	DOJ Has Not Fully Addressed Most GAO Recommendations Related to its Law Enforcement Activities

As part of its mission to enforce the law and defend the interests of the  United States, DOJ undertakes a number of law enforcement activities  through its component agencies. The following six reports—which we  issued in 2015 and 2016—contain key findings and recommendations in  this area, and highlight potential areas for continued oversight. DOJ or its components have not taken actions for 8 of our  recommendations and disagreed with the remaining 4 recommendations. In June 2016, we reported that DOJ  could facilitate more efficient sharing of information on missing persons  and unidentified remains. As of March 2017, DOJ has begun taking actions to  address three of our six recommendations, such as initiating audits to  oversee the FBI’s use of its face recognition technology. DEA needs to provide additional guidance to entities that handle  controlled substances. DOJ should improve handling of FBI whistleblower retaliation  complaints. DOJ concurred with these recommendations, but as of March  2017 has not provided documentation of actions taken to address them. DOJ Has Not Fully Addressed Most GAO Recommendations Related to the Custody and Care of Federal Prisoners and Inmates

As part of their mission to enforce and control crime, DOJ and its  components—including the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS)—are responsible for the custody and care of  federal prisoners and inmates. To carry out these responsibilities, the  President’s Budget requested $8.8 billion for fiscal year 2017. Our recent  reports on DOJ’s programs for incarceration and offender management  highlight areas for oversight, including better estimating costs and  measuring outcomes. Since August 2014, we have made 17  recommendations to DOJ, BOP, and USMS to improve the custody and  care of federal prisoners and inmates. As of March 2017, DOJ or its  component agencies have implemented 7 of the 17 recommendations,  have begun taking actions on 8 recommendations that remain open, and  have not taken actions for the remaining 2 recommendations. DOJ and BOP could better measure the outcomes of alternatives to  incarceration. DOJ has improved outreach to states to notify tribes about  registered sex offenders who plan to live, work, or attend school on  tribal land. DOJ concurred with these recommendations and has fully  implemented them. DOJ Has Implemented Most GAO Recommendations to Improve Grant Administration and Management

DOJ supports a range of activities—including policing and victims’  assistance—through grants provided to federal, state, local, and tribal  agencies, as well as national, community-based, and non-profit  organizations. Congress appropriated $2.4 billion for DOJ discretionary  grant programs in fiscal year 2016. The four reports discussed below highlight DOJ’s overall grant  administration practices, management of specific programs, and efforts to  reduce duplication in grant programs across the federal government. The  four reports included 17 recommendations to DOJ. The department  concurred with these recommendations, and as of March 2017 had taken  actions to fully implement 15 of the 17 recommendations. DOJ has addressed recommendations to reduce the risk of grant  program overlap and unnecessary duplication. The department concurred with  these recommendations and has fully implemented them. DOJ has partially taken action to  address the remaining two recommendations. DOJ Has Partially Implemented GAO Recommendations Designed to Improve Management of Funds Collected through Alternative Sources

DOJ has the ability to fund programs using money it collects through  alternative sources, such as fines, fees, and penalties, in addition to the  budget authority Congress provides DOJ through annual appropriations. The following three reports  highlight DOJ’s collection, use, and management of these funds. One of  the three reports contains three recommendations, which have been  partially implemented. In February  2015, we reported that DOJ could better manage its alternative sources  of funding—collections by DOJ from sources such as fines, fees, and  penalties—which, in fiscal year 2013, made up about 15 percent of DOJ’s  total budgetary resources. Face Recognition Technology: FBI Should Better Ensure Privacy and  Accuracy. Department of Justice: Alternative Sources of Funding Are a Key Source  of Budgetary Resources and Could Be Better Managed. Bureau of Prisons: Management of New Prison Activations Can Be  Improved.
Why GAO Did This Study

In fiscal year 2016, DOJ's $29 billion budget funded a broad array of national security, law enforcement, and criminal justice system activities. GAO has examined a number of key programs where DOJ has sole responsibility or works with other departments, and recommended actions to improve program efficiency and resource management.
This statement summarizes findings and recommendations from recent GAO reports that address DOJ's (1) law enforcement activities, (2) custody and care of federal prisoners and inmates, (3) grant management and administration, and (4) use of alternative sources of funding.
This statement is based on prior GAO products issued from February 2012 to November 2016, along with selected updates obtained as of March 2017. For the selected updates on DOJ's progress in implementing GAO recommendations, GAO analyzed information provided by DOJ officials on actions taken and planned.

What GAO Found

DOJ has not fully addressed most GAO recommendations related to its law enforcement activities. The Department of Justice (DOJ) undertakes a number of activities to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States. Key findings and recommendations from six recent GAO reports include, among other things, that DOJ should: better adhere to policies on collecting firearms data, assess opportunities to more efficiently share information on missing persons, better ensure the privacy and accuracy of face recognition technology, provide more information to entities that handle controlled substances, and improve the handling of whistleblower complaints. Collectively, these reports resulted in 28 recommendations. As of March 2017, DOJ has fully implemented 5 of these recommendations, begun actions to address 11, has not taken actions for 8, and disagreed with 4 recommendations.
DOJ has not fully addressed most GAO recommendations related to the custody and care of federal prisoners and inmates. DOJ is responsible for the custody and care of federal prisoners and inmates, for which the President's Budget requested $8.8 billion for fiscal year 2017. GAO's recent reports highlight areas for continued improvements in DOJ incarceration and offender management, including better assessing key initiatives to address overcrowding and other federal incarceration challenges, better measuring the outcomes of alternatives to incarceration, improving the management of new prison activations, better estimating cost savings for prisoner operations, and improving notification to tribes about registered sex offenders upon release. Since August 2014, GAO has made 17 recommendations to DOJ in five reports related to these issues, and DOJ generally concurred with them. As of March 2017, DOJ has fully implemented 7 of the recommendations, partially implemented 8, and has not taken actions for 2 recommendations.
DOJ has implemented most GAO recommendations to improve grant administration and management. DOJ supports a range of activities—including policing and victims' assistance—through grants provided to federal, state, local, and tribal agencies, as well as national, community-based, and non-profit organizations. Congress appropriated $2.4 billion for DOJ grant programs in fiscal year 2016. Four recent GAO reports highlight DOJ's overall grant administration practices, management of specific programs, and efforts to reduce overlap and duplication amongst its grant programs. The four reports include 17 recommendations to DOJ, and the department generally concurred with all of them. As of March 2017, DOJ has fully implemented 15 of the 17 recommendations and partially implemented the remaining two.
DOJ has partially implemented GAO recommendations designed to improve management of funds collected through alternative sources. DOJ has the ability to fund programs using money it collects through alternative sources, such as fines, fees, and penalties in addition to its annual appropriations. For example, in 2015, we reported that DOJ collected $4.3 billion from seven alternative sources of funding in 2013. This statement highlights three reports that address DOJ's collection, use, and management of these funds. One of the three reports includes three recommendations, which DOJ has partially implemented.

What GAO Recommends

GAO has made several recommendations to DOJ in prior reports to help improve program efficiency and resource management. DOJ generally concurred with most of these recommendations and has implemented or begun taking action to address them.