The Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General said Monday it closed two high-priority recommendations and designated two new ones to oversee the agency's operations.
The office closed a 2021 recommendation to the FBI to clarify when agents must coordinate with state and local law enforcement after receiving allegations of crimes against children. The FBI updated its Domestic Investigations Operations Guide and Crimes Against Children Policy Guide to address the recommendation, the OIG said.
The office also closed a 2023 recommendation to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to develop a method for calculating appropriate staffing levels. The BOP developed a staffing tool and used it to calculate staffing needs across its institutions, then reported its funding requirements to lawmakers, the agency said.
The two newly designated priorities include a 2018 recommendation that the Justice Department provide guidance to agents and prosecutors about whether taking investigative steps, announcing indictments, or making public announcements could impact an election. The OIG found that officials differed in their understanding of the existing policy against influencing the political process before elections, and no formal policy specified when such steps were prohibited relative to an election date.
The other new priority is a 2019 recommendation that the Justice Department and FBI evaluate which types of sensitive investigative matters require advance notification to senior officials, such as the Deputy Attorney General. The recommendation followed the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation, which concerned campaign-associated individuals and could have opened without notifying leadership under existing policy. The FBI implemented policy changes in 2021 that the OIG said were responsive to the recommendation, but it remains open pending completion of a department-wide policy review.
The OIG uses priority designations to highlight up to three open recommendations it believes will have the most impact on the department's mission and operations.