1.5: Justice System
A Responsive, Fair, and Effective System of Justice Other Information:
As the U.S. population ages, the ongoing downward trend in violent crime, exhibited by the recent 10 percent decline in murder
and manslaughter in 2009, is expected to continue. At the same time, increasingly sophisticated transnational criminal and
drug organizations will present new and growing challenges for the Department of Justice (DOJ). In particular, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimates that the United States will continue to face terrorist threats, along with an increase
in ethnic-related organized crime—including white-collar crime, racketeering, and human trafficking—that will increasingly
affect local communities throughout the United States. DOJ and the federal judiciary also face challenges in effectively managing
resources, while ensuring accountability to the taxpayer in the face of tight budgets, a continued focus on terrorism, new
and evolving criminal threats, rising criminal immigration caseloads, and a growing population of offenders released from
prison who require community supervision. Managing the breadth of DOJ’s mission and changing workload while operating in a
constrained fiscal environment will likely present potentially significant policy tradeoffs. GAO’s oversight of DOJ as it
manages these trade-offs will be essential to help ensure accountability to the Congress and the American people. Domestic
intelligence, revitalized counterterrorism, and emerging crimes: DOJ is faced with an evolving domestic intelligence and revitalized
counterterrorism mission and the need to respond to new and emerging crimes, such as cyber and financial crimes. Garnering
the resources and having the organizational dexterity to respond to this changing mission while protecting the safety and
civil liberties of the American public will place a premium on DOJ’s ability to effectively manage its resources. DOJ’s 40
components execute its statutory responsibility for a wide-ranging mission that encompasses enforcing the law and defending
the interests of the United States, ensuring public safety, providing federal leadership in crime prevention and control,
seeking punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior, enforcing the nation’s voting rights statutes, and ensuring the
fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. The federal judiciary will also need to address a growing
immigration caseload. Criminal immigration cases have risen steadily since 2000—they increased 21 percent in 2009 alone, to
25,804—representing one-third of all criminal cases filed in U.S. district courts nationwide. Effective strategic planning
and performance measurement will become increasingly important tools in helping DOJ and the federal judiciary achieve their
missions. Federal Bureau of Investigation: Within DOJ, the FBI commands the largest portion of resources, has the broadest
mission, and will face trade-offs as it continues to build its counterterrorism capabilities while managing its more traditional
law enforcement missions. Protecting the United States from terrorist attacks remains the FBI’s top priority, but the FBI
must also address a 60 percent increase in public corruption investigations and a doubling in high-yield-investment fraud
investigations. The FBI faces significant human-capital challenges, such as realigning staff to face new and evolving law
enforcement missions while recruiting and retaining employees with the specialized skills needed to address evolving counterterrorism
priorities. Maintaining a steady stream of new talent will continue to be especially important for the FBI, since 20 percent
of its current workforce will be eligible to retire in the next 2 years. The FBI will also need to build and improve its intelligencegathering,
analytic, and informationsharing capabilities—requiring ongoing transformation of its intelligence program and upgrading of
its computer systems. In addition, growing gang violence will continue to pose safety threats to communities across the United
States. DOJ estimates that there are about 20,000 gangs and 1 million gang members in the United States. These gangs, which
engage in crimes such as homicide and drug-selling and trafficking, are increasingly migrating to suburban and rural communities.
Federal inmate population: The United States also faces difficult decisions in managing a growing and increasingly costly
federal inmate population that now accounts for nearly a quarter of the entire DOJ budget. DOJ’s Federal Bureau of Prisons
(BOP) faces significant challenges in effectively managing this prison population within an already overcrowded and increasingly
aging prison system. The federal prison population grew by 44 percent from 2000-2009, and additional growth is projected (see
fig. 27). In response to the increased inmate population, BOP’s annual budget also has grown by 68 percent during this same
time period. However, according to BOP, its facilities were operating at 37 percent overcapacity at the end of 2009 and overcrowding
is expected to continue, straining BOP and community resources. Addressing overcrowding will require DOJ to carefully assess
and balance several competing resource demands, including maintaining its aging facilities, meeting current inmate medical
needs, and enhancing programs to reduce the rate at which former inmates return to prison (recidivism). The most recent Bureau
of Justice Statistics study found that more than two-thirds of prisoners released were rearrested for a new offense. These
trends strain limited federal and community resources and significantly complicate DOJ’s and the judiciary’s efforts to confine,
rehabilitate, and prepare for and monitor the release of convicted offenders. Federal probation officers: The federal judiciary
will also need to address an increasing number of offenders on supervised release as a growing number of federal probation
officers become eligible for retirement. In the 1980s and 1990s, thousands of offenders were sentenced to mandatory minimum
prison terms of 10 or more years for drug offenses. The terms of many are coming to an end. In addition, in March 2008, 21,000
federal prison inmates sentenced for crack cocaine offenses became eligible for shorter prison sentences. As of January 2009,
12,723 of these inmates had been granted an average sentence reduction of 24 months. Each of these inmates must serve a term
of community supervision after release from prison, placing increasing demands on federal probation services. Monitoring how
the judiciary responds to these and other workload demands is important, as this response affects other aspects of the federal
justice system, such as prosecution, sentencing decisions, and prison capacity. Grant funding: At its most fundamental, the
nation’s communities must deal with the consequences of crime. DOJ plays a critical role in equipping states and localities
to address crime by providing federal grant dollars for prevention, intervention, and enforcement programs: In 2009, DOJ managed
over $3 billion „„in grant funding from its regular fiscal year appropriation, according to the DOJ Office of the Inspector
General. DOJ has had problems effectively managing its grant funds and will need to increasingly focus on ensuring that states
and localities are spending funds on crime prevention and reduction programs that have achieved long-standing results. In
an era when states and localities are „„increasingly concerned about their ability to fund and sustain programs to fight traditional
crime, the effectiveness and efficiency of federal law enforcement grant programs will become increasingly important. With
state governments projected to face a collective budget gap of $162 billion for fiscal year 2010, some state governments are
re-evaluating sentencing, parole, and drug policies to scale back the expense of housing inmates. In this light, DOJ will
need to play an „„important role in researching, supporting, and evaluating new model programs, such as programs addressing
gang violence and juvenile delinquency, to ensure that they have shown demonstrated results to help communities reduce or
prevent crime. For example, from fiscal years 2007 through 2009, DOJ’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP) provided about $1.1 billion in grants to states, localities, and organizations to help reduce juvenile delinquency
and victimization. However, GAO’s prior work has shown „„that OJJDP could enhance its efforts to ensure the effectiveness
of its grant programs by taking steps to ensure performance measurement data collected from grantees are verified, regularly
soliciting and incorporating feedback from the juvenile justice field on information it disseminates about programs, and finalizing
a plan for its research and evaluation efforts. GAO’s prior and future work on the federal system of justice can help federal
decision makers address an increasingly complex strategic environment. To support efforts by the Congress and the federal
government to ensure a responsive, fair, and effective system of justice, GAO has established the following performance goals
and key efforts:
Indicator(s):
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