[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 2]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR401.155]

[Page 18]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
               CHAPTER III--SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
 
PART 401_PRIVACY AND DISCLOSURE OF OFFICIAL RECORDS AND INFORMATION--Table 
of Contents
 
        Subpart C_Disclosure of Official Records and Information
 
Sec. 401.155  Law enforcement purposes.

    (a) General. The Privacy Act allows us to disclose information for 
law enforcement purposes under certain conditions. Much of the 
information in our files is especially sensitive or very personal. 
Furthermore, participation in social security programs is mandatory, so 
people cannot limit what information is given to us. Therefore, we 
generally disclose information for law enforcement purposes only in 
limited situations. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section discuss the 
disclosures we generally make for these purposes.
    (b) Serious crimes. SSA may disclose information for criminal law 
enforcement purposes where a violent crime such as murder or kidnapping 
has been committed and the individual about whom the information is 
being sought has been indicted or convicted of that crime. The Privacy 
Act allows us to disclose if the head of the law enforcement agency 
makes a written request giving enough information to show that these 
conditions are met, what information is needed, and why it is needed.
    (c) Criminal activity involving the social security program or 
another program with the same purposes. We disclose information when 
necessary to investigate or prosecute fraud or other criminal activity 
involving the social security program. We may also disclose information 
for investigation or prosecution of criminal activity in other income-
maintenance or health-maintenance programs (e.g., other governmental 
pension programs, unemployment compensation, general assistance, 
Medicare or Medicaid) if the information concerns eligibility, benefit 
amounts, or other matters of benefit status in a social security program 
and is relevant to determining the same matters in the other program.