(a) Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (j)(2), the Director or the Administrator may, where there is a compelling reason to do so, exempt a system of records within the Agency from any part of the Act, except subsections (b), (c) (1) and (2), (e)(4)(A) through (F), (e) (6), (7), (9), (10), and (11), and (i) thereof, if the system of records is maintained by the Agency or component thereof which performs as its principal function any activity pertaining to the enforcement of criminal laws, including police efforts to prevent, control, or reduce crime or to apprehend criminals, and the activities of prosecutors, courts, correctional, probation, pardon, or parole authorities, and which consists of:
(1) Information compiled for the purpose of identifying individual criminal offenders and alleged offenders and consisting only of identifying data and notations of arrests, the nature and disposition of criminal charges, sentencing, confinement, release, and parole and probation status;
(2) Information compiled for the purpose of a criminal investigation, including reports of informants and investigators, and associated with an identifiable individual; or
(3) Reports identifiable to an individual compiled at any stage of the process of enforcement of the criminal laws from arrest or indictment through release from supervision.
(b) Each notice of a system of records that is the subject of an exemption under this section will include a statement that the system has been exempted, the reasons therefore, and a reference to the Federal Register, volume and page, where the exemption rule can be found.
(c) The systems of records to be exempted under section (j)(2) of the Act, the provisions of the Act from which they are being exempted, and the justification for the exemptions, are set forth below:
(1) Criminal Law Enforcement Records. This system of records is to be exempted from sections (c) (3) and (4); (d); (e) (1), (2), and (3); (e) (4) (G), (H), and (I); (e) (5) and (8); (f), (g) and (h) of the Act. These exemptions are necessary to insure the proper functioning of the law enforcement activity, to protect confidential sources of information, to fulfill promises of confidentiality, to maintain the integrity of the law enforcement procedures, to avoid premature disclosure of the knowledge of criminal activity and the evidentiary bases of possible enforcement actions, to prevent interference with law enforcement proceeding, to avoid the disclosure of investigative techniques, and to avoid the endangering the law enforcement personnel.
(2) Partner Vetting System. This system is exempt from sections (c)(3) and (4); (d); (e)(1), (2), and (3); (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I); (e)(5) and (8); (f), (g), and (h) of 5 U.S.C. 552a. These exemptions are necessary to insure the proper functioning of the law enforcement activity, to protect confidential sources of information, to fulfill promises of confidentiality, to maintain the integrity of law enforcement procedures, to avoid premature disclosure of the knowledge of criminal activity and the evidentiary basis of possible enforcement actions, to prevent interference with law enforcement proceeding, to avoid the disclosure of investigative techniques, to avoid endangering law enforcement personnel, to maintain the ability to obtain candid and necessary information, to fulfill commitments made to sources to protect the confidentiality of information, to avoid endangering these sources, and to facilitate proper selection or continuance of the best applicants or persons for a given position or contract. Although the primary functions of USAID are not of a law enforcement nature, the mandate to ensure USAID funding is not purposefully or inadvertently used to provide support to entities or individuals deemed to be a risk to national security necessarily requires coordination with law enforcement and intelligence agencies as well as use of their information. Use of these agencies' information necessitates the conveyance of these other systems exemptions to protect the information as stated.
[57 FR 38277, Aug. 24, 1992, as amended at 74 FR 16, Jan. 2, 2009]