Diversion Investigator (DI) is the title of a specialist position within the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

(DEA) of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

. Most DIs are part of DEA's Diversion Control Program and are assigned to various DEA field offices throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries. DIs are responsible for addressing the problem of diversion of controlled

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field an ...

s and regulated

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., w ...

s from the legitimate channels in which they are manufactured, distributed, and dispensed. The mission of a DI is to aid the U.S. pharmaceutical and chemical industries in complying with the Federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and other pertinent laws, as well as international treaties and conventions. DIs conduct investigations to uncover and investigate suspected sources of diversion and take appropriate criminal, civil and/or administrative actions. The DI position was originally known as a "Compliance Investigator" and was created to address the regulatory responsibilities of the

Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) was a bureau within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and a predecessor agency of the modern Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). History It was created by § 3 of the Reorganizatio ...

(BNDD) following the enactment of the CSA in 1970. Around 1983–84, the position had been given its current name. One key difference between the DI position and that of a DEA Special Agent is that DEA has never authorized DIs (or their Compliance Investigator predecessors) to carry firearms or to perform traditional

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

activities such as making arrests or controlling informants. DEA Special Agents, on the other hand, are fully commissioned Federal law enforcement officers. From 1971 to 1995, DIs were classified a
series 1810 (general investigator)
within the U.S. civil service system. In other Federal agencies, series 1810 investigators performed administrative investigative functions such as background investigations for

security clearances A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is ...

(

Office of Personnel Management An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific d ...

and the

Defense Security Service The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) is a federasecurityand defense agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) that reports to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.DCSA is the largest counterintellige ...

) or investigations of

equal employment opportunity Equal employment opportunity is equal opportunity to attain or maintain employment in a company, organization, or other institution. Examples of legislation to foster it or to protect it from eroding include the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity ...

violations (

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

). In 1995, DEA reclassified DIs t
series 1801 (general inspection, investigation, enforcement, and compliance)
to reflect the position's mixture of criminal, civil, and administrative investigative duties. In order to accomplish their mission, DIs employ a wide range of investigative activities. One such activity is the scheduled regulatory investigation (or audit) of registered handlers of

controlled substance A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession and use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated by law. Some treaties, notably the Single ...

s. These investigations serve to deter diversion through evaluation of the registrants' record-keeping procedures,

security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...

safeguards and general compliance with the CSA and implementing regulations. Legitimate handlers of controlled substances subject to regulatory investigation include drug manufacturers, distributors (wholesalers), importers and exporters, and narcotic treatment programs, which are those programs primarily designed to furnish

methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid agonist used for chronic pain and also for opioid dependence. It is used to treat chronic pain, and it is also used to treat addiction to heroi ...

to narcotic addicts as part of a program of addiction treatment. Most recently, there has been a growing push to investigate diversion of controlled substances involving sale and distribution via the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. The rapidly changing environment and an increase in Internet diversion of controlled substances has created a need for programs to target these sources of diversion. Frequently, DIs are involved in investigations aimed at the most serious practitioner-level registrant violators (e.g., medical practitioners,

pharmacies Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links healt ...

, etc.) of controlled substances laws and regulations. These registrants have a documented or suspected history of diversion of drugs/chemicals into the illicit market. DIs collect and analyze information developed during their investigations and consult with supervisory personnel to determine if criminal prosecution is warranted. DIs work closely with DEA Special Agents and state and local

officers who provide assistance in making undercover purchases and executing

search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any evidence they find. In most countries, ...

s. DIs also work closely with attorneys for DEA, the United States Attorneys Office and state and local prosecutors. DIs are required to testify as to the results of their investigations during criminal trials, grand jury proceedings and administrative hearings. A key function of the DI position involves maintaining liaison with all levels of the U.S. drug and chemical registrant population, including the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. DIs will often answer questions registrants have concerning their responsibilities under the CSA. Many DIs also become involved in their field office's demand reduction and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

out-reach programs. Foreign-based DIs are experts in legal and regulatory matters pertaining to narcotics,

psychotropic A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, psychoactive agent or psychotropic drug is a chemical substance, that changes functions of the nervous system, and results in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behavior. Th ...

substances, and regulated chemicals. They serve as advisers/consultants to foreign host

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

s in establishing anti-diversion programs.

References

{{Reflist Drug Enforcement Administration