[Budget of the United States Government]
[III. Creating a Better Government]
[17. Administration of Justice]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
17. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
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Table 17-1. Federal Resources in Support of Administration of Justice
(In millions of dollars)
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Estimate
Function 750 2000 -----------------------------------------------------------
Actual 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
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Spending:
Discretionary Budget Authority.......... 27,056 29,955 29,782 31,918 32,269 32,760 33,517
Mandatory Outlays:
Existing law.......................... 996 673 1,458 1,117 2,543 2,467 2,534
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Note: 2002-2004 program levels reflect delays in spending from the Crime Victims Fund.
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While States and localities bear most of the responsibility for
fighting crime, the Federal Government plays a critical role, both in
supporting State and local activities and in investigating and
prosecuting criminal acts that require a Federal response. In 2002, the
Federal Government proposes to spend nearly $30 billion on the
administration of justice, with 67 percent of these funds going to the
Justice Department, and the majority of the remaining funds going to the
Treasury Department and the Judicial Branch. Total Federal, State, and
local resources devoted to the administration of justice will grow to an
estimated $181 billion in 2002 (see Chart 17-1).
In 1999, the crime rate (number of crimes per 100,000 inhabitants)
fell for the eighth consecutive year. However, the crime rate reported
for the first six months of 2000, the most recent period for which
figures are available, fell only 0.3 percent from the same period in
1999. In response, the budget requests substantial funding for proven
anti-crime programs, including: (1) law enforcement; (2) litigative and
judicial activities; (3) correctional activities; and (4) assistance to
State and local entities (see Chart 17-2).
Law Enforcement
Department of Justice (DOJ): DOJ enforces diverse Federal laws dealing
with terrorism, immigration, white collar crime, violent crime, drug
smuggling, and many other criminal acts. DOJ bureaus work closely with
State and local law enforcement agencies, often through joint task
forces, to address crime problems.
National security and terrorism: DOJ, with strong support from
Congress, has acted to prevent, mitigate, and investigate acts of
terrorism, including the use of weapons of mass destruction and the
emerging threat of cybercrime. The Department will spend an estimated
$902 million in 2001 to combat terrorism, primarily in the Federal
Bureau of Investigation ($491 million) and the Office of Justice
Programs ($221 million).
The FBI has primary responsibility for preventing domestic acts of
terrorism. If an incident should occur, it is the lead investigative
agency. The FBI also has developed the capacity to mitigate and
investigate cyber-attacks against the Federal Government, the Nation's
critical infrastructure, and American businesses. The budget proposes
additional personnel and funding for new technology to support this
effort. Additional funding is requested to provide security at the 2002
Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The budget also proposes additional
resources for the Criminal Division to provide prosecutorial assistance
for all terrorist incidents, including cyber-terrorism, serving as a
focal point for such efforts at all levels of law enforcement.
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State and local public safety agencies would have a major role in
managing the consequences of any terrorist event involving the use of
weapons of mass destruction, such as biological, chemical, or nuclear
weapons. DOJ and other Federal agencies support the necessary training
and equipping of State and local agencies to ensure their response
readiness.
In 2002, DOJ's Office of State and Local Domestic
Preparedness Support plans to train an additional 12,000 of
the Nation's first responders.
Immigration enforcement and services: DOJ's Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) protects the U.S. borders from illegal
immigration while providing services to legal aliens. Over $3.5 billion
is requested for INS in 2002, $264 million (8.1 percent) more than was
appropriated for 2001. The 2002 Budget proposes to add 570 new Border
Patrol agents in both 2002 and 2003. With these 1,140 additional agents,
the total increase of 5,000 Border Patrol agents authorized by the
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 will
be achieved. Approximately 11,000 agents will be deployed along the
Nation's northern and southern borders by the end of 2003, 12 percent
more than the 2001 level of 9,800 agents.
As part of its comprehensive enforcement strategy, INS
removed from the United States 183,860 illegal aliens pursuant
to final removal orders in 2000, a slight increase over the
1999 level (178,200), and plans to increase removals in 2002
(193,200), of which roughly 72,000 will be criminal aliens.
In 2002, INS will continue to focus on strengthening its
capability to apprehend and deter alien smugglers and drug
carriers. In 2000, INS intercepted roughly 19,000 offshore
travelers, over twice the number in 1999 (9,124). INS plans to
maintain this level of interceptions in 2001 and 2002.
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INS reduced the average time between application receipt and
naturalization decisions for qualified candidates from a
national average of 27 months in 1998 to eight months by the
end of 2000. However, applicants for other immigration
benefits--including adjustment of status applications for both
employment-based and family-based petitions--continue to wait
years for their paperwork to be processed. The 2002 Budget
proposes a five-year, $500 million initiative to support a
universal six-month processing standard for all immigration
applications.
INS performance is adversely affected by competing missions--
law enforcement versus service delivery. To mitigate internal
conflicts, the Administration will propose splitting INS into
two agencies with separate chains of command, but reporting to
a single policy official in DOJ.
Other law enforcement efforts: DOJ also combats other serious
criminal activity, including violent crime, illegal drugs, and white
collar crime. These efforts are lead by the FBI and the Drug Enforcement
Administration. The U.S. Marshals Service protects the Federal courts
and their officers, apprehends fugitives, and maintains custody of
prisoners involved in judicial proceedings.
In 2002, the Federal Government will continue its commitment
to reduce the incidence of violent crime.
DOJ will dismantle three of the 30 violent gangs identified
as the country's most dangerous.
In 2002, the U.S. Marshals Service intends to improve its
performance, apprehending 80 percent of violent offenders
within one year of the issuance of a warrant, and reducing the
fugitive backlog by five percent from 2001 levels. At the end
of 2000,
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there were 8,642 outstanding fugitive warrants.
In addition, the U.S. Marshals Service will strive to 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. This is an ongoing standard of zero
tolerance related to court security.
Department of the Treasury: 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 at our borders; commercial fraud; firearms trafficking;
arson and explosives crimes; and financial crimes, including money
laundering, counterfeiting, and credit card fraud. In addition, the
Customs Service regulates the importation and exportation of goods; ATF
regulates the alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives industries;
and, the Secret Service protects the President, Vice President, and
visiting foreign dignitaries. The Federal Law Enforcement Training
Center provides basic and advanced training to Treasury and other law
enforcement personnel. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network supports
law enforcement agencies in the detection, investigation, and
prosecution of domestic and international money laundering.
In 2002, the Treasury Department plans to:
help solve violent crimes and reduce firearms trafficking by
tracing up to 215,000 firearms used in criminal activities,
compared to 209,396 in 2000, and by reducing its trace
response time from 11.4 days in 1999 to 10 days;
ensure the physical protection of the President, Vice
President, visiting foreign dignitaries, and others protected
by the Secret Service;
maintain or improve upon its 99-percent collection rate for
trade revenue (duties, taxes, and user fees); and
improve importer compliance with trade laws (e.g., quotas,
trademarks, cargo and merchandise classification) from 81
percent in 1997 to 90 percent in 2002.
The Customs Service, which plays an integral role in our Nation's
drug enforcement and reduction strategies, will also continue
implementation of the Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act (WHDEA).
New funding for Customs (as well as the Coast Guard) will enhance
efforts authorized by the WHDEA, including purchasing equipment,
training law enforcement personnel in matters relating to maritime law
enforcement, and enhancing interdiction against drug transit operations
in the source zone.
Federal Drug Control Activities: In 1997, the Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP) led Federal agencies involved in drug control
activities in the development of a comprehensive, 10-year National Drug
Control Strategy that incorporated aggressive societal goals for anti-
drug programs. The goals established can not be met by Federal action
alone, but require action by State, local, and foreign governments, the
private sector, religious institutions, not-for-profit agencies, and
individuals. ONDCP also led the development of a Performance Measures of
Effectiveness (PME) system to track progress toward the goals of the
Strategy. The PME system comprises 97 performance targets that define
the drug control community's five and 10 year objectives. Much more
progress will be necessary to meet these targets. The performance
targets include:
Reducing the overall rate of illegal drug use in the United
States from the 1996 baseline by 25 percent by 2002 and by 50
percent by 2007. In 1999, the overall rate of illegal drug use
was 7.0, statistically unchanged from the baseline year;
Reducing the rate of drug-related violent crime by 15 percent
by 2002, compared to the 1996 baseline, and by 40 percent by
2007. The rate of violent crime, regardless of cause, from the
Uniform Crime Reports is used as a proxy for drug-related
violent crime. In 1999, the violent crime rate was 525 per
100,000 U.S. inhabitants, compared to 636 in 1996, a 17-
percent decline; and
Reducing the number of chronic drug users by 20 percent from
the 1996 baseline by 2002 and by 50 percent by 2007. In 2000,
the most recent year for which such
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data are available, the estimated number of chronic hardcore
cocaine users declined marginally from 3.41 million users in
1996 to 3.33 million. The number of chronic hardcore heroin
users increased from 917,000 to 977,000 over the same period.
The strategy established in 1997 will continue to guide Federal drug
control activity. However, led by ONDCP, the Administration will review
the strategy with the goal of distinguishing approaches that are
yielding sufficient results from those approaches that are not. In
particular, the review will look closely at the relative emphasis on
demand reduction and supply reduction activities, as well as the amounts
invested in individual programs by the Federal Government. The
Administration intends to develop a drug control strategy that
adequately addresses the problem, and is evidence-based, cost effective,
and affordable.
Civil Rights Laws: 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 (HUD) 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's Civil Rights Division and the U.S.
Attorneys enforce a variety of criminal and civil statutes that protect
the constitutional and statutory rights of the Nation's citizens.
In 2002, DOJ will devote increased resources to its responsibilities
associated with worker exploitation; the Voting Rights Act; criminal
civil rights violations; and the President's New Freedom Initiative for
the Americans with Disabilities Act. Other priority areas include
enforcement efforts to combat housing and lending discrimination and a
study to determine the extent to which police engage in racial
profiling.
The Voting Rights Act requires certain jurisdictions to submit
redistricting changes to the Attorney General for review and clearance.
As redistricting data from the 2000 Census are released, DOJ will
experience a surge of activity in this area. Additional resources will
be provided to address requirements for the timely review of voting
changes and redistricting proposals submitted by covered jurisdictions,
as required by the Voting Rights Act.
HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity expects to receive
over 11,000 allegations of housing discrimination in 2002. Combating
housing discrimination supports many larger public policy objectives.
Most significantly, the prevention and education of discrimination in
housing and housing-related transactions helps bridge the large gap in
home ownership rates that now exists between racial and ethnic groups
(especially African-Americans and Hispanics).
Through its Comprehensive Enforcement Program for
strategically focusing agency resources on performance goals,
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) plans to
continue improving the timeliness and quality of service to
the public. In 2002, the performance goals for EEOC are to
reduce its backlog of private sector complaints by six percent
from 34,297 in 2000 to 32,296. To accomplish this goal, EEOC
plans to increase the percent of newly filed charges resolved
within 180 days from 55 percent in 2000 to 60 percent in 2002.
EEOC also plans to sustain or increase the goal for
``beneficial'' resolutions from 20 percent in 2000 to 22
percent in 2002. ``Beneficial'' outcomes include
conciliations, successful mediations, settlements with
benefits, and withdrawals with benefits. These outcomes are
the result of both the nationwide mediation program, which
resolves disputes early in a non-adversarial setting, and
stronger investigator-attorney collaboration to effectively
address substantive issues.
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Litigative and Judicial Activities
Department of Justice: United States Attorneys offices are the chief
prosecutorial arm of the Federal Government within their judicial
district and are responsible for the majority of criminal and civil
litigation for the United States. Each U.S. Attorney's office is
responsible for investigating and prosecuting alleged violations of
Federal law brought to their attention by Federal, State, and local law
enforcement agencies. Prosecution of those who violate Federal law is
supported by the six litigating divisions of DOJ that specialize in
specific areas of law--Civil, Criminal, Civil Rights, Environment and
Natural Resources, Tax, and Antitrust. In 2002, Project Sentry will
support partnerships of Federal, State, and local law enforcement
agencies to establish Safe School Task Forces and appropriately
prosecute juveniles who violate firearms laws, as well as adults who
illegally purchase guns for juveniles.
Legal Services Corporation (LSC): The Federal Government, through LSC,
ensures equal access to our Nation's legal system by providing funding
for civil legal assistance to low income persons. For millions of
Americans, LSC-funded legal services is the only resource available to
access the justice system. LSC provides direct grants to independent
local legal services programs chosen through a system of competition.
LSC programs serve clients in every State and county in the Nation. Last
year, LSC-funded programs provided legal assistance and information to
almost one million clients. Legal services clients are as diverse as the
Nation, encompassing all races, ethnic groups, and ages. They include
the working poor, veterans, family farmers, people with disabilities,
and victims of natural disasters. The most common types of cases that
people bring to LSC-funded offices are related to domestic violence,
family law, housing, employment, Government benefits, and consumer
matters.
Judicial Branch: The Judicial Branch is comprised of over 2,100 trial
judges, magistrates, and bankruptcy judges, in addition to the nine
justices of the Supreme Court. The system is made up of a three-tiered
hierarchy with the Supreme Court at the top, the 13 courts of appeals in
the middle, and the 94 district courts, the Court of International
Trade, and the Court of Federal Claims at the bottom. The Federal
judicial system is empowered by Article III of the Constitution to
ensure that certain rights and liberties are extended to all persons.
The system has witnessed historic growth in recent years that is chiefly
attributable to the expanding jurisdiction of Federal courts in the form
of over 200 new Federal laws, and the increased criminal filings in
district courts along the Southwestern United States border where five
districts now account for roughly one-quarter of all criminal filings
nationwide.
Correctional Activities
The 2002 Budget proposes $4.7 billion for corrections activities, a
$360 million increase over the 2001 level. As of December 2000, there
were over 146,100 inmates in the Federal prison system, up 125 percent
since 1990. This growth is due to tougher sentencing guidelines, the
abolition of parole, minimum mandatory sentences, and significant
increases in law enforcement spending. This increase is largely
associated with the arrest and conviction of drug offenders, who now
account for 57 percent of inmates in the Federal system.
The rapid growth in inmate population is expected to continue. This
presents a significant management and financial challenge to the Federal
Government and the Bureau of Prisons. Despite the investment of more
than $5 billion for prison construction over the past decade, the prison
system is currently operating at 32 percent over rated capacity, up from
22 percent at the end of 1997. These conditions could potentially
jeopardize public safety. To reverse this trend, the 2002 Budget
includes almost $1 billion in new funding for activation of newly-
constructed Federal prisons, for prison construction and modernization,
and for contract bed space.
The 2002 Budget also provides funding to ensure that the
Federal Bureau of Prisons continues to enroll at least 34
percent of all inmates in one or more educational programs,
that two-thirds of all prisoners attain a ``GED,'' or high
school diploma, at least seven months prior to their release,
and that virtually all eligible
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inmates are enrolled in residential drug treatment programs.
In addition, the budget includes $5 million to evaluate the
effectiveness of a faith-based, prison pre-release program in
reducing the recidivism rate among ex-offenders. The program
will be piloted at four Federal prisons that are
geographically diverse, encompass varying levels of security,
and include both male and female inmate populations to provide
the data for the evaluation.
The National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement
Act of 1997 transferred prison operations from the District of Columbia
(D.C.) to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Bureau of Prisons will be
responsible for housing all D.C. adult sentenced felons. All but one of
the correctional facilities at the Lorton Correctional Complex have been
closed, with only the Central Facility housing approximately 1,760
inmates remaining open. Currently, the Bureau of Prisons has accepted
3,149 of the approximately 8,000 D.C. adult felony inmates. All
remaining D.C. adult felony inmates will be transferred to the Federal
prison system when the Central Facility at the Lorton Correctional
Complex is closed, no later than December 31, 2001.
Criminal Justice Assistance for State and Local Governments
The budget proposes $4.2 billion to help State and local governments
fight crime, including $575 million to assist crime victims. This level
reflects a $1 billion reduction in discretionary spending on State and
local law enforcement assistance, which grew 500 percent between 1992
and 2001. The proposed reductions represent only six-tenths of a percent
of State and local governments total criminal justice spending, and
would come from programs that have already served their primary purpose
or are less essential to Federal law enforcement objectives. Reductions
include funding for such programs as State Prison Grants and a portion
of the hiring grants under the Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS) program, both of which have achieved their original goals, and
the discretionary portion of the Byrne Grant program, which has been
heavily directed to special projects on a non-competitive basis. The
budget continues funding for school resource officers under the COPS
program. Even at the reduced level, the budget proposes a number of
targeted initiatives and selected increases.
Protecting Children from Gun-Related Crime: The budget proposes $154
million in initiatives to help State and local governments protect our
young people from gun-related violence and accidents. In coordination
with the U.S. Attorneys' Project Sentry, $20 million in grants will be
available to help establish partnerships for reducing youth gun
violence. To ensure that free child safety locks are made available for
every single handgun in America by 2006, $75 million will be allocated
to Project ChildSafe. The budget also provides $50 million for grants to
encourage States to get tough on gun criminals with increased arrests,
prosecutions, and public awareness campaigns.
Drug Control and Treatment: As part of the Administration's broader
strategy for reducing the supply and demand for drugs, the 2002 Budget
proposes a new $50 million grant program within COPS to aid counties
along the Southwest border with the costs of detaining and prosecuting
drug cases referred to them by U.S. Attorneys. In addition, the
Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program would receive $74 million
($11 million over 2001) to help fund drug treatment for State and local
prisoners.
Stopping Violence against Women: To combat the significant problem of
violence against women, the budget proposes $391 million ($103 million
above 2001) to fund both existing and new programs authorized in the
Violence Against Women Act of 2000.
In 2002, the Violence Against Women Office plans to provide
grants and technical assistance to aid 256 additional
localities in developing pro-arrest policies and enforcement
orders.