Administration of Justice Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1995-97 (Letter
Report, 06/01/95, GAO/IAP-95-14).
GAO presented its Administration of Justice issue area plan for fiscal
years 1995 through 1997.
GAO plans to: (1) assess federal progress in implementing major crime
control initiatives and enforcement programs; (2) identify ways to
improve federal cooperation with state/local enforcement efforts; (3)
develop approaches for analyzing enforcement budgets and identify
opportunities for resource consolidation and cost savings; (4)
periodically report judiciary initiatives to Congress; (5) identify and
track the Bureau of Prisons' efforts to reduce prison construction and
operation costs; (6) ensure that prison construction standards are
implemented; (7) ensure that the Immigration and Naturalization Service
is addressing management weaknesses and improving its enforcement
efforts against illegal and criminal aliens; (8) assess the
effectiveness of Customs' reorganization and cargo and trade enforcement
efforts; and (9) determine if Customs is maximizing its opportunities to
reduce costs and generate revenue.
--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------
REPORTNUM: IAP-95-14
TITLE: Administration of Justice Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years
1995-97
DATE: 06/01/95
SUBJECT: Law enforcement
Illegal aliens
Federal/state relations
Cost control
Federal aid for criminal justice
Correctional facilities
Government facility construction
Crimes or offenses
Customs administration
Immigration and naturalization law
IDENTIFIER: NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement
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Cover
================================================================ COVER
General Government Division
June 1995
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ISSUE
AREA PLAN - FISCAL YEARS 1995-97
GAO/IAP-95-14
Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV
FOREWORD
============================================================ Chapter 0
As the investigative arm of Congress and the nation's auditor, the
General Accounting Office is charged with following the federal
dollar wherever it goes. Reflecting stringent standards of
objectivity and independence, GAO's audits, evaluations, and
investigations promote a more efficient and cost-effective
government; expose waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in federal
programs; help Congress target budget reductions; assess financial
and information management; and alert Congress to developing trends
that may have significant fiscal or budgetary consequences. In
fulfilling its responsibilities, GAO performs original research and
uses hundreds of databases, or creates its own when information is
unavailable elsewhere.
To ensure that GAO's resources are directed toward the most important
issues facing Congress, each of GAO's 35 issue areas develops a
strategic plan that describes the significance of the issues it
addresses, its objectives, and the focus of its work. Each issue
area relies heavily on imput from congressional committees, agency
officials, and subject-matter experts in developing its strategic
plan.
The Administration of Justice issue area covers the Department of
Justice, the Department of the Treasury's investigative agencies, the
judicial branch of the federal government, and several independent
agencies. GAO's work in this issue area generally seeks to improve
the efficiency and effectiveness of the justice system. The
principal issues in the justice area include
-- federal law enforcement's response, in partnership with state
and local governments, to violent crime, drugs, and other major
threats facing society;
-- the efficiency and effectiveness of the federal judicial and
corrections systems, as well as federal aid to state courts and
prison systems;
-- the Immigration and Naturalization Service's ability to support
its enforcement and service delivery missions; and
-- the U.S. Customs Service's effectiveness in implementing its
reorganization efforts, fulfilling its trade enforcement
mission, and collecting appropriate revenues.
In the pages that follow, we describe our planned work relating to
these issues.
Events in the justice area tend to move swiftly. Therefore, we
designed a flexible planning process that will allow us to respond
quickly to emerging issues. If you have any questions or suggestions
about this plan, please call me at (202) 512-8777.
Norman J. Rabkin
Director, Administration of
Justice Issues
CONTENTS
============================================================ Chapter 1
FOREWORD
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1
1
TABLE I: KEY ISSUES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2
4
TABLE II: PLANNED MAJOR WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3
6
TABLE III: GAO CONTACTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:4
7
TABLE I: KEY ISSUES
============================================================ Chapter 2
Issue Significance
---------------------------- --------------------------------------------------
Law enforcement: How can Crime has become one of the foremost concerns of
federal law enforcement, the American public. To address this concern, the
working with state and local Congress made many crimes involving drugs and
governments, more firearms federal offenses and increased the
efficiently and effectively Department of Justice's (DOJ) budget to
respond to violent crime, investigate and prosecute them. In addition, the
drugs, and other major Congress recently made billions of dollars
threats facing society? available to states and localities to help them
combat violent and other crime in their
communities. Current congressional proposals, if
passed, would provide even more funds.
Adjudication and Increasing the scope of federal crimes and DOJ's
corrections: resources to investigate and prosecute them has
What can be done to improve created tremendous demands on the federal
the efficiency and judiciary and corrections systems. For example,
effectiveness of federal criminal trials in district courts have increased
courts and the correction 24 percent since 1989. Although both the Judiciary
system, as well as federal and Bureau of Prisons (BOP) have received more
aid to state courts and resources, including 85 more federal judges and
prison systems, given the 39,000 more prison beds since 1989, questions are
increasing demands placed on being raised about how efficiently the courts and
them in an era of budget prisons are operating.
constraints?
Immigration: What actions Reflecting the mounting public concern over
can strengthen the increasing illegal immigration, criminal activity
Immigration and by these illegal aliens, and INS' apparent
Naturalization Service's inability to effectively enforce immigration laws,
(INS) ability to enforce the federal government is increasing INS
immigration laws and enhance resources. The President's fiscal year 1996 budget
service delivery? requests $2.6 billion for INS, a 27-percent
increase over 1995. However, INS' past management
record raises questions about its ability to
properly spend these funds. For example,
processing times for INS services have been
increasing and backlogs of applications are
continuing to grow.
Customs: Is the U.S. Customs The U.S. Customs Service enforces the nation's
Service effectively trade laws and generates the second highest amount
implementing its of revenue annually--about $26 billion in fiscal
reorganization and year 1995. Customs faces increased demands from
reengineering efforts, recent trade agreements (NAFTA and GATT), its
fulfilling its trade involvement in drug interdiction activities, and
enforcement mission, and pressure from domestic and foreign businesses to
collecting appropriate facilitate the movement of goods and people across
revenues? U.S. borders. Customs has undertaken a major
reorganization effort to more efficiently and
effectively satisfy these competing demands and is
investing $100 million in a modern information
system.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives Focus of work
---------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
l. Assess federal progress in --Assess progress of DOJ's major crime
implementing major crime control control initiatives, including violent
initiatives and enforcement programs. crime, drugs, and health care fraud.
--Assess federal support for community
2. Identify ways, such as "best policing and other local crime control
practices," to improve federal efforts.
assistance to and cooperation with --Evaluate efforts to stem money
state/local enforcement efforts to laundering and the illegal possession
combat serious crime. of firearms.
--Assess DOJ's progress in developing
3. Develop approaches/methodologies for enforcement performance measures.
analyzing enforcement budgets and --Analyze DOJ/Treasury enforcement
identify opportunities for resource budgets to identify potential savings.
consolidation and cost savings.
1. Report periodically to the Congress --Analyze budgets to identify major
on the judiciary initiatives to increase drivers of judiciary and BOP workload
efficiency and promote best practices, and cost growth and to assess
including automation reforms. initiatives to reduce cost.
--Assess impact of criminal cases on
2.Identify and track BOP efforts to judiciary workload, resource needs,
reduce prison construction and operation and civil case processing.
costs. --Assess state practices that may be
applicable to federal court and prison
3.Ensure that the 1994 Crime Bill prison operations.
construction standards have been
developed and implemented.
1. Ensure that INS is addressing --Assess INS' management system and
previously identified management organizational changes.
weaknesses. --Evaluate the process for identifying
and removing criminal aliens.
2.Identify ways INS can improve its --Assess the implementation of border
enforcement efforts against illegal and control initiatives.
criminal aliens. --Evaluate initiatives to enforce
Immigration Reform and Control Act
3.Recommend steps INS can take to work provisions.
improve its processes for providing --Evaluate INS' provision of services
services to legal aliens. to legal aliens and effectiveness in
denying benefits to illegal aliens.
1. Determine the effectiveness of --Evaluate Customs' reorganization and
Customs' reorganization and reengineering implementation.
reengineering efforts, workforce --Assess Customs' cargo compliance
realignment, and Customs management measurement program, in-bond
centers. transfers, and trade enforcement
versus facilitation efforts.
2. Determine the effectiveness of --Evaluate effectiveness of Customs'
Customs' cargo and trade enforcement interdiction programs and
efforts. investigative operations
--Assess the adequacy of Customs'
3.Determine if Customs is maximizing its current user fee system.
opportunities to reduce costs and
generate fee revenue.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE II: PLANNED MAJOR WORK
============================================================ Chapter 3
Issue Planned major job starts
------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------
Law enforcement --Criminal justice system's response to violent
felons and related recidivism
--Adequacy of federal laws and enforcement policies
regarding health care fraud
--Reauthorization of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy
--Community policing best practices
--Community Oriented Policing Services Program
grants
--States' use and control of Bank Secrecy Act data
--Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' efforts to
detect criminal sources of firearms
--Annual review of DOJ's progress in implementing the
Government Performance and Results Act
Adjudication and --BOP workload/budget and initiatives to reduce
corrections construction and operating costs
--Follow up on judiciary initiatives to reduce costs
and spread best practices
--Issues, such as costs and accountability, involved
in prison privatization
--Controls over the movement of prisoners
--The judiciary's ability to manage growth in
supervised release
--Judiciary implementation of automation fund reforms
for fiscal year 1997 reauthorization.
Immigration --INS' progress in addressing management problems
--Institutional Hearing Program to deport criminal
aliens after incarceration
--Border enforcement activities at ports of entry
--Efforts to implement employer sanctions
--Efforts to establish a verification system to
determine employment eligibility
--Efforts to improve delivery of services to legal
aliens
Customs --Implementation of its reorganization plan
--Cargo inspection program
--Air and Marine Interdiction programs
--Office of Investigations
--Current fees and associated costs of providing
services
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE III: GAO CONTACTS
============================================================ Chapter 4
DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.1
Norman J. Rabkin (202) 512-8777
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.2
Laurie E. Ekstrand (202) 512-8777
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.3
James M. Blume
CORE GROUP MANAGERS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.4
Danny R. Burton (Dallas)
Darryl W. Dutton (Los Angeles)
Daniel C. Harris
William O. Jenkins
Henry L. Malone (Chicago/Detroit)
Weldon McPhail
Rudolf F. Plessing (Boston/New York)
Evi L. Rezmovic
*** End of document. ***