Balancing Fighting Crime Versus Terrorism

Since 9/11, DOJ has sought to enhance its counterterrorism capabilities by strengthening and restructuring its components, setting new priorities, and developing new investigative and prosecutorial methods while continuing to manage its more traditional law enforcement missions, including efforts to combat organized crime and gangs, drugs and weapons trafficking, violent crime, and white-collar crime. In the years following 9/11, DOJ redirected an additional 7 percent of its operational budget away from fighting traditional crime and its other functions and applied it to counterterrorism efforts. For example, DOJ decreased the number of federal agents allocated for traditional criminal investigations and increased the number allocated for terrorism-related investigations. DOJ has also initiated fewer traditional criminal investigations, and fewer of these matters have been referred for federal prosecution. In addition, DOJ has had to address emerging problems such as mortgage fraud, corporate fraud, and cyber crime. As it seeks to balance and address competing and new priorities, the department faces several key challenges, such as the following:

• GAO has reported that the FBI faced continuing human capital challenges in its transformation efforts to develop its counterterrorism capabilities, including realigning staff from the traditional law enforcement mission to a counterterrorism focus; building and improving intelligence gathering, analytic, and information sharing capabilities; and recruiting employees with specialized skills to fit these new positions. While the FBI has made progress toward transformation, concerns remain about how well the counterterrorism and intelligence missions have been integrated with the FBI's more traditional law enforcement mission and culture.

  Highlights of GAO-04-578T (PDF), Highlights of GAO-04-817T (PDF)

• In addition, state and local law enforcement expressed concerns about their ability to address some of the gaps these trade-offs have created for battling traditional crimes, given resource constraints and apprehension regarding expertise and jurisdictional authority. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, DOJ was appropriated approximately $ 2.8 billion primarily for state and local grant programs. However, questions remain regarding what will happen with these programs after 2010 and whether these funding levels can be sustained. In addition, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, federal investment in local policing has decreased 81 percent since September 11, 2001, thus resulting in fewer police officers and increased crime in many American cities. As GAO reported previously, federal investments in local policing initiatives can result in at least modest decreases in crime levels.

  Highlights of GAO-06-104 (PDF)

• DOJ's Inspector General reported past challenges with investigative agencies not having sufficient resources to adequately investigate child pornography, human trafficking, and alien smuggling.

  DOJIG-05-37

^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done

• Monitoring the effects of its trade-off decisions between fighting terrorism and fighting crime and adjusting program and funding priorities will continue to be important for DOJ and Congress, especially given the competing pressures on the federal budget.
• In doing so, it will be important for DOJ to continue to evaluate its needs and commensurate resource levels within each area of the department's investigative operations, including both terrorism- and nonterrorism-related efforts, and translate this information into resource allocations.
• It will be continue to be important for the FBI use effective human capital tools and flexibilities to build its intelligence workforce, such as setting hiring goals for intelligence analysts, ensuring that the allocation of intelligence analysts is based on current and forecasted threats, and taking steps to improve the retention of intelligence analysts.

  Highlights of GAO-04-578T (PDF), Highlights of GAO-04-817T (PDF)

^ Back to topKey Reports

Corporate Crime: Prosecutors Adhered to Guidance in Selecting Monitors for Deferred Prosecution and Non-Prosecution Agreements, but DOJ Could Better Communicate Its Role in Resolving Conflicts

GAO-10-260T, November 19, 2009

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 21 pages)   Accessible Text   Recommendations (HTML)

Community Policing Grants: COPS Grants Were a Modest Contributor to Declines in Crime in the 1990s

GAO-06-104, October 14, 2005

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 124 pages)   Accessible Text

FBI Transformation: Data Inconclusive on Effects of Shift to Counterterrorism-Related Priorities on Traditional Crime Enforcement

GAO-04-1036, August 31, 2004

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 38 pages)   Accessible Text

FBI Transformation: Human Capital Strategies May Assist the FBI in Its Commitment to Address Its Top Priorities

GAO-04-817T, June 3, 2004

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 16 pages)   Accessible Text

FBI Transformation: FBI Continues to Make Progress in Its Efforts to Transform and Address Priorities

GAO-04-578T, March 23, 2004

Summary (HTML)   Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 40 pages)   Accessible Text

Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, The External Effects of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Reprioritization Efforts, 05-37

(Washington, D.C.: September 2005).

DOJIG 05-37

Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Follow-up Audit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Efforts to Hire, Train, and Retain Intelligence Analysts, 07-30

(Washington, D.C.: April 2007).

DOJIG 07-30

Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Efforts to Hire, Train, and Retain Intelligence Analysts, 05-20

(Washington, D.C.: May 2005).

DOJIG 05-20

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