Balancing Fighting Crime versus Terrorism

During the years following 9/11, consistent with the department’s shift in priorities, DOJ redirected an additional 7 percent of its operational budget away from fighting traditional crime (e.g., organized crime, drug trafficking, violent crime, and white-collar 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, amid efforts to diagnose and address the causes of the current financial crisis, Congress has raised questions about the agility of the FBI to redirect resources in order to sufficiently investigate potential corporate fraud and crimes across various financial players.  This has presented a number of challenges, such as the following:

• GAO's ongoing work assesses the extent to which DOJ agencies involved in other missions, such as counternarcotics enforcement, have had to revise their missions and adjust to the budget impacts of funding counterterrorism efforts.
• 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
• 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.  Also, DOJ’s funding for state and local law enforcement assistance declined by 65 percent (from $2.9 billion to $1 billion) between fiscal year 2001 and fiscal year 2008. 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.
  Conference of Mayors Action Agenda on Crime - 8/08, Highlights of GAO-06-104 (PDF)

^ 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.
  DOJIG-05-37
• Our ongoing work on the department’s drug enforcement responsibilities shows that DOJ should continue to look for additional opportunities to coordinate with other federal investigative agencies, as well as state and local agencies, to leverage resources in addressing drug-related crimes. Similarly, the Conference of Mayors called for better federal-local partnerships to help fight traditional crimes and grant flexibility to use funds to support both homeland security and law enforcement efforts.
  Conference of Mayors Action Agenda on Crime - 8/08

^ Back to topKey Reports

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

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: The Internal Effects of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Reprioritization, 04-39

(Washington, D.C.: September 2004).

DOJ Inspector General Report 04-39

U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Action Agenda on Crime for the Next President of the United States

(Denver, CO: August 25, 2008)

Conference of Mayors Action Agenda on Crime - 8/08

More Reports