Federal Bureau of Investigation Casework and Human Resource Allocation
Report No. 03-37
September 2003
Office of the Inspector General
| Recommendation Number: | |
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| 1. | Resolved. The FBI agreed with our recommendation and reported that it is in the process of providing the Director with an automated resource utilization report function. In order to close this recommendation, please provide us with documentation describing the new report function, and evidence that the Director has received reports on a regular basis. In the interim, please provide us with an implementation schedule that details when the system will be fully operational. |
| 2. | Resolved. The FBI responded that it agreed with our recommendation and sought to clarify our characterization of the Violent Crimes and Major Offenders (VCMO) program. As a result, we have made an adjustment in our discussion preceding Recommendation Number 2 in Chapter 9. In response to our recommendation, the FBI stated that it has reduced the allocation of resources to the VCMO program and it is monitoring resource utilization and case activity in the program on a quarterly basis. This recommendation can be closed when we receive a copy of the FY 2003 and FY 2004 funded staffing levels and samples of the quarterly reviews. |
| 3. | Resolved. In its response, the FBI provided evidence that it performed some research into certain aspects of its increasing universe of open cases. Specifically, the FBI provided detailed information on the reasons why the number of cases open in the Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence Divisions has increased since 9/11. In addition, the Criminal Investigative Division (CID) reported that since FY 2001, the universe of open Racketeering Enterprise Investigations has decreased. The CID further reported that the Drug program had been allocated fewer resources since FY 1998 and its enterprise theory of investigations results in strategically planned long-term investigations. Therefore, fewer cases are opened, but these cases are open for longer periods of time. The FBI concluded that these results could not be interpreted as a reduction in productivity. However, the FBI did not address the entirety of its increasing case universe since 1998. Rather, much of its response points to increased counterterrorism work in the wake of 9/11 as a reason for the increase. As noted in our report, in April 1999 the FBI found it necessary to administratively close over 675,000 cases that had been unaddressed for long periods of time. The increasing volume of open cases invites the possibility that the FBI will have to take similar steps in the future and we believe that the FBI should further study this issue to alleviate the need for another large-scale administrative closure of cases. In order to close this recommendation, please provide us with the results of additional research that targets the increasing caseload between 1998 and 2001 for the FBI as a whole. |
| 4. | Resolved. According to the FBI, it has made changes to its resource allocation process so that funded staffing levels (FSLs) will be allocated in a more timely manner. To close this recommendation, please provide us with evidence that the new strategy has been officially implemented. In addition, please keep us informed of the Resource Management and Allocation office’s actions to establish the FY 2004 FSLs. |
| 5. | Unresolved. In its response, the FBI provided further explanation for the difference between the allocated and utilized personnel resources in its Applicant Matters program and agreed to review its process for allocating resources to this program. However, the FBI’s response did not address the significant differences in resource allocation and utilization in its Training program. This recommendation can be resolved when the FBI provides information related to its efforts to address these differences. |
| 6. | Resolved. The FBI provided us with an implementation schedule for its efforts to improve the quality of ACS data before its migration into the new Virtual Case File application. To close this recommendation, please provide us with a copy of the data quality report and evidence that the data has been improved and successfully migrated. In the interim, please keep us informed of the progress made towards the data migration. |
| 7. | Resolved. According to the FBI, in its creation of the Virtual Case File application, the Bureau utilized a Business Process Reengineering approach to determine what business processes needed to be changed to make the FBI more effective. Part of this involved reviewing the Monthly Administrative Reports to assess their utility. The FBI provided us with an implementation schedule for its plans to design new reports and implement them as part of the new Virtual Case File system. This recommendation can be closed when we receive samples of the test reports; feedback from subject matter experts to confirm that the new reports are acceptable, provide necessary data, and are an effective program management tool; results of the user acceptance tests; and evidence that the new reports have been implemented. |