A National Research Council report sponsored by the Justice Department recommended last week that a Senate-confirmed appointee should lead an independent DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics in order to prevent Bush-era abuses from recurring.
The 378 page report said the DOJ clearinghouse for crime and criminal justice statistics should be independent of the Office of Justice Programs in the DOJ hierarchy. The report noted the 2005 dismissal of BJS Director Lawrence A. Greenfeld, who was allegedly let go after he complained about a decision by the Bush DOJ to play down statistics on the hostile police handling of black and Hispanic drivers. Read the New York Times article on the dismissal here.
“BJS generally espouses the principles and practices of a federal statistical agency, but it has sustained major shocks to its position of independence as a national statistical resource in recent years,” the report said.
NRC also found “major gaps” in the coverage of some data including civil justice, white-collar crime and juvenile justice that were the result of a small staff with limited resources. The 50 person office has effectively had the same amount of funding throughout its 30 year existence, according to the report. President Obama requested $60 million for the bureau in the 2010 budget, which is only $15 million more than the 2009 budget request.
(National Reserach Council)
DOJ spokesperson Matthew Miller said the Justice Department is still reviewing the report and has not taken any action yet on its recommendations.
“We look forward to working with the Office of Justice Programs and the criminal justice community to evaluate this report and consider how best to address its findings and recommendations,” Miller wrote in an e-mail.
