	Department of Justice

The Department of Justice (DOJ) was created in June 1870, with the Attorney General as its head. Since its establishment, DOJ has expanded to include 40 agencies. The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, and the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW), provide grant funds to state, local, and tribal governments for crime prevention and intervention programs as well as funding for criminal justice system improvement programs. This report focuses on select DOJ grant programs administered through OJP and COPS. Select DOJ Grant Programs

This section discusses the following DOJ grant programs: Weed and Seed, the Drug Court Discretionary Grant program, the Prisoner Re-entry Initiative, the President's DNA Initiative, the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant program, the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-conviction DNA Testing program, the Paul Coverdell Grant program, assistance to Indian tribes (Indian Country Prison grants, Tribal Courts Grant program, Indian Country Alcohol and Crime Demonstration program), and Tribal Law Enforcement Assistance. Select Issues

		Program Effectiveness

For years, some have questioned the effectiveness of DOJ grant programs and have called for program evaluations.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) was created in June 1870, with the Attorney General as its head. Since its establishment, DOJ has expanded to include 40 agencies. The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the Community Oriented Policing Services Office (COPS), and the Office of Violence Against Women, provide grant funds to state, local, and tribal governments for crime prevention and intervention programs as well as funding for criminal justice system improvement programs. This report discusses several DOJ grant programs administered through OJP and COPS, including the Weed and Seed, the Drug Court Discretionary Grant program, the Prisoner Re-entry Initiative, the President's DNA Initiative, the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant program, the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-conviction DNA Testing program, the Paul Coverdell Grant program, assistance to Indian tribes (Indian Country Prison grants, Tribal Courts Grant program, Indian Country Alcohol and Crime Demonstration program), and Tribal Law Enforcement Assistance.
In recent years, Congress has questioned the effectiveness of many DOJ grant programs. As Congress continues to cut appropriations for many discretionary grant programs, there may be greater scrutiny of these programs. This report discusses this issue as well as issues concerning the effective management and accounting of DOJ grant programs. This report will be updated as warranted.