NCJ Number
70200
Date Published
1980
Length
41 pages
Annotation
The General Accounting Office (GAO) comments on the Department of Justice's reply to a GAO report on the FBI's handling of interstate property crimes.
Abstract
On May 8, 1980, GAO issued the report 'From Quantity to Quality: Changing FBI Emphasis on Interstate Property Crimes' without comments from the Department of Justice. In its study of six FBI field offices, GAO concluded that the FBI's investigations of property crimes in fiscal year 1978 were mostly unproductive. Based on its findings, GAO recommended that the Attorney General direct U.S. attorneys to change their prosecutive policies for property crimes to agree with the FBI's stated criteria emphasizing quality over quantity of prosecutions. The Attorney General should also require the FBI to minimize involvement in property crimes not warranting a Federal presence by developing guidelines that emphasize greater reliance on State and local law enforcement agencies. Further, the FBI should maximize its efforts against major interstate property crimes by more aggressively identifying and investigating top property criminals and revising its quality criteria to exclude cases where Federal jurisdiction is uncertain. GAO also recommends that the Congress strike the reference to $5,000 from the statute governing the interstate transportation of stolen property so that Federal jurisdiction can be directed to those offenses where an expenditure of Federal resources would have the most impact on the property crime problem. In its response to these recommendations, the Justice Department supports the recommended change in legislation, but has taken issue with the remaining findings, conclusions, and recommendations such that no substantial changes in investigative or prosecutive policies are planned. After reviewing this response, GAO believes the original recommendations are still valid.