In the Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, Congress mandated that the Attorney General designate a senior official in the Department of Justice to assume primary responsibility for privacy policy. In addition, through the appropriations process, the DOJ House Appropriations Committee has directed the Department to designate a senior policy official to assume responsibility for developing appropriate civil rights safeguards, particularly as related to the war on terrorism, and for coordinating the work of all Department components involved in these efforts. In February 2006, the Department appointed Jane Horvath Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer. The Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties is part of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and the Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer reports directly to the Deputy Attorney General.

Attached is a copy of a report to Congress detailing the OPCL's activities since its creation.

To protect the privacy and civil liberties of the American people by: reviewing and overseeing the Department's privacy operations and ensuring privacy compliance, including compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974; developing Departmental privacy policy; representing the Department with respect to international privacy policy issues; ensuring that Privacy Impact Assessments are completed in compliance with the eGovernment Act of 2002; overseeing privacy-related reporting to the President and Congress; refining DOJ's policies relating to the protection of individual civil liberties specifically in the context of the DOJ's counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts; and coordinating the work of DOJ relating to the protection of privacy and civil liberties

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is an independent entity within the Department of Justice that investigates allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, and misconduct by Department of Justice employees, contractors, and grantees.

Section 1001 of the USA PATRIOT Act directs the Inspector General to review information and receive complaints alleging abuses of civil rights and civil liberties by Department of Justice employees. The OIG has created a special section in its Investigations Division to process these complaints. This section will identify the more serious civil rights and civil liberties allegations and assign them to OIG employees for investigation. The OIG will refer other complaints to Department components for their review and handling.

Individuals who believe that a Department of Justice employee has violated their civil rights or civil liberties may contact the OIG as specified in the following link: http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/FOIA/hotline2.htm