# § 413. Duty of United States attorneys and other Federal officers in enforcement of provisions; arrest of offenders
*Provided**And provided further*
The Department of Justice shall conduct the legal proceedings necessary to enforce the provisions of sections 401, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408, 409, 411, and 412 of this title; and it shall be the duty of United States attorneys to vigorously prosecute all offenders against the same whenever requested to do so by the Secretary of the Army or by any of the officials hereinafter designated, and it shall furthermore be the duty of said United States attorneys to report to the Attorney General of the United States the action taken by him against offenders so reported, and a transcript of such reports shall be transmitted to the Secretary of the Army by the Attorney General; and for the better enforcement of the said provisions and to facilitate the detection and bringing to punishment of such offenders, the officers and agents of the United States in charge of river and harbor improvements, and the assistant engineers and inspectors employed under them by authority of the Secretary of the Army, and the United States collectors of customs and other revenue officers shall have power and authority to swear out process, and to arrest and take into custody, with or without process, any person or persons who may commit any of the acts or offenses prohibited by the said sections, or who may violate any of the provisions of the same: , That no person shall be arrested without process for any offense not committed in the presence of some one of the aforesaid officials: , That whenever any arrest is made under such sections, the person so arrested shall be brought forthwith before a magistrate judge, judge, or court of the United States for examination of the offenses alleged against him; and such magistrate judge, judge, or court shall proceed in respect thereto as authorized by law in case of crimes against the United States.
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**Source Credit**: (Mar. 3, 1899, ch. 425, § 17, 30 Stat. 1153; July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, § 205(a), 61 Stat. 501; June 25, 1948, ch. 646, § 1, 62 Stat. 909; Pub. L. 90–578, title IV, § 402(b)(2), Oct. 17, 1968, 82 Stat. 1118; Pub. L. 101–650, title III, § 321, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5117.)
## Editorial Notes
### Codification
Section is from act , popularly known as the “Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899”.
### Prior Provisions
> “It shall be the duty of officers and agents having the supervision, on the part of the United States, of the works in progress for the preservation and improvement of said navigable waters, and, in their absence, of the United States collectors of customs and other revenue officers to enforce the provisions of this act by giving information to the district attorney of the United States for the district in which any violation of any provision of this act shall have been committed:
>
> , That the provisions of this act shall not apply to Torch Lake, Houghton County, Michigan.”
, , was probably omitted from the Code as superseded by this section, or as rendered obsolete by act , different sections of which superseded provisions of the act of 1890, the enforcement of which was provided for by section 11. It read as follows:
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Change of Name
Act , eff. , substituted “United States attorneys” for “district attorneys of the United States” and “district attorneys”. See , Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, and Historical and Revision Notes set out thereunder.
Department of War designated Department of the Army and title of Secretary of War changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205(a) of , . Section 205(a) of act , was repealed by section 53 of , . Section 1 of act , enacted “Title 10, Armed Forces” which in sections 3010 to 3013 continued Department of the Army under administrative supervision of Secretary of the Army.
“Magistrate judge” substituted in text for “magistrate” pursuant to , set out as a note under , Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. Previously, “magistrate” was substituted for “commissioner” pursuant to . See chapter 43 (§ 631 et seq.) of Title 28.
### Transfer of Functions
Functions, powers, and duties of Secretary of the Army and other offices and officers of Department of the Army under to extent that they relate generally to location and clearances of bridges and causeways in navigable waters of United States transferred to and vested in Secretary of Transportation by , , , which created Department of Transportation. amended to reflect transfer made by , and repealed section 6(g)(6)(A).
## Executive Documents
### Transfer of Functions
All offices of collector of customs, comptroller of customs, surveyor of customs, and appraiser of merchandise in Bureau of Customs of Department of the Treasury to which appointments required to be made by President with advice and consent of Senate were ordered abolished with such offices to be terminated not later than , by Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1965, eff. , 30 F.R. 7035, , set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. All functions of the offices eliminated were already vested in Secretary of the Treasury by Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, eff. , 15 F.R. 4935, , set out in the Appendix to Title 5.