What purpose are written guidelines intended to serve?

What factors are taken into account in formulating written declination guidelines?

Are existing written declination guidelines consistent with national law enforcement policy?

What law enforcement and national policy
interests are involved in evaluating
written declination guidelines?

What differing local circumstances exist
across federal districts that affect
written declination guidelines?

What variations in written declination
guidelines across districts are acceptable
and consistent with national policy?
If written declination guidelines are in
any way inconsistent with national policy
or national priorities, what changes can
and should be made in those guidelines or
in the Department's policies and procedures
with respect to those guidelines?

The first question listed above and its subquestions are addressed in Section I of the report and also in the

Appendix.

Questions 2 through 4 are the subjects of Section

II. The fifth question will be addressed in the Department's final report.

As the following discussion indicates, declination policies are a crucial part of the investigative and prosecutorial system. Investigators and prosecutors alike rely upon such policies to help channel limited law enforcement resources toward their most productive uses. Indeed, since law enforcement resources are limited, it is clearly impossible to investigate and prosecute every alleged criminal violation. Some priorities are required to reduce wastage and to increase the effective deployment of scarce investigative and prosecutorial time and effort.

A large number of factors are taken into account in formulating written declination guidelines, including the availability and likelihood of State or local prosecution, the seriousness of the crime and the injury or loss involved, the defendant's prior involvement in criminal activity, and the strength and sufficiency of the Government's evidence. While issued by United States Attorneys, written guidelines are usually the result of consultation between United States Attorney's offices and federal investigative agencies. In many instances, State and local law enforcement officials are also consulted. Unusual or aggravating circumstances are always taken into account in determining whether written guidelines should be applied to particular situations.

The information contained in this report demonstrates both notable similarities and striking differences across the various United States Attorney's offices with respect to written

declination policies.

Whether the existing degree of uniformity

or diversity is proper requires a careful and thorough analysis of the circumstances confronting each United States Attorney's office and of the various national policy interests. Obviously, difficult policy issues concerning effective law enforcement, fairness and competing national objectives are involved in evaluating the existing written and unwritten declination policies and practices and the Department's proper role in defining and monitoring them. Those issues will be considered at length in the Department's final report. This initial report addresses a limited, but important piece of the overall declination picture written declination guidelines and attempts to provide answers to a similarly limited, but important set of questions.

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I.

WRITTEN DECLINATION GUIDELINES CURRENTLY

IN USE BY UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS

The specific written declination guidelines supplied by U.S. Attorneys were applicable to 42 categories of criminal offenses. These written guidelines are described by type of offense in the Appendix to this report. As that lengthy description demonstrates, for a number of categories of offenses, only a few districts have written declination guidelines. For other types of offenses, written guidelines are very frequently in force.

The following eleven categories of offense are the ones most frequently made subject to written guidelines by U.S. Attorneys:

1.

Table 1

Categories of Criminal Offenses Most
Frequently Subject to Written Declination Guidelines

Category of Offense

Theft from Interstate Shipment
(18 U.S.C. Section 659)

Number of Districts with

Written Declination Policies

61

of a Stolen Vehicle (18 U.S.C. Section 2312)

45

A review of the written declination policies for various offenses indicates a number of general characteristics:

Written guidelines are typically categorized
by the type of criminal offense or the statu-
tory provisions involved, as they are presented
in the Appendix to this report.

Written guidelines are more prevalent for
non-violent criminal offenses, though some
exist for violent crimes.

Written guidelines are usually expressed

in terms of the gravity of the alleged offense,
the history and circumstances of the defendant
involved, and the connection of the alleged
offense to a pattern of illegal activity.

Other frequently-mentioned declination deter-
mining factors include the sufficiency and
strength of the Government's evidence and the
availability of alternatives to federal prose-
cution.

The most frequently used measurement of the gravity

of the offense is the value of property or loss involved.

Using Theft from Interstate Shipment as an example, the value