The Joint Automated Booking System

Audit Report 05-22
May 2005
Office of the Inspector General


Appendix I

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology


The objectives of our audit were to assess the extent to which the program was meeting its stated goals and the status of implementation of JABS. The audit focused on the Program Management Office's effort to implement JABS from the time the component representatives signed the Boundary Document in May 1999 through November 2004. We performed our audit in accordance with the Government Auditing Standards and, accordingly, included such tests of the records and procedures, as we deemed necessary.

As part of the audit, we reviewed applicable federal laws and regulations, policies, procedures and management reports from the JABS Program Management Office. We also interviewed officers from the Program Management Office, contacted system users in person, and conducted phone surveys and discussions with staff from the ATF, BOP, DEA, FBI, USMS, and the DHS involved in implementing and using JABS. We also conducted several discussions with contractor personnel working on JABS in connection with contracts established by the Program Management Office.

To determine the adequacy of the Program Management Office's efforts to implement JABS, we performed on-site reviews at six component offices, and one office of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection Division of the Department of Homeland Security. We also interviewed members of the JABS Board of Directors from the BOP, DEA, FBI, USMS, and the DHS. Additionally, we interviewed members of the ATF, although the ATF did not, at the time, have a seat on the Board of Directors.

The offices where we conducted work and interviewed personnel were:

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Washington, D.C.

Bureau of Prisons
Washington, D.C.

Drug Enforcement Administration
Atlanta, Georgia, Division Office
Arlington, Virginia

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Atlanta, Georgia, Field Office
Washington, D.C. Field Office

United States Marshals Service
Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia
Eastern District of Virginia

Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
Atlanta, Georgia, Hartsfield Jackson International Airport
Arlington, Virginia

We used data from JABS mostly to provide background information and to corroborate other information we obtained. We used JABS data to help support the number of deployed sites, FBI fingerprint rejection rates, system performance, and the fact that not all Department arrests have been booked through JABS. In these instances, we obtained corroborating evidence from the FBI and officials and system users in Department components and other participating agencies. Our concerns about the accuracy of data values in the JABS repository are described in Finding 1.



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