Rationale and Analysis of Agency

Introduction

The chosen agency for this assignment is the U.S. Department of Justice. The United States Department of Justice is a federal division tasked with administering justice and enforcing federal law. The department comprises several enforcement agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Firearms and Explosives, Marshal Services, Bureau of Prisons, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The U.S. Department of Justice is headed by the Attorney General, who is a member of the Cabinet. The U.S. Department of Justice was officially established in 1870 due to the need for a specialized office that handles all civil suits and criminal prosecutions. Although the department’s structure has changed over the years, the 1870’s Act remains the foundation of the department’s authority (White, Flippin & Malm, 2019). Since its establishment as a one-man position, the department has evolved into one of the largest and most powerful offices in the U.S. government. The department’s key institutions are courts and prisons, defense lawyers and prosecution, and the police.

Mission

The department’s mission is to enforce law and safeguard the interests of the United States of America.

Goals

The goals of the U.S. Department of Justice include; necessitating federal leadership in controlling and preventing crime, protecting the public against domestic and foreign threats, ensuring the impartial and fair administration of justice, ensure rehabilitation of offenders, and seeking punishment for unlawful behaviors.

Objectives

The department’s objectives include reducing drug abuse and misuse, serving and offering quality services for all, complying with all regulatory and legal requirements, expanding services necessitated by the department, preventing sexual and physical abuse of children, and promoting public policy.

Functions of the agency

i. Administration of the criminal justice system

The U.S. Department of Justice investigates offenses and prosecutes offenders or perpetrators through the national prosecution service (COUNSEL et al., 2016). Likewise, the U.S. Department of Justice administers the correction system of the country through the Bureau of Prisons (BoP) and other corrective agencies.

ii. Regulation of immigration

The U.S. Department of Justice necessitates all naturalization and immigration regulatory services. It also drafts and implements laws governing the admission of aliens and citizenship through the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).

iii. Legal Counsel of government

The U.S. Department of Justice, through the office of Corporate Counsel and Solicitor General, is the legal representative of the federal government in various matters or proceedings that require professional services. The department, through its offices, is empowered to act on any arising queries or requests for guidance on legal matters.

iv. International cooperation

The U.S. Department of Justice is the primary authority of the U.S. government involved in mutual legal treaties on criminal matters. The department is also involved in various aspects of international cooperation, including the implementation of agreements and legislation (Scott et al., 2017). The U.S. Department of Justice is also involved in the negotiations of different trade and investment agreements at the international level.

v. Provision of legal assistance

The U.S. Department of Justice is tasked with the role of providing legal representation or assistance to litigants and other offenders in civil, criminal, administrative, and criminal disputes.

vi. Alternative dispute resolution

In regard to mediation and conciliation, the U.S. Department of Justice is tasked with the role of promoting, developing, and expanding the use of alternative conflict resolution techniques in commercial and civil disputes through the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998.

Rationale

I chose the U.S. Department of Justice because of the following reasons;

i. First, I possess a genuine interest in the administration of criminal justice system. As a young scholar, I am always interested in understanding how the U.S. Department of Justice carries out its functions, more especially on how police coordinate with courts and prisons. One aspect that always baffles me is how the U.S. Department of Justice is always making headlines on violation of rights, yet it is primarily tasked with the responsibility of protecting its citizens. I solely believe that there is a need for structural changes in this department to ensure that key institutions such as courts and police do not misuse the power at their disposal.

i. Secondly, given the countless functions performed by the department, I postulate that our consultation firm can aid in increasing awareness of some of the roles performed by the department. Apart from the popular functions of the department, such as administration of criminal justice, dispute resolution, and legal assistance, most people are not publicly aware of other crucial functions of the department.

Current event

One noteworthy event from the U.S. Department of Justice is the development of the Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM); a standard XML product designed for information exchanges, necessitating law enforcement, prosecutors, public safety agencies, judicial and public defenders with a tool to share information effectively and in a timely manner. This is a recent achievement that has removed a huge burden from agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice, allowing them to independently develop exchange standards that are more extensible and flexible. The GJXDM is a simple but efficient tool that has saved millions of dollars for the U.S. Department of Justice (Kozik et al., 2020). The GJXDM comprises three major parts; the data model, the data dictionary, and the component reuse repository. The development of GJXDM has made it possible for crucial agencies within the criminal justice sector to share information quickly and less expensively. With the help of the GJXDM, the opportunity for justice information sharing is intensified, arming everyone across the department with accurate and contemporary data to make the best decisions possible.

Organizational Design

The following chart depicts the U.S. Department of Justice’s organizational chart. As highlighted earlier in the study, the U.S. Department of Justice is headed by the Attorney General, who is also a member of the Cabinet.

Organizational Chart | DOJ | Department of Justice

Major milestones affecting agency’s success

The two major factors milestones affecting the agency’s success are functional structure and political influences. In this case, the internal milestone is the functional structure, while political influence is the external milestone. Functional or organizational structure is the component concerned with the operations of the department. For instance, managing and coordinating institutions within the U.S. Department of Justice. Functional structure is also associated with the policies that guide the department in ensuring that it achieves its primary objectives. Technically, the U.S. Department of Justice has experienced numerous changes over the years. Most of these changes are necessary and help ensure that the department is well advanced with tools and technology to fight crimes and bring offenders to justice. Besides, the world is fast-changing, and this means that crimes are also evolving. Therefore, the department’s structure severely affects the department’s success in carrying out its strategy and objectives. The other major milestone is political influence. Like most agencies under the current administration, the U.S. Department of Justice is adrift and unsettled. For years, U.S. Department of Justice leaders have repeatedly abandoned traditional priorities and violated long-standing norms in favor of certain political leaders in government, which interferes with the integrity and independence of the department (Heidenreich, 2018). Since the U.S. Department of Justice is a critical department, extreme levels of political influence reduce public trust in justice and enfeebles the capacity of the department to correctly enforce the law.

Recommendations for planning and implementation

Any criminal justice system should keep all communities safe, nurture rehabilitation and prevention, and ensure equal and fair justice. However, in too many ways and in too many places, the U.S. Department of Justice has fallen short of the mandate, and this has resulted in devastating consequences. Because of political influence and lack of independence, people of color, especially black, native Americans, and Latinos, have felt the direct impact of discrimination in the criminal justice system. Therefore, this study suggests the integration of minorities in the department and across the data collection stages to ensure that planning and implementation captures the needs of all citizens. Sharing positions at the top and subordinate levels will particularly mirror people’s diversity, which is one of the department’s core values. This can be implemented through structural changes in the department that will ensure minority groups are well represented in prominent positions.

References

COUNSEL, O. B. O. G., Barnes, J. J., DHS, E. O. B. O., Connolly, E. M., & Counsel, A. (2016). U.S. Department of Justice. ORDER, 1, 1.

Heidenreich, P. A. (2018). U.S. Department of Justice investigations of implantable cardioverter- defibrillators and quality improvement in health care. Jama, 320(1), 40-42.

Kozik, R., Choras, M., Pawlicki, M., Holubowicz, W., Pallmer, D., Mueller, W., … & Faure, D. (2020). Common Representational Model and Ontologies for Effective Law Enforcement Solutions. Vietnam Journal of Computer Science, 7(01), 1-18.

Scott, K., Ma, D. S., Sadler, M. S., & Correll, J. (2017). A social scientific approach toward understanding racial disparities in police shooting: Data from the Department of Justice (1980–2000). Journal of Social Issues, 73(4), 701-722.

White, M. D., Flippin, M., & Malm, A. (2019). Key trends in body-worn camera policy and practice: A four-year policy analysis of U.S. Department of Justice-Funded Law Enforcement Agencies. Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.