[Budget of the United States Government]
[VI. Investing in the Common Good: Program Performance in Federal Functions]
[27. Administration of Justice]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
27. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
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Table 27-1. FEDERAL RESOURCES IN SUPPORT OF ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
(In millions of dollars)
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Estimate
Function 750 1997 -----------------------------------------------------------
Actual 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
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Spending:
Discretionary Budget Authority.......... 22,942 24,229 25,728 24,554 24,381 24,551 25,075
Mandatory Outlays:
Existing law.......................... 78 1,359 640 287 149 174 160
Proposed legislation.................. ........ 10 51 55 49 42 35
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While States and localities bear most of the responsibility for
fighting crime, the Federal Government also plays a critical role. Along
with supporting State and local activities, the Federal Government
investigates and prosecutes criminal acts that require a national
response. In 1998, anti-crime expenditures will consume 4.6 percent of
all Federal discretionary spending, compared with about two percent in
1988.
Total Federal, State, and local resources devoted to the
administration of justice--including law enforcement, litigation,
judicial, and correctional activities--grew from $71.8 billion in 1989
to an estimated $141.7 billion in 1998--by 97 percent or, as Chart 27-1
shows, by 46 percent in constant 1992 dollars. During this period, the
Federal law enforcement component, including transfer payments to State
and local law enforcement activities, more than doubled, from $10.1
billion in 1989 to $25.3 billion in 1998. Nevertheless, Federal
resources account for only 18 percent of total governmental spending for
administration of justice.
The number of criminal offenses that law enforcement agencies reported
fell by three percent from 1995 to 1996--marking the fifth straight year
that the crime rate has fallen. The number reported in the first six
months of 1997, the most recent period for which figures are available,
was four percent lower than in the same period in 1996. The drop in
crime, when compared with increases in anti-crime spending during the
same period, appears to suggest a general relationship, although crime
is affected by varying factors. The budget builds upon this record of
success by continuing to provide substantial funding for proven anti-
crime programs.
Federal Activities
Federal funding for the Administration of Justice function includes:
(1) Federal law enforcement activities; (2) litigative and judicial
activities; (3) correctional activities; and (4) financial assistance to
State and local entities (see Chart 27-2). In 1998, 70 percent of these
funds went to the Justice Department (DOJ), while most of the rest went
to the Treasury Department and the Judicial Branch.
Law Enforcement: The budget proposes in 1999 to enforce a wide range
of laws, reflecting the unique Federal role in law enforcement. Some
responsibilities--such as customs enforcement--date from the beginning
of the country. DOJ's FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
enforce diverse Federal laws dealing with violent crime, terrorism,
white collar crime, drug smuggling, and many other criminal acts. The
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) protects the U.S. border
from illegal migration while providing
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services to legal aliens. These agencies, and the ones discussed below,
also work with State and local law enforcement agencies, often through
joint task forces, to address drug, gang, and other violent crime
problems.
Within the Treasury Department, the U.S. Customs Service, Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), United States Secret Service, and
other bureaus enforce laws related to drug and contraband smuggling
across our borders; firearms trafficking; arson and explosives crime;
financial crime and fraud, including money laundering, counterfeiting,
and credit card fraud; and the regulation of the alcohol, tobacco, and
firearms industries. The Secret Service protects the President, Vice
President, and foreign dignitaries. The Federal Law Enforcement Training
Center (FLETC) trains Federal law enforcement personnel.
Federal responsibility to enforce civil rights laws in employment and
housing arises from Titles VII and VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
as well as more recent legislation, including the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Department
of Housing and Urban Development enforces laws that prohibit
discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability,
familial status, or national origin in the sale or rental, provision of
brokerage services, or financing of housing. The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission enforces laws that prohibit employment
discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability,
age, and national origin. DOJ enforces the criminal civil rights laws.
Litigation and Judicial Activities: After law enforcement agencies
such as the FBI, DEA, and ATF have investigated and apprehended
perpetrators of Federal crimes, the United States must prosecute them--
and the budget proposes $7.5 billion for this purpose. This task falls
primarily to the 93 United States Attorneys and the 4,450 Assistant
United States Attorneys. Along with prosecuting cases referred by
Federal law enforcement
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agencies, the U.S. Attorneys work with State and local police and
prosecutors in their efforts to bring to justice those who have violated
Federal laws--whether international drug traffickers, organized crime
ringleaders, or perpetrators of white collar fraud. The U.S. Marshals
Service protects the Federal courts and their officers; apprehends
fugitives; and maintains custody of prisoners involved in judicial
proceedings.
In addition, DOJ contains several legal divisions specializing in
specific areas of criminal and civil law. These divisions--including the
Civil, Criminal, Civil Rights, Environment and Natural Resources, Tax,
and Antitrust Divisions--work with the U.S. Attorneys to ensure that
violators of Federal laws are brought to justice. The Federal
Government, through the Legal Services Corporation, also promotes equal
access to the Nation's legal system by funding local organizations that
provide legal assistance to the poor in civil cases.
The Judiciary's growth in recent years arises from increased Federal
enforcement efforts and Congress' continued expansion of the Judiciary's
jurisdiction. Accounting for 13 percent of total law enforcement
spending, the Judiciary comprises the Supreme Court and 12 circuit
courts of appeals, 90 bankruptcy courts, and 94 district courts, 94
federal probation offices, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
and the Court of International Trade. The Federal Judiciary is overseen
by 2,096 Federal judges and nine Supreme Court justices.
Correctional Activities: The budget proposes $3.5 billion for
corrections activities. Due to higher spending on law enforcement and
tougher sentencing, the number of Federal Prison System inmates has
risen to 114,000, more than double the number in 1988. The Federal
inmate population--less than a tenth of the total U.S. inmate
population--will continue to grow due to the abolition of parole,
minimum mandatory sentences, and sentencing guidelines. State inmate
populations will
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grow, in part, due to sentencing requirements tied to Federal prison
grant funds. In the Federal system, about 62 percent of inmates serving
time were convicted on drug-related charges.
Criminal Justice Assistance: The budget proposes $4.6 billion to help
State and local governments fight crime. The Administration is
encouraging the adoption of community policing practices through the
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. The Truth-in-
Sentencing/Violent Offender Incarceration grant program seeks to ensure
that convicted violent offenders are incarcerated and serve at least 85
percent of their sentences. Similar changes in law from 1984 for Federal
prisoners increased the time served by 60 percent.
To combat the significant problem of violence against women, the
budget proposes $271 million to enhance the States' abilities to
respond, and to further expand access to previously under-served rural,
Indian, and other minority populations. To promote increased drug
testing and treatment for individuals under the supervision of the
criminal justice system, the budget proposes a $94 million increase over
the 1998 level for drug testing and treatment and Drug Courts. In
addition, the budget continues to provide $553 million in law
enforcement assistance grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial State and
Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program.
To prevent young people from becoming involved in the juvenile justice
system, the budget continues juvenile justice programs, including those
that provide supervised afternoon and evening activities for youth. The
budget also provides additional assistance to State and local
prosecutors' offices to address gang violence and other juvenile crime,
and to courts and court-related entities to expedite the handling of
violent juvenile cases. Finally, the budget provides a $6 million
increase for ``Weed and Seed,'' which helps communities develop and
implement comprehensive strategies to ``weed'' out violent crime,
illegal drugs, and gang activity, and to ``seed'' their communities with
programs that prevent crime.
Performance Goals
Federal agencies, as cited below, will work to achieve the following
performance goals with the proposed budget funds:
With regard to violent crime:
The Justice Department will maintain the Federal Government's
commitment to reducing the incidence of violent crime below
the 1996 level of 634 offenses per 100,000 population.
The Justice Department will provide funding for communities to
hire and deploy 16,000 more officers in 1999.
The Treasury Department will help solve violent crimes and
reduce firearms trafficking by tracing up to 275,000 firearms
used in criminal activities, compared to 116,674 in 1996.
The Justice Department will reduce specific areas of organized
crime and its influence on unions and industries from the 1997
level, while intensifying its efforts to prevent emerging
organized crime enterprises from gaining a permanent foothold
in particular areas.
The Treasury Department will ensure the physical protection of
the President, Vice President, visiting foreign dignitaries,
and others protected by the Secret Service.
The Justice Department will ensure that no judge, witness, or
other court participant is the victim of an assault stemming
from his or her involvement in a Federal court proceeding.
The U.S. Marshals Service will apprehend 80 percent of violent
offenders within one year of a warrant's issuance, and will
reduce the fugitive backlog from 1998 by five percent.
The Interior and Justice Departments will work to increase the
number of law enforcement officers for Indian Tribes from the
current level of 1.3 officers per 1,000 citizens to 2.9
officers per 1,000 citizens.
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With regard to drug abuse:
Federal and non-Federal entities will work together to reduce
the availability and abuse of illegal drugs.
Separately, the Office of National Drug Control Policy will
present a comprehensive set of societal performance measures
for anti-drug programs, recognizing that achieving national
drug control objectives depends critically on the actions of
not only the Federal Government, but of State, local, and
foreign governments and on the behavior of individuals.
With regard to immigration and border control:
The Justice Department will reduce the average time between
application and naturalization of qualified candidates from an
estimated 24 months in 1997 to six to 10 months in 1999.
The Treasury, Justice and Agriculture Departments will
increase the percent of legitimate air passengers cleared
through primary inspection in 30 minutes or less from an
estimated 31 percent in 1997 to 39 percent in 1999; and will
work to process legitimate land border travelers through the
primary inspection process on the Mexico border in 30 minutes
or less in 1999.
The Justice Department will increase the number of removals of
aliens who are illegally in the United States from 111,794 in
1997 to about 134,900 in 1999.
The Justice Department will identify over 38,500 unauthorized
workers, thereby opening up potential jobs for U.S. citizens
and other legally authorized workers.
The Treasury Department will increase trade revenue from
duties collected and enhance the accuracy of trade data by
improving importers' compliance with trade laws (e.g., quotas,
trademarks, and copyrights) from 83 percent in 1997 to 85
percent in 1999.
With regard to civil rights and other matters:
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will reduce the
average time to process private sector equal employment
complaints by doubling the number of complaints eligible for
the mediation-based alternative dispute resolution program.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will
ensure that HUD grantees in 20 communities undertake fair
housing audit-based enforcement, using a HUD-developed
standardized methodology, to develop local indices of
discrimination, to identify and pursue violations of fair
housing laws, and to promote new fair housing enforcement
initiatives at the local level.
The Treasury Department will step up its efforts to disrupt
and dismantle the illegal activities of major violators of
Federal financial crimes laws (e.g., counterfeiting, forgery,
money laundering, and credit card fraud).