[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 150 (Tuesday, August 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45463-45464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18409]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

[OMB Number 1121-0149]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection 
eComments Requested; Reinstatement, With Change, of a Previously 
Approved Collection for Which Approval Has Expired: 2014 National 
Survey of Prosecutors (NSP-14)

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice.

ACTION: 30-Day notice.

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SUMMARY:  The Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs, 
will be submitting the following information collection to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed information 
collection was previously published in the Federal Register Volume 79, 
Number 52, pages 15140-15141 on March 18, 2014, allowing a 60-day 
comment period. Following publication of the 60-day notice, the Bureau 
of Justice Statistics received no requests for a copy of the proposed 
information collection instrument and instructions. No inquiries or 
others comments were received.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 30 days until 
September 4, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Written comments and/or suggestions 
regarding the items contained in this notice, especially the estimated 
public burden or associated response time, should be directed to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Request written comments and suggestions 
from the public and affected agencies concerning the proposed 
collection of information are encouraged. Your comments should address 
one or more of the following four points:

--Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information will have practical utility;
--Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used;
--Enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and
--Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

    Overview of this information collection:
    (1) Type of Information Collection: Reinstatement of the National 
Survey of Prosecutors, with changes, a previously approved collection 
for which approval has expired.
    (2) Title of the Form/Collection: 2014 National Survey of 
Prosecutors (census).
    (3) Agency form number: Forms: The form number is NSP-14. The 
applicable component within the Department of Justice is the Bureau of 
Justice Statistics, in the Office of Justice Programs. Prosecution and 
Adjudication Unit, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice 
Programs, United States Department of Justice.
    (4) Affected public who will be asked to respond, as well as a 
brief abstract: This information collection is a census of the local 
prosecutor offices that handles criminal cases in State courts. The 
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) proposes to implement the next 
iteration of the National Survey of Prosecutors (NSP-14). Local 
prosecutors occupy a central role in a criminal justice system seeking 
to ensure justice is served. Prosecutors represents the local 
government in deciding who is charged with a crime, the type and number 
of charges filed, whether or not to offer a plea, and providing 
sentencing recommendations for those convicted of crimes. Since 1990, 
the NSP has been the only recurring national statistical program that 
captures the administrative and operational characteristics of the 
prosecutorial function in the State criminal justice system. The NSP-14 
will gather national statistics on local prosecutor office staffing and 
services, budgets, caseloads and convictions, use of DNA evidence, and 
disposition reporting to repositories. In addition, this study will 
collect data on the prevalence of human trafficking, cyber-crimes, 
identity theft, participation in specialty courts and diversion 
programs, prosecution of youths in criminal courts and criminal 
jurisdiction services provided on tribal lands by local prosecutor 
offices. These data will allow BJS to conduct trend analyses and 
comparisons with historical data, where available and provide 
descriptive statistics on emerging crimes. The information gathered in 
the NSP-14 will cover 2014.
    (5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount 
of time needed for an average respondent to respond: An estimated 2,330 
persecutor offices will take part in the 2014 National Survey of 
Prosecutors. Based on pilot testing, an average of 60 minutes per 
respondent was needed to complete form NSP-14. To ensure a high 
response rate, BJS subsequently reduced the overall number of questions 
on the NSP-14 by half. The revised estimated burden for respondents to 
complete the NSP-14 is 30 minutes. The following factors were 
considered when creating the burden estimate: The estimated total 
number of prosecutor offices, the ability of offices to access or

[[Page 45464]]

gather the data, and the case management systems capabilities generally 
found within a local prosecutor office. BJS estimates that nearly all 
of the approximately 2330 respondents will fully complete the 
questionnaire.
    (6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: The estimated public burden associated with this 
collection is 1,282 hours. It is estimated that respondents will take 
30 minutes to complete a questionnaire. The burden hours for collecting 
respondent data sum to 1,165 hours (2330 respondents' x .5 hours = 
1,165 hours) and an additional 10% or 117 hours will be needed for data 
validation and follow-up contact with the respondents for nonresponse, 
incorrect or missing information.
    If additional information is required contact: Jerri Murray, 
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, 
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two 
Constitution Avenue, 145 N Street NE., Room 3E.405B, Washington, DC 
20530.

    Dated: July 30, 2014.
Jerri Murray,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2014-18409 Filed 8-4-14; 8:45 am]
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