Audit of statistical reports of asset and arrangement cases The Auditor of the Bankruptcy Division is in need of a stand-in to learn the basic audit procedure of the case closing reports. Each of these reports is checked for accuracy prior to audit. Approximately 40 to 45 thousand of these reports are audited each year in the Bankruptcy Division. In addition, the Bankruptcy Division conducts several special surveys per year. results would be a function of the new employee. The tabulation of the Recently, the recording and tabulating of a second survey just completed on the effect of the dischargeability amendments to the Bankruptcy Act was necessarily done by one of the attorneys for the Division simply because there was no one else to do it. This is manifestly a waste of time and legal talent. In the coming year, there is one known survey to be made of referees' activities and a strong possibility of others, including a detailed study of forms to be used in referees offices. ་ Semi-annual reports General Order 26 of the Bankruptcy Act provides for a semi-annual report from each referee which is a statement of the volume of cases handled and a list of cases remaining open for over eight months. When these reports are received, they are compared with prior reports and computations are made of status changes in cases. Much of this preliminary analysis would be accomplished by an assistant Auditor. Item 2c. Additional Personnel for the Magistrates Division The Division of Magistrates was established in the Administrative Office to provide administrative direction to the new Federal Magistrates System which has been fully operational in all judicial districts for less than two years. The Division has been authorized to: (1) conduct general and local surveys of conditions in the district courts and make recommendations to the Judicial Conference with respect to the number, locations, 93-020 0 - 73 pt. 1 - 11 and salaries of United States magistrates; (2) conduct studies of procedures in magistrate offices and make recommendations for improvement; (3) prepare and distribute a procedures manual, with annual supplements and periodic revisions, for the use of magistrates, setting forth their powers and duties, describing all categories of proceedings that may arise before them, and containing other information required to enable them to discharge their duties promptly, effectively, and impartially; (4) coordinate with the other divisions of the Administrative Office all matters relating to the offices of magistrates; (5) prepare and distribute an operations manual for magistrates instructing them regarding administrative matters of concern to their offices; (6) coordinate with the Division of Information Systems in prescribing forms and procedures for statistical reporting and in evaluating all statistical and other information required for the performance of the statutory duties of the Director and the Judicial Conference with respect to the magistrates system; (7) assist the Federal Judicial Center in planning and conducting educational programs for magistrates; and (8) maintain liaison with the Judicial Conference Committee on Federal Magistrates. The Judicial Conference has authorized the district courts to appoint 572 United States magistrates, including 103 full-time magistrates, all of whom perform a full range of judicial duties under 28 U.S.C. 633(a) and (b), and a substantial number of part-time magistrates who perform a full range of such duties. In establishing the Division of Magistrates it was determined that a staff of ten persons would be needed to perform these assigned functions. As a result of funds provided in prior appropriation acts, eight positions It is requested that funds be provided for two additional positions, have been allocated to the Division. as enumerated following: Item 2d. Additional Personnel for the Division of Information Systems The Division of Information Systems is charged with the functions of: Providing accurate and current statistical information as to the state of judicial business in each Providing data processing services to all elements of the Administrative Office to include processing the Continually and critically evaluating the effectiveness of existing information systems, developing new To carry out its responsibilities, the Division is organized into three Branches: an Operations Branch which The Administrative Office is required to generate far more information about a much greater caseload than The increased workload has not been confined to the statistical area. The business management workload has also increased. The impact of this increase in total workload in the Administrative Office is felt most heavily in the Data Processing Branch of the Division of Information Systems. This Branch is currently subject to receiving almost 102,000 documents per month which, when reduced to punch card form, generate almost 142,000 cards per month for machine processing. Again, due to a shortage of resources, work priorities have been established and all work is not currently being done. However even with these established priorities, this Branch is still understaffed to do the minimum work required and can only fulfill the minimum requirements through the use of overtime work. Finally, the Systems Development Branch has the responsibility of evaluating current systems and developAs a result, the systems ing new ones as required. This Branch did not exist prior to November 1971. currently being used in the Administrative Office are those which were developed for first generation data processing equipment over ten years ago. This Branch is currently staffed with four professional systems analysts and a supervisor. The need exists for a slight increase in this staff in order to properly discharge its assigned functions of modernizing all of our systems. A substantial increase in personnel for the Division of Information Systems is requested for fiscal year 1974. Almost half of the additional positions requested-12 of the 25-will be assigned to the task of maintaining statistics on a current basis for Probation and Bankruptcy. Statistical data in these areas have not been available on a current basis for several years because of other demands and pressures on The following explanations demonstrate the need for such the personnel in the statistics division. current information. NEED FOR CURRENT PROBATION STATISTICS Adequate staff must be assigned to the task of providing the probation system with current statistics. present there are 53,000 offenders under the supervision of U. S. probation officers about which we know virtually nothing. The prospects for disaster in such a situation are too numerous to count. At The last publication giving detailed reports on the performance of persons on probation, parole, and mandatory release was for fiscal year 1968. Since that time what little information we have was prepared by hand tallies, mostly in the Probation Division. Persons Under the Supervision of the Federal Probation System is the fundamental source document for manageThis report is produced from the most accurate data base in the criminal justice system. Courts, probation officers, and other federal agencies with their own statistical programs rely on the inforThis data base is the only reliable source of information on the results of hundreds ment information. mation it contains. of thousands of sentencing decisions made by district courts. Last fiscal year over 37,000 defendants were sentenced in 90 district courts. The sentences imposed vitally Courts today are faced with a broad array of sentencing alternatives in any criminal case. The courts must The courts and their advisers need to know what experience is associated with a sentencing decision. When The impact of new laws cries out for study. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been poured into the Our statistics are used by judges, probation officers, magistrates, attorneys, law enforcement officials, NEED FOR CURRENT STATISTICS IN BANKRUPTCY Some of the most vital statistical information needed for bankruptcy operations, extracted from reports of |