Justice OIG

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Inspector General's (OIG) management and operation, focusing on whether it is discharging its responsibilities: (1) without interference from other DOJ divisions and bureaus; and (2) in a similar manner to other executive branch OIG. GAO found that: (1) OIG fulfills its responsibilities without interference from other DOJ agencies or top management; (2) OIG makes its own administrative decisions regarding personnel, procurements, information requests, work priorities and objectives, reports, investigation referrals, and recommendation implementation; (3) OIG has addressed almost all high-risk or weak internal control areas in DOJ; (4) OIG work has improved DOJ financial management; (5) OIG officials plan to emphasize the importance of complete documentation, since some OIG case files are incomplete; and (6) DOJ and five other executive branch OIG have similar operational approaches to investigate sensitive allegations or possible criminal violations and routinely refer allegations involving administrative and personnel matters to the appropriate agency.