Such investigations are a primary means of protecting and enhancing the commander's order and discipline. All MP conduct preliminary investigations. MP routinely make inquiries to learn the facts about incidents to which they have been called. Based on their inquiry, MP help determine the outcome of an incident by resolving the problem, referring the problem to helping agencies, or determining the need for a full-scale investigation by a trained investigator.
Military investigators conduct systematic and impartial investigations to uncover the truth.
They seek to determine if a crime has been committed and to discover evidence of who has committed it. They find, protect, collect, and preserve evidence discovered at the crime scene or elsewhere. They document their findings and their actions with careful records. They ensure evidence is accounted for by a complete chain of custody to allow it to be admissible in court. They conduct interviews and interrogations in a manner that ensures depositions, statements, admissions, and confessions can be accepted in court.