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Department of Justice
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Department of Justice
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*FY 2000 Budget Summary Performance Plan is also available in .PDF format.
(Appendices .PDF's available separately - see below)Cover Page
Introduction
Relationship to the Strategic Plan
Relationship to the Budget
Organization of the PlanPART I: Overview of FY 2000 Performance Goals
CORE FUNCTION 1: Investigation and Prosecution of Criminal Offenses
CORE FUNCTION 2: Assistance to Tribal, State and Local Governments
CORE FUNCTION 3: Legal Representation, Enforcement of Federal Laws, and Defense of U. S. Interests
CORE FUNCTION 4: Immigration
CORE FUNCTION 5: Detention and Incarceration
CORE FUNCTION 6: Protection of the Federal Judiciary and Improvements of the Justice System
CORE FUNCTION 7: ManagementPART II: Measurement Issues
New Steps to Strengthen Data Capacity and Integrity
Measurement Issues of Special Relevance to DOJ Activities
Data Sources and SystemsAPPENDIX A: Key Summary Indicators and Their Values - .PDF
APPENDIX B: Selected Sources of Performance Data - .PDF
APPENDIX C: Table of Cross-cutting Programs and Activities - .PDF
APPENDIX D: Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms - .PDF
Introduction
This Summary Performance Plan sets forth the major program goals the Department of Justice expects to achieve during fiscal year (FY) 2000. It summarizes and synthesizes the more detailed performance plans of specific Justice component organizations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Attorneys, the United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Prisons, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and others. To understand the breadth, complexity and magnitude of Justice programs, as well as the goals and measures we will use to assess our performance, this summary document should be read in conjunction with these component-level plans. Together they constitute the Department's Annual Performance Plan for FY 2000. This Plan also revises the Department's Summary Performance Plan for FY 1999, submitted in February 1998, in accordance with appropriated resource levels.
The Summary Performance Plan is prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act ("Results Act") and implementing guidance provided by the Office of Management and Budget. The Results Act is intended to improve the performance of federal programs by focusing on results, rather than activities. It requires that agencies identify long range strategic and annual performance goals that are both measurable and outcome oriented. It also requires that agencies report annually to the Congress and the public on their actual accomplishments in meeting these goals.
DOJ and its components have been working to develop a capability to measure and report program performance information, as required by the Results Act, and other congressional requirements such as those under the DOJ Drug Control Strategy. The identification and selection of meaningful performance indicators that reinforce a clear focus on mission outcomes has been a major challenge for all our components, as it is for law enforcement in general. Measurement issues are complex, involving long and short-term dimensions, as well as concerns of data integrity.
The public has traditionally viewed national crime rates as its most important indicator of success or failure in governmental efforts to fight crime. However, many external factors well beyond government's control play a role in the rise and fall of these rates. In addition, recent press reports have suggested that a preoccupation with crime rates at the local level may lead to the use of questionable data reporting practices or even the potential for falsifying crime records. Consequently, one of the first lessons under the Results Act appears to be that organizations that collect and report statistical information must carefully maintain established procedures and controls that help ensure data validity and reliability.
We have also learned that establishing a targeted level of performance in the field of law enforcement, and then measuring progress toward achieving that particular goal, involves many unique considerations and can raise serious ethical concerns. For example, the Attorney General has emphasized that the judgement and actions of DOJ personnel must never be perceived as being influenced by "bounty hunting" -- i.e., striving to reach a targeted goal or activity level for its own sake, without regard to the activity's larger purpose. Consequently, all DOJ components follow a policy of not setting targets of performance for certain selected indicators, e.g., arrests, indictments, convictions, seizures. (We will, however, report prior-year actuals for these types of indicators because they can provide valuable context to the nature and level of enforcement activity.) DOJ's Criminal Division describes this uniqueness of law enforcement as guiding us to "do what is just . . . . Success is when justice is served fairly and impartially; it is not reducible to simple numerical counts of arrests or convictions. . . .".
Relationship to the Strategic Plan
The Department of Justice Strategic Plan for 1997-2002 states:
"Our mission at the United States Department of Justice is to enforce the law and defend the interests of the U. S. according to the law, provide Federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime, seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior, administer and enforce the Nation's immigration laws fairly and effectively and ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans."
The Strategic Plan also describes our long-range goals, strategies and performance indicators. It provides the foundation for our on-going efforts to improve the performance of our programs and establishes the framework for our annual performance plans and budgets. While the Strategic Plan is broad and long-range, this FY 2000 Summary Performance Plan is more specific and time-focused. Taken together with the individual performance plans of our component organizations, this summary plan describes what will be achieved within a specific year and with a specific level of resources.
Performance planning and budgeting at the Department of Justice are driven by and consistent with our long-range strategic goals. In keeping with this linkage, the Summary Performance Plan is organized according to the seven core functional areas identified in the Department's Strategic Plan. These are:
1. Investigation and Prosecution of Criminal Offenses
2. Assistance to Tribal, State, and Local Governments
3. Legal Representation, Enforcement of Federal Laws, and Defense of U.S. Interests
4. Immigration
5. Detention and Incarceration
6. Protection of the Federal Judiciary and Improvement of the Justice System
7. Management
Relationship to the Budget
The Department of Justice decided early on to incorporate performance planning and reporting with the budget process. We recognized that performance information is vital to making resource allocation decisions and, therefore, should be an integral part of the budget. As a result of this decision to present performance information with the budget, individual annual performance plans have been prepared to accompany the budget request of specific Department components. As noted earlier, these individual annual performance plans provide more detailed and complete information on the Department's programs and constitute the basis for the Department's Summary Performance Plan.
The Summary Performance Plan is consistent with the Department's FY 2000 budget and the goals listed are attainable within the resource levels requested. Goals will be revised as necessary to reflect approved funding levels.
Organization of the Plan
The Plan is organized into two parts. Part I describes major FY 2000 themes and priorities for the Department for each core function followed by a discussion of the major resources and technologies that are needed to carry out the Plan. This section also includes a comprehensive crosswalk of the Department's strategic goals, FY 2000 performance goals, and key indicators. Here again, detailed information is provided in the component-specific plans and simply summarized here.
Part II addresses important measurement considerations. These include the availability and integrity of performance data, the sources from which the data are or will be drawn, the validity and appropriateness of certain indicators, and measurement issues of special relevance to DOJ activities.
The Appendices contain (1) a table that shows, for each Key Summary Level Indicator in the Plan, the actual and targeted values; (2) a listing of selected sources of performance data; (3) a table of cross-cutting programs and activities; and (4) a glossary of abbreviations and acronyms.
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