigations of suspected child exploitation.
high
procedural
Illustrates a mechanism by which a child-protection nonprofit supports investigations into online exploitation.
Operation Midway Blitz is a named federal immigration enforcement operation that targets undocumented immigrants residing in Illinois.
medium-high
policy
Describes the stated geographic focus and enforcement target of a federal operation.
State-led efforts to test and clear backlogs of untested rape kits can identify and lead to charges against large numbers of previously untested rape suspects; Utah's clearance effort identified and led to charges against thousands of rape suspects.
high
process
Describes a durable outcome of forensic backlog-clearing initiatives in criminal investigations.
Interpol issues international notices that can be used to identify individuals by distinctive physical markers such as tattoos, enabling hospital staff or other authorities to recognize suspects.
high
process
Describes a general method by which international notices aid identification of persons of interest.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) maintains a 'Ten Most Wanted Fugitives' list of individuals sought for serious crimes.
high
temporal
The FBI's long-standing public list of high-priority fugitives.
The abbreviation RBPF stands for the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
high
descriptive
Acronym expansion for the national police organization referenced in reporting.
Kristi Noem stated that 70% of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests are of noncitizens who have been convicted or charged with a crime in the United States.
medium
statistical
Quoted percentage claim about the composition of ICE arrests as reported in the article.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can issue detainers to local jails or prisons in order to assume custody of noncitizens who are in state or local custody.
high
procedural
Describes a standard enforcement procedure whereby ICE requests custody of detained noncitizens from local authorities.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can lodge immigration detainers against noncitizens following arrests by state or local law enforcement.
high
procedural
ICE uses detainers to request that custody-holding agencies notify ICE before releasing an individual so ICE can take custody for immigration enforcement purposes.
U.S. Border Patrol may release individuals encountered at or near the southern border into the U.S. interior pending immigration hearings.
high
procedural
Border Patrol encounters do not always result in immediate removal; individuals can be released into the interior while immigration proceedings are pending.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is the U.S. federal agency responsible for combating drug trafficking.
high
general
Defines the DEA's mandate in U.S. federal law enforcement.
Naval vessels, including guided-missile destroyers and aircraft carriers, are employed to detect, interdict, or target suspected maritime drug-smuggling vessels.
high
general
Describes a typical maritime security mission used to combat maritime drug trafficking.
Law enforcement agencies can use digital records from social media platforms, internet service providers, IP logs, device identifiers, and subscriber information to link online aliases to real-world individuals and locate residences.
high
process
Investigative techniques commonly involve correlating platform account data, network logs, and device/subscriber records to identify persons behind online activity.
Private digital forensics firms such as Cellebrite and Othram can assist law enforcement agencies by recovering data from partially wiped devices and helping reconstruct digital timelines during investigations.
high
procedural
Role of thirdâparty forensic labs in criminal investigations
U.S. federal and local law enforcement agencies commonly use surveillance, obtain access to encrypted chat content and other communications, analyze social media posts, and execute searches of residences and storage units during terrorism investigations.
high
procedural
Typical investigative methods used in terrorism-related probes.
A PIT (precision immobilization technique) maneuver is a police tactic in which officers intentionally strike the rear of a fleeing vehicle to cause it to spin out and stop.
high
definition
Description of a commonly used police pursuit mitigation maneuver.
Law enforcement investigators commonly analyze footage from numerous surveillance cameras and many hours of video to identify suspects.
high
process
Describes a common investigative method used to identify suspects.
Maritime death investigations can be legally and logistically complex and may involve federal agencies such as the FBI.
high
procedural
Investigations of deaths occurring aboard vessels often require coordination among ship operators, local authorities, and federal investigators.