Improving How we Describe the Federal Response to Misconduct

• In Event: BJS Federal Justice Statistics

Abstract

One of the goals of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP) is to describe the complete federal government response to misconduct by private and public actors. Although the FJSP has routinely reported on cases primarily originating from traditional law enforcement agencies such as the US Attorneys (USA), the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) litigating divisions and other federal regulatory agencies also identify, investigate, and resolve misconduct. These organizations have specific expertise invaluable to appropriately identify and correct misconduct within their substantive areas. Using environmental crimes, in this paper we discuss how BJS is enhancing the FJSP using multiple additional data sources to account for the complete federal response to misconduct. We will cover a relatively straightforward update of a 1997 BJS report on environmental crime litigated by the US Attorneys and adjudicated by the US Courts. We will then demonstrate how data from DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the Environmental Protection Agency enhances and improves our understanding of the total federal response environmental misconduct. This demonstration will provide a template for enhancing BJS’s understanding and reporting of the federal response to misconduct in other substantive areas.

Author

• Ryan Kling, Bureau of Justice Statistics, US DOJ