Semiannual Report to Congress

April 1, 2010 – September 30, 2010
Office of the Inspector General


Message from the Inspector General

This semiannual report summarizes the work of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) from April 1, 2010, through September 30, 2010. During this period, the OIG conducted a broad range of audits, inspections, investigations, and special reports that focus on the top management challenges facing the Department of Justice (Department). 

For example, the OIG continues to examine the Department’s efforts in the critical area of counterterrorism. In one review issued during this semiannual period, we assessed the Department’s readiness to respond to a Weapons of Mass Destruction incident, and our report made recommendations for improvement that the Department is now implementing. In another review, we examined the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) allocation of its personnel resources, including its counterterrorism resources. 

Other reviews focused on the effectiveness of Department controls in balancing the need to protect civil rights and civil liberties while the Department pursues its counterterrorism and law enforcement responsibilities. For example, we issued a report on the FBI’s investigation of certain domestic advocacy groups, and we are currently conducting reviews of the Department’s use of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act authoritiesand the FBI’s use of national security letters.

Other OIG reports focused on Department law enforcement activities, such as a report that examined the FBI Laboratory’s backlog of forensic DNA cases and a report evaluating the Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Intelligence Center. We are currently conducting an important review of Operation Gunrunner, the Department’s effort to combat firearms trafficking into Mexico.  

In addition, we have continued to conduct many audits of Department grants and contracts, including the Department’s award and monitoring of grants funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

I also want to highlight the work of the OIG’s Investigations Division, which regularly handles many significant allegations of criminal and administrative misconduct relating to Department programs, employees, and contractors. The outstanding work of OIG investigators helps to ensure the integrity of Department operations. 

Finally, I want to express my appreciation to the Department and Congress for their continued support of the work of the OIG. Most important, I would like to thank the dedicated OIG employees who tirelessly perform their important mission.

Glenn A. Fine
Inspector General
October 29, 2010

 


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