Department of Justice

The Department of Justice's (DOJ) mission is to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; ensure public safety against threats; provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

• The department is composed of 40 component agencies with wide-ranging missions.
• For fiscal year 2010, the department's request included nearly $29.6 billion in discretionary and mandatory resources, excluding offsets, to implement its various missions and programs, including about $15 billion to reduce crime and enforce civil and constitutional rights and about $5 billion for preventing terrorism and promoting national security.
• Following the September 11, 2001, attacks (9/11), the department expanded its activities and placed higher priority on its missions to combat terrorism and provide for homeland security. It has been allocated new resources and has redirected other funding to help implement these missions.
• DOJ has also had to continue to manage and implement its more traditional law enforcement missions, including efforts to combat organized crime and gangs, drugs and weapons trafficking, and white-collar and violent crime, along with its goals of protecting privacy and civil liberties. In addition, DOJ has had to address emerging problems such as mortgage fraud, corporate fraud, and cyber crime
• Adjusting to its new counterterrorism missions has posed challenges to the department and its component agencies in balancing competing resource needs and in providing appropriate management and oversight of major programs. For example, DOJ has had to balance among its priorities for combating terrorism and crime, shifting resources from traditional law enforcement areas to counterterrorism, as well as to balance privacy and civil liberties protections with implementation of new intelligence tools and processes.
• DOJ component agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the FBI have faced challenges in coordinating with DHS law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as they have sought to combat terrorism and address issues such as gang enforcement and illicit firearms trafficking. For example, the lack of clear roles and responsibilities has resulted in potential duplicative efforts and operational inefficiencies.
• The department also faces challenges in managing and overseeing major programs, including the efficient and effective management and provision of prisoner detention and re-entry programs and ensuring the effectiveness of grant programs used to support research as well as state and local law enforcement efforts, among other things.