Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection Comments Requested; 2020 National Survey of Prosecutors (NSP), 67569-67570 [2020-23545]

Agencies

• Department of Justice
• Justice Programs Office

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 206 (Friday, October 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67569-67570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23545]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Justice Programs Office

[OMB Number 1121-0149]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection 
Comments Requested; 2020 National Survey of Prosecutors (NSP)

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, 
Department of Justice.

ACTION: 30-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs, 
Bureau of Justice Statistics, will be submitting the following 
information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. Following publication of the 60-day notice, BJS 
received two sets of substantive comments. The first requested that the 
survey obtain information on prosecutors' handling of appellate cases. 
The second requested that the survey collect demographic 
characteristics of defendants. BJS determined that adding these 
questions would be too burdensome for respondents. Additionally, new 
items require cognitive testing which at this point would result in a 
significant delay to launching the survey. Thus, no items were added to 
the instrument or changed.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 30 days until 
November 23, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Written comments and suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of 
information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of 
the following four points:

--Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics, including whether the information will have practical 
utility;
--Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
--Evaluate whether and if so how the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected can be enhanced; and
--Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

[[Page 67570]]

Overview of This Information Collection

    (1) Type of Information Collection: Reinstatement of the National 
Survey of Prosecutors (NSP).
    (2) The Title of the Form/Collection: 2020 National Survey of 
Prosecutors (NSP-20).
    (3) The agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of 
the Department sponsoring the collection: The form number for the 
questionnaire is NSP-20. The applicable component within the Department 
of Justice is the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in the Office of 
Justice Programs.
    (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as a brief abstract: Respondents will be local prosecutors who 
handle criminal cases in State courts. Prosecutors represent the local 
government in deciding who is charged with a crime, the type and number 
of charges filed, whether or not to offer a plea, and providing 
sentencing recommendations for those convicted of crimes. Since 1990, 
the NSP has been the only recurring national statistical program that 
captures the administrative and operational characteristics of the 
prosecutorial function in the State criminal justice system. Similar to 
previous iterations, the NSP-20 will gather national statistics on 
local prosecutor office staffing, budgets, and caseloads. Additionally, 
the NSP-20 will collect data on emerging topics such as the utilization 
of diversion programs and specialty courts. BJS plans to publish this 
information in reports and reference it when responding to queries from 
the U.S. Congress, Executive Office of the President, the U.S. Supreme 
Court, state officials, international organizations, researchers, 
students, the media, and others interested in criminal justice 
statistics.
    (5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount 
of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: An office-level 
survey will be sent to approximately 750 respondents. At the time of 
the 60-day notice, the expected burden was about 60 minutes per 
respondent.
    (6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: At the time of the 60-day notice, there was an 
estimated 1,000 total burden hours associated with this collection.
    If additional information is required contact: Melody Braswell, 
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, 
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two 
Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE, 3E.405A, Washington, DC 20530.

    Dated: October 20, 2020.
Melody Braswell,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2020-23545 Filed 10-22-20; 8:45 am]
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