Digital Strategy
The DOJ Digital Strategy was developed in compliance with a White House memorandum and the Digital Government Strategy of 2012 (Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People).
The Digital Government Strategy is aimed at building a 21st century government that works better for the American people. The strategy's three primary goals are to:
- Enable the American people and an increasingly mobile workforce to access high-quality digital government information and services anywhere, anytime, on any device.
- Ensure that as the government adjusts to this new digital world, we seize the opportunity to procure and manage devices, applications, and data in smart, secure, and affordable ways.
- Unlock the power of government data to spur innovation across our nation and improve the quality of services for the American people.
- Open Data, Content, and Web APIs
- eServices Ideas
- High Value Data in Customer-Facing Systems
- Governance
- Inventory of Mobile Devices and Wireless Service Contracts
- Mobile Contracts
- Digital Services
- Identify Mobile Services
- Establish Mobile Services
- Performance and Customer Satisfaction Measuring Tools
- Data Center Optimization Initiative Strategic Plans
- 21st Century IDEA
- DOJ Source Code Policy
Milestone 1.2 - Open Data, Content, and Web APIs
Ensure all new IT systems follow the open data, content, and Web API policy and operationalize agency.gov/developer pages.
Status: Completed
Policy for architecting new IT systems for openness by default
Consistent with OMB's Open Government Directive, M-10-06, December 8, 2009, and the Department's Open Government Plan, DOJ has a policy stating that there is a presumption in favor of openness to the extent permitted by law and subject to privacy, confidentiality, security, or other valid restrictions. The policy will apply to all new systems installed or built after the policy goes into effect.
Summary of Inventory Schedule
The Department has created a data release schedule consistent with OMB's Open Data Policy, M-13-13, May 9, 2013. The schedule describes steps the Department will take through November 30, 2014, to expand its data inventory, enrich the inventory metadata, and open high value data to the public.
Milestone: Nov. 30, 2013
Description: The Department of Justice (DOJ) has published the first version of its open data inventory that meets the standards set forth in M-13-13 and project open data. The inventory is accompanied by a downloadable json file. Implementation details of the data.json file and more information about the open data initiative can be found at Project Open Data.
Expand the inventory: DOJ will expand its data inventory to include datasets published at data.gov, datasets published through DOJ component websites, and datasets maintained at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data website.
- Data sets previously published on data.gov ostensibly meet the project open data specifications and therefore form the base inventory.
- DOJ will continue to build its private inventory of datasets through by updating system level data collections. Only systems data that have been thoroughly reviewed and approved for publication in accordance with the interim data transparency policy will be listed on the public inventory.
Enrich the metadata describing each data asset: For each dataset identified in the initial inventory, the department will enrich the dataset by providing the required metadata fields and the required if applicable data fields as defined in the project open data common core metadata schema.
Open the data so that it is public and machine-readable: DOJ has identified existing open and machine-readable datasets for inclusion in the public inventory.
Milestone: Feb. 28, 2014
Description: Establish Target and refine the DOJ data publication process guidelines.
Expand and add additional data assets to the Inventory: DOJ will expand the systems data collected in the November 20, 2013 milestone and establish inventory targets for the period through November 30, 2014. DOJ will continue to examine and refine the guidelines by which it reviews and releases data. Components will continue to build their respective data inventories, and review data sets for public release.
Enrich (metadata describing each data asset): All metadata that is applicable to datasets listed in the initial inventory will be completed. For each new dataset added through the expansion process during this step, the metadata will be completed to the extent such metadata exists and is available and applies to the dataset at hand.
Open (public and machine-readable): DOJ will establish and publish publication targets for 2014.
Milestones: May 31, 2014, Aug. 30, 2014, Nov. 30, 2014
Description: The DOJ will continue to review data identified in the initial inventory.
The DOJ will expand its data inventory according to the targets released in the February 28, 2014 milestone.
The DOJ inventory will be enriched with Common Core metadata.
DOJ will open datasets through several data outlets, including: data.gov, Custom API's, or DOJ sponsored websites.
Customer Feedback Process
The Department has established a network of Open Data contacts at each component. Feedback regarding open data and requests are accepted through an email to datamanagement@usdoj.gov. The Department will continue to expand and improve its communication plan. The Department is considering a variety of methods of engagement including modification to agency websites, the use of online survey tools, the establishment of collaborative communities, and hosting data jams.
Data Publication Process
The Agency has published an interim Open Data Identification and Release Process document which describes in detail the Department's process for releasing data to the public.
Milestone 2.1 - eServices Ideas
Engage with customers to identify at least two existing major customer-facing services that contain high-value data or content as first-move candidates to make compliant with new open data, content, and Web API policy.
Status: Completed
The list below offers a candidate set of digital content to potentially be repurposed via an Application Programming Interface, or API. The Department of Justice (DOJ) will engage with customers to identify at least two as first-move candidates to make available through web APIs. While API may be a foreign term to some, anyone who has ever shared a photo from Instagram to Facebook, embedded a Slideshare presentation in LinkedIn, or put a YouTube video on a blog, has taken advantage of an API.
Please email us at datamanagement@usdoj.gov with your comments and suggestions.
DOJ News API
The DOJ News API makes more than 14,000 press releases, speeches, and blog entries from the Office of Public Affairs available as a web service. By providing this digital distribution, the Office is ensuring that the public is informed about the Department's activities, and about the priorities and policies of the Attorney General and the President with regard to law enforcement and legal affairs. The API provides developers with the ability to sort and filter responses by date, DOJ component, and topic. Responses in both JSON and XML formats are available.
National Sex Offender Website and Database
The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW), coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice, is a cooperative effort between jurisdictions hosting public sex offender registries ("Jurisdictions") and the federal government and is offered free of charge to the public. These Jurisdictions include the 50 states, U.S. Territories, the District of Columbia, and participating tribes. The Website provides an advanced search tool that allows a user to submit a single national query to obtain information about sex offenders; a listing of public registry Web sites by state, territory, and tribe; and information on sexual abuse education and prevention.
FOIA.gov
FOIA.gov houses annual Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) data from all agencies subject to the FOIA. This data is collected annually and available to the public as PDF reports or in various machine-readable formats on FOIA.gov.
Uniform Crime Report
The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program was conceived in 1929 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to meet a need for reliable, uniform crime statistics for the nation. In 1930, the FBI was tasked with collecting, publishing, and archiving those statistics. Today, several annual statistical publications are produced from data provided by nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States.
National Crime Victimization Survey
NCVS is the Nation’s primary source of information on criminal victimization. Each year, data are obtained from a nationally representative sample of about 40,000 households comprising nearly 75,000 persons on the frequency, characteristics and consequences of criminal victimization in the United States. Each household is interviewed twice during the year. The survey enables BJS to estimate the likelihood of victimization by rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, theft, household burglary, and motor vehicle theft for the population as a whole as well as for segments of the population such as women, the elderly, members of various racial groups, city dwellers, or other groups. The NCVS provides the largest national forum for victims to describe the impact of crime and characteristics of violent offenders.
Additional DOJ APIs will be listed on the Developer Resources page.
Milestone 2.2 - High Value Data in Customer-Facing Systems
Make high-value data and content in at least two existing, major customer-facing systems available through Web APIs, apply metadata tagging, and publish a plan to transition additional high-value systems.
Status: Completed
DOJ will promote the development of open data sets for use by DOJ and the public, and provide the enabling support. To modernize existing systems through the addition of APIs, DOJ will do the following:
1. Develop an Open Data resources web page. DOJ has created a /developer page to serve as the primary location of open data for the Department. The /developer page links Departmental APIs and descriptions for use by developers. The page will also provide links to open source developer tools, collaboration sites, and information regarding ongoing Open Data initiatives across the DOJ enterprise, serving as the primary developer collaboration site for open data issues.
2. Develop Two Pilot Open Data Sets and associated Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The department has collaborated with components to identify two high value data sets which will be converted to open format and published with APIs that enable developers to dynamically access and query the data sets. These initial data sets serve as usable examples of the Open Data concept. One data set is described below, the second will be delivered in the third quarter of FY2013.
System Name = National Crime Victimization Survey
System url = https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/ncvs
System Description = Annual survey data collection provides statistical and detailed information directly from crime victims describing the impact of crime and characteristics of violent offenders.
Scope = external
Main Customers = Sociologists, legislators, victim program planners, law enforcement agencies, victim advocacy groups, etc.
3. Identify High Value Open Data Priorities and Opportunities. Working with DOJ components, the public, and justice community partners, the Department OCIO will identify a set of high value data sets that should be converted to Open Data format, and will collaboratively work to prioritize the data sets and develop a plan with agreed upon target dates for data set conversion and API development. Data to be included are: data sets currently published on Data.gov, data provided through webpage queries, and data released to the public or shared with justice partners on a frequently recurring basis. The objective of this plan is to put in motion the release of a continuing stream of justice data that is easily accessible in a flexible and scalable format for use as needed from a variety of platforms.
4. Build and mature the DOJ Open Data Catalog. DOJ will build and launch the Department's open data catalog which will serve as a central listing of open data sets and APIs available for use by the public and justice community partners. The catalog will become a dynamic listing of all current DOJ open data sets which will be searchable from across the justice enterprise and the federal domain through links to Data.gov and other open data sharing sites. This will provide a "one stop shop" for locating and interfacing with DOJ open data versus the current state where data is typically only accessible through coordination with the system owners who manage the collection or creation of data.
Milestone 4.2 - Governance
Establish an agency-wide governance structure for developing and delivering digital services.
Status: Completed
The Department of Justice has a federated system of governance for digital services. All components complete a quarterly web certification that ensures their unique websites and digital properties are in compliance with all federal and agency regulations. This certification is due to the department CIO. Component web managers also participate in quarterly Content Managers' meetings, which serve as a vehicle for collaboration among offices within the department. The Content Managers' meetings are organized and coordinated by staff from the Office of the CIO. The main department website, justice.gov, is operated and managed by the Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) with significant contributions from the Office of Public Affairs and department components.
Milestone 5.2 - Inventory of Mobile Devices and Wireless Service Contracts
Develop an enterprise-wide inventory of mobile devices and wireless service contracts.
Status: Completed
Milestone 5.3 - Mobile Contracts
Evaluate the government-wide contract vehicles in the alternatives analysis for all new mobile-related procurements.
Status: Completed
DOJ has consolidated the majority of acquisition spending for mobile devices and wireless service to three contracts with the FBI, USMS and DEA. The FBI Wireless contract provides the entire Department with a vehicle to procure wireless services at one of the lowest pricings offered to a Federal Agency. Compared to previous wireless contracts, the new vehicle provides multiple technology options, adding encrypted push-to-talk features, expanding the coverage area, including tethering, and decreasing additional costs associated with wireless contracts. This represents a significant step forward from FBI's previous wireless contracts, which focused only on BlackBerry phones provided at standard commercial rates.
The FBI Wireless contract is open to all organizations within DOJ and is designed with a tiered pricing structure that will drive down costs as additional Components join the contract. The pricing value and added technology benefits of this contract will accelerate movement to a shared environment as Components look to leverage this contract to provide new and expanded wireless services.
As of May 2013, all Components have migrated to one of the major contracts with a few minor approved exceptions. The consolidation has been estimated to save the Department $4M in annual costs for Mobility Telecom. As part of the Federal Digital Government Strategy, GSA is establishing a government-wide contract vehicle for mobile devices and services. DOJ is assessing the new contract relative to the existing Department vehicles to determine if the new GSA contract should be leveraged. Moving forward, another key activity in this area will be to assess the Wireless Telecommunications Expense Management (TEM) capabilities of the Department to determine if this is an area where the existing platform and processes should be enhanced.
Milestone 6.3 - Digital Services
Ensure all new digital services follow digital services and customer experience improvement guidelines.
Status: Completed
The Department of Justice recognizes that an increasingly mobile workforce needs access to high-quality digital information and services. Driven by the Digital Government Strategy, DOJ continues to establish its digital presence by expanding enterprise mobile services in four areas: 1) open data services; 2) mobile applications services; 3) mobile device services; and, 4) mobile platform services. The new mobile Justice.gov website and mobile Stopfraud.gov, existing APIs, and the implementation of Google Analytics will deliver a better customer experience. The Department has successfully implemented Google Analytics as provided by the Digital Analytics Program so that we can collect performance metrics across all websites. Collecting and addressing feedback through the customer experience survey will ensure that DOJ demonstrates its commitment to providing services focused on enhancing the customer experience to engage and inform public citizens. Sharing content and collaborating across the Department as well as regularly evaluating digital products will reduce duplicating and enhance performance and cost-effectiveness.
The Digital Government Strategy at DOJ will ultimately improve the quality of services to the American people and support the Department's mission "to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans."
The Department is able to reach citizens who depend on the services provided by components and bureaus including the FBI, DEA, Office on Violence Against Women, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the many litigating divisions throughout the Department by adhering to accessibility requirements, minimizing privacy and security risks, following plain language standards. All components complete a quarterly web certification that ensures their unique websites and digital properties are in compliance with all federal and agency regulations. Component web managers also participate in quarterly Content Managers' meetings, which serve as a vehicle for collaboration among offices within the department.
Milestone 7.1 - Identify Mobile Services
Engage with customers to identify at least two existing priority customer-facing services to optimize for mobile use.
Status: Completed
The list below proposes a candidate set of DOJ services to potentially be made available on mobile devices. DOJ will engage with customers to identify at least two existing priority customer-facing services to optimize for mobile use.
Please email us at datamanagement@usdoj.gov with your comments and suggestions.
Justice.gov
The main website of the Department of Justice.
Civil Rights Division Report a Violation Web Resources
The Civil Rights Division enforces civil rights laws in a wide variety of contexts. This resource directs individuals on how to submit a complaint or report of a potential civil rights violation.
Office on Violence Against Women Resource Map
A comprehensive list of national, state, local and tribal resources for victims of violence against women.
Milestone 7.2 - Establish Mobile Services
Optimize at least two existing priority customer-facing services for mobile use and publish a plan for improving additional existing services.
Status: Completed
DOJ/OCIO will develop and execute a plan to modernize existing JMD systems and websites for mobile optimization. It will include public-facing apps and apps for mission communities, and will be aligned with the DOJ enterprise architecture.
DOJ has developed and implemented two customer facing mobile optimized services:
StopFraud.gov at m.stopfraud.gov
StopFraud.gov is the website of the President's Financial Fraud Task Force providing fraud prevention tips and where to report crimes if they occur. The mobile optimized version provides easy mobile phone access to information about fraud and how to report it.
Milestone 8.2 - Performance and Customer Satisfaction Measuring Tools
Enable data-driven decisions on service performance, agencies will be required to use analytics and customer satisfaction measurement tools on all .gov websites.
Status: Completed
Web Performance
The Department of Justice has implemented the web performance measurement tool provided by the Digital Analytics Program on 91% of public facing domains.
Customer Satisfaction
The Department of Justice will use the DAP customer satisfaction tool once it has been made available by the GSA.
Data Center Optimization Initiative Strategic Plans
The Department of Justice Data Center Optimization Initiative Strategic Plan and CIO Certification Statement have been posted as required by FITARA and the Office of Management and Budget.
21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA)
Report to Congress on Implementation Progress and Modernizing Agency Websites and Digital Services
2019 - PDF
In conformance with the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA) of 2018, this report identifies the Department of Justice websites most used and most important for public engagement and indicates the priority for modernizing websites to comply with 21st Century IDEA requirements.
DOJ Source Code Policy
DOJ’s Source Code Policy Memorandum mandating the inventory of code and the implementation of Open Source Strategies for the creation of custom code, posted as required by the Office of Management and Budget M-16-21 memo from August 8, 2016.