Office of Policy and Legislation

The Mission and Work of the Office of Policy and Legislation:

We are a team of attorneys, policy analysts, and professional staff working with all the sections and offices of the Criminal Division and components around the Department to develop, review, and evaluate national crime, sentencing, and corrections policy and legislation.

The office's legislative component develops legislative proposals, legal memoranda, and Congressional testimony. We prepare comments on pending legislation and other legislative matters affecting the federal criminal justice system; and help represent the Department before the U.S. Sentencing Commission on sentencing-related issues, and before the Judicial Conference's Advisory Committees on Criminal Rules and Evidence regarding the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence.

The office's policy component analyzes policy and management issues related to criminal law enforcement and the criminal justice system. We identify problems and emerging trends; analyze crime data, federal caseload statistics, and other criminal justice system information; develop policy options and recommendations; and provide research, technical, and management support to the Assistant Attorney General and other Division and Department policymakers.