Report No. 02-05
January 2002
Office of the Inspector General
APPENDIX III
OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY
Objectives
Our objectives were to determine whether:
- protected witnesses were properly admitted into the Program;
- results of protected witness testimony were accurately collected, analyzed, and reported; and
- the CRM complied with GPRA requirements as they relate to the Program.
Scope and Methodology
The audit was performed in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards, and included tests and procedures necessary to accomplish the audit objectives. Generally, the audit focused on the Criminal Division's OEO management of the Federal Witness Security Program. Our primary audit fieldwork began in July 1999 and ended in April 2000; additional fieldwork was performed in May 2001. Our work was performed at the OEO within the Criminal Division, located in Washington, DC.
To accomplish the audit objectives, we performed the following tasks:
- reviewed the Witness Security Program Reform Act, as well as, OEO policies, procedures, organization charts, and mission statements;
- reviewed prior audit reports by the Department and the General Accounting Office on related issues;
- reviewed budgetary and contracting documents;
- interviewed personnel in the Management Information System and the Litigation Support Staff within the Criminal Division;
- reviewed Departmental testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee;
- interviewed personnel within OEO;
- selected a judgmental sample of 80 applications from a universe of
719 applications received by the OEO from FY 1997 to 1999 that were authorized or denied Program services;
- selected the 80 applications based on 9 sub-categories of type of witnesses that required extensive documentation for admittance;
- reviewed case information for the 80 applications included in the sample;
- reviewed case information for the 315 witnesses terminated from
FY 1997 to 1999; and
- reviewed the FY 1998 indictment and conviction data, which was the most current data available.