That is, because agency accounting systems did not specifically track crime technology assistance, we included only amounts that could be reasonably estimated by agency officials or by our reviews of agency information. Grant Programs Were the Major Type of Federal Assistance

As table 1 shows, for the three federal agencies we reviewed, single- purpose grants ($255.1 million) and multipurpose grants ($746.3 million) were the major type of crime technology assistance provided to state and local law enforcement agencies during fiscal years 1996 through 1998. Of these two agencies, Justice was the more significant provider, with an estimated $146.6 million in assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies, or about 90 percent of the $162.5 million total during fiscal years 1996 through 1998. Of these, 14 were provided by one Treasury component—the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), which accounted for $13.4 million (84 percent) of Treasury’s $15.9 million total assistance in this category. Appendix V provides further details about ONDCP’s technology transfer program. Specifically, for fiscal years 1996 through 1998, Senator DeWine requested that we identify the types and amounts of such assistance provided by the Departments of Justice and the Treasury and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Byrne Formula Grants

Byrne Formula Grants may be used for a total of 26 purpose areas, 8 of which could involve crime technology. Responses from the three agencies indicated that only ONDCP had an established, relevant in-kind transfer program (see app. Table II.1: Estimated Obligations of Department of Justice Single-Purpose Grants for Crime Technology Provided to State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, Fiscal Years 1996 Through 1998 Dollars in thousands Component and program 1996 1997 1998 Drugfire Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program: Technical assistance and training allocation National White Collar Crime Center State Identification Systems Grants Program  Subtotal Bureau of Justice Statistics National Criminal History Improvement Program National Sex Offender Registry State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers  Subtotal National Institute of Justice Counterterrorism Technology Program Crime Act 1-Percent Set-Aside (funded by Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program) Forensic DNA Laboratory Improvement ProgramScience and Technology Programs (funds from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services) Southwest Border States Anti-Drug Information System Subtotal Office of Justice Programs Improved Training and Technical Automation Grants  $117,873.6 The DNA Laboratory Improvement Program is a joint program with the FBI. Crime Technology Assistance (Support Services and Systems) Provided by the Department of the Treasury

	Overview of Department of the Treasury Support Services and Systems

Department of the Treasury components provided crime technology assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies in the form of access to, and use of, specialized support services and systems, such as computerized databases and forensics laboratories. As shown, Treasury’s crime technology assistance for fiscal years 1996 to 1998 totaled about $15.9 million. 2. 3.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the crime technology assistance provided by the federal government to state and local law enforcement agencies for fiscal years 1996 through 1998, focusing on the types and amounts of assistance provided by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of the Treasury, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) identifiable crime technology assistance provided by DOJ, Treasury, and ONDCP to state and local law enforcement agencies during fiscal years 1996 through 1998 totalled an estimated $1.2 billion; (2) this total is conservative because--given that these federal agencies are not required to, and do not specifically track crime technology assistance separately in their accounting systems--GAO included only amounts that could be identified or reasonably estimated by agency officials or GAO; (3) this estimate was particularly conservative regarding multipurpose grants, which by design can be used for a variety of purposes; (4) further, regarding applicable support services and systems, GAO did not include personnel costs; (5) the large majority of identified crime technology assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies--$1.0 billion or about 85 percent of the estimated $1.2 billion total during fiscal years 1996 through 1998--was grants, all of which were administered by DOJ; (6) the three largest crime technology assistance grants during the 3 fiscal years were the: (a) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services' Making Officer Redeployment Effective grants ($466.1 million); (b) Bureau of Justice Assistance's Byrne Formula Grants ($188.0 million); and (c) the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Criminal History Improvement Program ($147.2 million); (7) support services and systems was estimated to be the second largest category of crime technology assistance provided to state and local law enforcement agencies; (8) in this category, DOJ was the major provider, with an estimated $146.6 million in assistance compared to Treasury's $15.9 million; (9) regarding in-kind transfers, responses from the three agencies GAO reviewed indicated that only ONDCP had an established, relevant program; and (10) ONDCP's technology transfer program totalled an estimated $13.0 million in assistance during fiscal year 1998, the first year of the program's existence.