Report: Justice managers fail to ensure accuracy of terrorism statistics

The Justice Department does not have sufficient oversight and policies in place to ensure the accuracy of its terrorism-related conviction statistics, according to a report released Wednesday by the General Accounting Office.

The report (GAO-03-266) found that at least 132, or 46 percent, of the 288 cases cited as terrorism-related convictions in fiscal 2002 were misclassified.

"Without the implementation of adequate management oversight and internal controls to ensure accurate and reliable terrorism-related conviction data, [the Justice Department's] and Congress' ability to accurately assess terrorism-related performance outcomes of the U.S. criminal justice system will be limited," GAO concluded.

The watchdog agency recommended that the attorney general implement formal procedures to oversee and validate the accuracy of case classification and conviction data entered into the department's case-tracking system.

Justice officials have agreed to implement that recommendation, according to GAO.