BJS is organizationally located within the Department of Justice’s Office of  Justice Programs (see fig. BJS Followed Nearly All Available Quality Guidelines to Help Ensure Accuracy and Integrity of Products Issued from Police- Public Contact Surveys

		BJS Fully Followed All Applicable Quality Guidelines for the Four Reports Issued from the 1999 and 2002 Police- Public Contact Surveys

For all four reports issued from the two Police-Public Contact Surveys, we  found that BJS fully followed all of the review, approval, and  dissemination guidelines available at the time of issuance. The data quality guidelines that BJS followed describe how agencies  should review statistical information, obtain the approval of key decision  makers, and publicly disseminate the information. It is important to note that, for reasons  discussed later in this report, BJS officials did not believe these guidelines  were applicable to its press releases in the first place. BJS cited a lack of specificity in the National Research Council’s  guidelines as a basis for this conclusion. We believe, however, that while  BJS’s interpretation of the guidelines was not unreasonable, there was  nonetheless sufficient evidence for a different interpretation; namely, that  this press release was a statistical product, that the available guidelines  did apply, and that BJS was not in a position to meet 3 of 10 guidelines for  the single press release issued from the 1999 survey, owing to a second  factor. BJS Interpreted Guidelines as Not Applying to Press Releases, Raising Questions about the Applicability and Clarity of Certain Guidelines

In both written documentation and oral comments, BJS officials stated  that they believed they were in full conformance with the National  Research Council’s guidelines and disagreed with our determination that  the agency was not in a position to follow 3 of 10 guidelines for the 2001  Police-Public Contact Survey press release that was issued from the 1999  survey. These guidelines were:  (1) The statistical agency has recognition by policy officials of its  authority to release statistical information without prior clearance. Based on its content rather than its label as a press release, and  notwithstanding that the policies and procedures for developing and  issuing products labeled by the Office of Justice Programs as press  releases differed from policies and procedures for products it labeled as  statistical products, we believe there is sufficient evidence for us to  conclude that the press release issued from the 1999 Police-Public Contact  Survey qualified as a statistical product to which the National Research  Council’s quality guidelines appropriately apply. BJS, however, did not hold this  view. Specifically, we determined that BJS  was not in a position to fully follow the 3 National Research Council  guidelines listed in the previous section for the 2001 press release based  on the 1999 survey (the only applicable, available data quality guidelines in  place in 2001) because certain noncareer appointees outside of BJS and  within the Department of Justice, are vested—pursuant to the Department  of Justice’s and Office of Justice Programs’ policies defining the roles and  responsibilities of their noncareer appointees—with the ability to  participate in the review, approval, and dissemination of press releases. (2) What key factors  affected whether and how BJS followed available guidelines? Appendix II: Applicable Quality Guidelines for Statistical Products Issued by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and Other Agencies

BJS followed numerous recommended data quality guidelines designed to  help ensure the accuracy and integrity of the Police-Public Contact Survey  products that it issued in 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2006 based on its 1999 and  2002 surveys.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), a statistical agency of the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, produces a recurring national Police-Public Contact Survey documenting contacts between the police and the public, including instances involving the use or threat of force by police. BJS issues public reports and sometimes press releases from survey results. For reports and a press release issued from the 1999 and 2002 surveys (the most recent available), GAO reviewed (1) the extent to which BJS followed quality guidelines to ensure the accuracy and integrity of its survey-related products, and (2) factors that affected whether and how BJS followed available guidelines. GAO reviewed applicable federal data quality guidelines, policy and procedure documents, and interviewed current and former officials familiar with BJS.

What GAO Found

BJS followed nearly all quality guidelines for its 1999 and 2002 Police-Public Contact Surveys. Specifically, for the four public reports issued from these surveys, BJS fully followed all data quality guidelines available for reviewing statistical information, obtaining the approval of key decision makers, and publicly disseminating information. These guidelines were issued by the National Research Council, Department of Justice, Justice's Office of Justice Programs, and BJS itself. GAO believes that because BJS followed these guidelines, proper steps were taken to help ensure the accuracy and integrity of the reports. BJS followed 7 of the 10 quality guidelines available for the one press release issued from its 1999 survey, but was not in a position to fully follow 3 other guidelines for reasons discussed below. Two key factors affected whether and how BJS followed quality guidelines. The first concerned different interpretations about certain guideline applicability. BJS considered its survey-related reports--but not its press releases--to be statistical products covered by the National Research Council's guidelines. BJS cited a lack of specificity in these guidelines, which did not specifically state that they were applicable to statistical agency press releases, as a basis for concluding that the survey press releases need not conform to guidelines for statistical products. We believe BJS's position was not unreasonable, and did not find fault with the agency. However, we determined nonetheless that the single press release issued from the 1999 survey was a statistical product, and therefore believe the council's guidelines appropriately applied. Second, certain noncareer appointees outside BJS may, in accordance with Justice Department policy, make decisions about the review, approval, and dissemination of press releases, and BJS press releases are jointly issued with the Justice Department, with input from its Office of Justice Programs. Both conditions can potentially affect BJS's independence. Owing to these conditions, BJS was not, in our view, in a position to meet 3 council quality guidelines related to statistical agency independence, including that it be able to issue statistical products without prior clearance, and control the scope and content of its products. Justice affirmed several of GAO's findings but disagreed with certain GAO conclusions about the applicability of guidelines to a press release. Justice's detailed comments and GAO's response are contained in the report.