[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 70 (Friday, April 11, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17828-17829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-8900]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Bureau of Justice Statistics

[OJP(BJS)-1370]


2003 Sample Survey of Law Enforcement Agencies

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, 
Justice.

ACTION: Notice of solicitation.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to announce a public 
solicitation to obtain a data collection agent for the 2003 Sample 
Survey of Law Enforcement Agencies.

DATES: Proposals must be received at the Bureau of Justice Statistics 
(BJS) on or before 5 p.m. EST, May 12, 2003 or be postmarked on or 
before May 12, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Proposals should be sent to Application Coordinator, Bureau 
of Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street, NW., Washington, DC 20531; 
T: (202) 616-3497. Due to recent interruptions in mail service, it is 
recommended that applicants fax (202) 616-1351), e-mail 
([email protected]), use a professional delivery service (e.g., 
FedEx, UPS, etc.), or personally deliver applications, to ensure timely 
receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Hickman, Statistician, Bureau 
of Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street, NW., Washington, DC 20531; 
Phone (202) 353-1631 (This is not a toll free number); Email: 
[email protected].

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 3732.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Program Goals

    The purpose of this award is to provide funding to administer the 
2003 Sample Survey of Law Enforcement Agencies (SSLEA). This data 
collection is part of the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative 
Statistics (LEMAS) program, a recurring survey series that collects 
information from a nationally representative sample of law enforcement 
agencies. The survey will obtain information about law enforcement 
personnel, equipment, policies and programs, operations, terrorism/mass 
disaster response, computers and information systems, and other topics. 
The initial survey instrument and respondent list will be provided by 
the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). It is anticipated that 
approximately 2,000 respondents will answer a 4-page questionnaire, and 
an additional 1,000 respondents will answer an 8-page questionnaire.
    BJS anticipates making one award for a 12-month period under this 
solicitation.

Background

    The LEMAS program is currently the most systematic and 
comprehensive source of national data on law enforcement personnel, 
expenditures and pay, operations, equipment, computers and information 
systems, and policies and procedures. Findings from the LEMAS program 
are designed to provide a broad picture of the current state of law 
enforcement in America, as well as to document both existing and 
emerging trends. Previous LEMAS surveys have been conducted in 1987, 
1990, 1993, 1997, 1999, and 2000. Data-sets and reports for these prior 
collections are available on the BJS Web site at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs. Recently released reports from the latest survey 
are available from the BJS Web site, Local Police Departments, 2000, at 
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/lpd00.htm, and Sheriffs' Offices, 
2000, at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/so00.htm.
    The 2003 survey will add to the existing series by including 
questions related to terrorism/mass disaster response, and other 
current topic areas. This will provide important information for the 
development and expansion of law enforcement activity, and the 
information will be useful for policy-makers engaged in research, 
planning, and budgeting.

Eligibility Requirements

    Both profit-making and nonprofit organizations may apply for funds. 
Consistent with OJP fiscal requirements, however, no fees may be 
charged against the project by profit-making organizations.

Scope of Work

    The objective of this project is to complete data collection for 
the 2003 Sample Survey of Law Enforcement Agencies. This includes 
extensive follow-up, data verification, coding and data entry, and 
delivery of a final data set and documentation. The initial survey 
instrument and respondent list will be provided by BJS. Specifically, 
the recipient of funds will:
    1. Develop a detailed timetable for each task in the project. Data 
collection should begin within three months of the project start and be 
completed within twelve months. After the BJS project manager has 
agreed to the timetable, all work must be completed as scheduled.
    2. Conduct a pre-test of the survey instrument in a minimum of five 
sites to assure that survey items are perceived by respondents as 
intended and can be provided in a timely manner. This task will be 
performed with participation of BJS staff.
    3. Mail surveys to respondents and provide extensive follow-up to 
respondents that require help, clarification, or encouragement to 
complete the survey. This may involve multiple follow-up telephone 
calls, re-mailing or re-faxing surveys, e-mail correspondence, and site 
visits where necessary.
    4. Develop an Internet-based or other electronic transmission 
option for responding to the survey.

[[Page 17829]]

    5. Implement and maintain an automated system to provide ongoing 
status of each survey respondent, complete documentation, and an 
inventory of follow-up communication and procedures for each case. This 
automated tracking system should remain current and be accessible to 
the BJS project monitor at all times.
    6. Identify techniques necessary to achieve a 90 percent or greater 
survey response rate. Response rates for previous LEMAS surveys have 
ranged from 92.6 percent to 97.8 percent.
    7. Identify techniques necessary to achieve a 90 percent or greater 
survey item response rate. The data collection agent will have routine 
contact with the agencies and must be knowledgeable about the content 
of the instrument.
    8. Deliver to BJS electronic versions of the survey data, and 
documentation on diskette and in ASCII file format. Survey 
documentation should include, but is not limited to, a comprehensive 
codebook detailing variable positions, data coding, variable and value 
labels, any recoding implemented during the data cleaning process, and 
copies of all program code used to generate data or published 
statistics. All data generated by this project belongs to BJS. 
Publication, presentation, or dissemination of the data in any form, 
prior to official release by BJS, is prohibited. All data and 
documentation from this survey will be accessible through the BJS 
website, and the data will be archived at the Inter-University 
Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).

Award Procedures and Evaluation Criteria

    Proposals should describe the plan and implementation strategies 
outlined in the Scope of Work. Information on staffing levels and 
qualifications should be included for each task, as well as 
descriptions of experience relevant to the project. Resumes of the 
proposed project director and key staff should be enclosed with the 
proposal.
    Applications will be reviewed competitively with the final award 
decision made by the Director of BJS. The applicant will be evaluated 
on the basis of:
    1. Demonstrated knowledge of applied survey research, including 
survey construction, interview techniques, data collection, data 
coding, entry and verification, and the production of public use data 
files. This includes availability of an adequate computing environment, 
knowledge of standard social science data processing software, and 
demonstrated ability to produce SPSS readable data files for analysis 
and report production.
    2. Demonstrated ability and experience in collecting data from law 
enforcement agencies or similar entities.
    3. Demonstrated fiscal, management, staff, and organizational 
capacity to provide sound management for this project. Applicant should 
include detailed staff resources and other costs by project tasks.

Application and Award Process

    An original and two (2) copies of the full proposal must be 
submitted including:
    [sbull] Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance.
    [sbull] OJP Form 7150/1, Budget Detail Worksheet.
    [sbull] OJP Form 4000/3, Program Narrative and Assurances.
    [sbull] OJP Form 4061/6, Certification regarding Lobbying, 
Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters; Drug Free 
Workplace requirements.
    [sbull] OJP Form 7120-1, Accounting System and Financial Capability 
Questionnaire (to be submitted by applicants who have not previously 
received Federal Funds from the Office of Justice Programs).
    These forms can be obtained online from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/forms.htm.
    In addition, fund recipients are required to comply with 
regulations designed to protect human subjects and ensure 
confidentiality of data. In accordance with 28 CFR part 22, a Privacy 
Certificate must be submitted to BJS. Furthermore, a Screening Sheet 
for Protection of Human Subjects must be completed prior to the award 
being issued. Questions regarding Protection of Human Subjects and/or 
Privacy Certificate requirements can be directed to the Human Subjects 
Protection Officer (HSPO) at (202) 616-3282 (This is not a toll free 
number).
    Proposals must include a project description and detailed budget. 
The project narrative should describe activities as discussed in the 
Scope of Work and address the evaluation criteria. The project 
narrative should contain a detailed timeline for project activities, a 
description of the survey methodology to be used, including defined 
geographic boundaries, data collection method, data entry, and data 
documentation procedures. The detailed budget must provide detailed 
costs, including salaries of staff involved in the project and the 
portion of those salaries to be paid from the award, fringe benefits 
paid to each staff person, travel costs, supplies required for the 
project, sub-contractual agreements, and other allowable costs. The 
grant will be made for a period of 12 months.

    Dated: April 4, 2003.
Lawrence A. Greenfeld,
Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
[FR Doc. 03-8900 Filed 4-10-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P