MEMORANDUM

TO:	Paul A. Price Assistant Inspector General Evaluations and inspections
FROM:	Kevin J. O’Connor (Initials) Associate Deputy Attorney General
SUBJECT:	Response to Recommendations in Coordination of Investigations by Department of Justice Violent Crime Task Forces, Assignment Number A-2005-011

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the recommendations contained in your draft report entitled Coordination of Investigations by Department of Justice Violent Crime Task Forces. You have requested that, for each recommendation, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) indicate concurrence or non-concurrence, describe actions taken or planned in response to the recommendations, and provide projected completion dates for the actions. In the event of non-concurrence, you have asked that ODAG state specific reasons for non-concurrence and propose alternative actions, if appropriate. Our response to each recommendation is outlined below.

We concur with this recommendation. The United States Attorneys are in a unique position –even without direct authority over other federal law enforcement components- to assess and if necessary, address any coordination concerns arising from the operation of multiple violent crime task forces in their districts. As your report recognizes, in some districts they are doing this effectively. In response to this recommendation, ODAG has asked the Violent Crime Subcommittee of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee to review a draft ODAG directive to all United States Attorneys that will require that they periodically assess the cooperation and coordination of violent crime task forces operating in their districts. The draft directive also contains a form for reporting back to the Department of Justice on the status of such efforts, the nature of any problems identified, and the guidance or policies adopted or revised to address such problems. ODAG believes that, rather than issuing a directive at this time, the Department would benefit by first allowing the United States Attorney Community to review the OIG's report and recommendations, as well as the draft of this ODAG directive, so that they can advise ODAG as to their views on the best way to accomplish the objective of establishing their integral role in assessing and addressing the coordination amongst task forces in their districts. We have given the AGAC and its Violent Crime Subcommittee a deadline of May 1, 2007, to provide its recommendations on the best approach to ODAG. ODAG intends to review those recommendations and issue a final directive before the United States Attorney's Conference in San Antonio scheduled for May 14-16, 2007.

We concur with this recommendation. On March 23, 2007, the Deputy Attorney General issued the attached Memorandum directing that, where effective and available, all components utilize information sharing and deconfliction measures to coordinate investigations in geographical areas where more than one DOJ-led violent crime task force operates. Additionally, the Deputy Attorney General asked each component to adopt, to the extent it does not have one already, a policy requiring all of its violent crime task forces to utilize information sharing and deconfliction measures. The Memorandum further directs that each component certify, no later than June 1, 2007, that is has policies and procedures in effect that mandate coordination with other violent crime task forces, including, where effective and available, participation in information sharing and deconfliction measures.

We concur with this recommendation. The Task Force Recommendation Subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Anti-Gang Coordination Committee developed the procedures by which components request approval of new anti-gang task forces. Since those procedures have been in place, the Department of Justice components have exhibited 100% compliance with the policies on new anti-gang task forces and all new anti-gang task forces have been subject to review by the Anti-Gang Coordination Committee and approval by the Deputy Attorney General. In light of their expertise in coordinating anti-gang task force policies and procedures, I have asked the Task Force Recommendation Subcomrnittee to develop recommendations for an assessment and approval process for violent crime and fugitive task forces. As you know, some Department of Justice-led task forces are mandated by Congress, and other task forces are established by local law enforcement and simply have a federal law enforcement presence. As a result, I have also asked that the Task Force Recommendation Subcommittee propose parameters for the task forces that will be subject to an assessment and approval processes. Those will be submitted to the Office of the Deputy Attorney General by September 1, 2007, for review and further action.

We concur with this recommendation. The Deputy Attorney General’s Memorandum of March 23, 2007, also directs DOJ law enforcement components to evaluate compliance with policies concerning task force coordination, information sharing and deconfliction efforts in periodic internal management reviews.

Attachment

MEMORANDUM FOR	THE ACTING DIRECTOR, EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR      UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS THE DIRECTOR, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION THE DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE THE ACTING DIRECTOR: BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO,      FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES THE ADMINISTRATOR, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION
FROM:	Paul J. McNulty (Initials) Deputy Attorney General
SUBJECT:	Coordination and Use of Information-Sharing and Deconfliction Measures by Department of Justice Violent Crime Task Forces

Recently, the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) undertook a review of the coordination of Department-led violent crime task forces. The resulting report, which will be released shortly and which I strongly encourage you to read, describes problems that may arise in the absence of effective coordination amongst violent crime task forces operating in the same geographic area.

It is the policy of the Department of Justice to coordinate Department-led violent crime task forces operating in the same geographic location. If your component does not already have a nationwide policy mandating such cooperation, I direct you to adopt such a policy. To address specific coordination of our many violent crime task forces, on the local level I will be requesting that each United States Attorney in cities with multiple violent crime task forces assess coordination amongst law enforcement components participating in such task forces. I also will authorize and encourage the United States Attorney’s, with your component's input and assistance, to adopt or revise policies or procedures that ensure effective and productive coordination amongst violent crime task forces operating in their districts. I expect your field offices to participate actively and to assist the United States Attorneys in this regard.

The OIG Report also discusses the importance of effective information sharing and deconfliction measures to coordinate investigations and to ensure the safety of law enforcement officers. The Department agrees that effective information sharing and deconfliction measures are crucial to successful coordination amongst its violent crime task forces and to the safety of law enforcement officers. Accordingly, effective immediately, I am directing that all of your organizations utilize, where available and effective, information sharing and deconfliction measures to coordinate investigations in geographical areas where more than one DOJ-led violent crime task force operates. Each component also should adopt, to the extent it does not already have one, a policy consistent with this directive that requires all of its violent crime task forces to utilize information sharing and deconfliction measures.

If no effective information sharing or deconfliction measures are available to violent crime task forces in certain jurisdictions, your field offices, working with the United States Attorneys' offices, should determine some manner to share information and deconflict the work of violent crime task forces.

To ensure compliance with this directive, each of your components must certify, no later than June 1,2007,that it has policies and procedures in effect at the national and local level that mandate coordination with other violent crime task forces, including, where effective and available, participation in information sharing and deconfliction measures. Additionally, your organizations are expected to evaluate compliance with such policies in your periodic internal management reviews.

cc: United States Attorneys