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OJP manages the Department’s grant programs. OJP has about 700 employees and is composed of 5 bureaus — Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and Office for Victims of Crime — as well as the Community Capacity Development Office. |
Reports Issued
OJP Grants to State and Local Entities
The OIG continued to audit grants awarded by OJP. Examples of findings from OIG audits issued during this reporting period included the following:
With its inception in FY 2002, the Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative (SWBPI) received $15.1 million through December 21, 2005, to reimburse state, county, parish, tribal, and municipal governments for costs associated with the prosecution of criminal cases referred by local USAOs. During our audit of the portion of the SWBPI that is administered by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety in Santa Fe, New Mexico, we questioned almost $1.1 million and made 20 recommendations based on the following deficiencies found in the claims reimbursed to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety: reimbursement was claimed for cases that were ineligible under the SWBPI guidelines, reimbursement amounts were calculated incorrectly based on case closure dates rather than resolution dates, and the number of cases claimed for reimbursement for each case disposition category did not always reconcile with the supporting documentation. OJP agreed with all of our recommendations and is in the process of coordinating corrective action with the New Mexico Department of Public Safety.
The BJA Grant to the Delaware Judicial Branch, Wilmington, Delaware, provided nearly $1.8 million for the purchase of software licenses and implementation of services associated with deploying a case management system. Although the Delaware Judiciary generally complied with the grant requirements, we determined that it inappropriately charged this grant for maintenance expenditures not approved by the BJA. The Delaware Judiciary also did not develop performance measures that ensured the case management system would meet the goals and objectives of the project. We made two recommendations to remedy questioned costs of $298,051 and ensure that performance measures are developed to assess whether the goals of the project are being met.
Investigations
During this reporting period, the OIG received 15 complaints involving OJP. The most common allegation made against OJP employees, contractors, or grantees was grantee fraud. The OIG opened eight investigations and referred five to OJP management.
At the close of the reporting period, the OIG had 18 open cases of alleged misconduct against OJP employees, contractors, or grantees. The following are examples of cases involving OJP that the OIG’s Investigations Division investigated during this reporting period:
A joint investigation by the OIG’s Tucson Area Office, FBI, Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigative Division, HUD OIG, and Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health determined that the City of South Tucson, Arizona (City), made $86,652 in unsupported or unauthorized expenditures of OJP grant funds, including overcharging for salaries, commingling of grant funds with non-grant funds, and collecting unsupported overtime costs for police officers. In addition, the City violated Occupational Safety and Health regulations concerning the purchase, storage, and use of life support and training equipment for the City’s fire department. The City has been directed to reimburse OJP $86,652 and has been fined $10,000 by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
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An investigation by the OIG’s Fraud Detection Office led to disciplinary action against an OJP contracting specialist who accepted gratuities from a contractor. Investigators found that the contracting specialist engaged in improper personal contacts with a vendor, accepted high-value meals on multiple occasions, and improperly sought to influence the testimony of a witness when she learned that she was the subject of the investigation. The contracting specialist received a 45-day suspension, reassignment to a non-procurement position, and permanent revocation of her contracting warrant and was ordered to attend ethics and anger management classes as a result of the investigation.
Ongoing Work
State Criminal Alien Assistance Program
The OIG is conducting a congressionally mandated audit of the BJA’s State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. Our audit will examine whether the states who receive compensation under section 241(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act have fully cooperated with DHS’s efforts to remove undocumented criminal aliens from the United States, and whether those states have policies that are in compliance with the Act. In addition, we will report on the number of criminal offenses committed by aliens unlawfully present in the United States after being apprehended by state or local law enforcement officials for a criminal offense and subsequently released without referral to the DHS for removal from the United States, including the number who were released because the state or political subdivision lacked space or funds for detention. Our findings are due to Congress by January 5, 2007.