Concerns raised over funding for FBI's Sentinel project

07.12.2006
The inspector general of the U.S. Department of Justice is concerned that the FBI does not have enough money to fully fund its new Sentinel case management system, according to a report () released this week.

In the 112-page report, Inspector General Glenn Fine said the FBI has made progress in addressing problems associated with the development of the system by pursuing plans for the independent verification and validation of the software to ensure that it will operate as intended and by developing information-sharing capabilities.

However, questions still remain about funding the system as well as the FBI's lack of contingency plans for identified project risks, according to the report entitled "Sentinel Audit II: Status of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Case Management System."

However, in response, the FBI said the Sentinel is "within cost and schedule."

"We found that the FBI faces uncertainty over the source of the approximately US$150 million the FBI says it needs in fiscal year 2007 to continue the Sentinel project," Fine said in the report. "The president's [fiscal] 2007 budget request includes $100 million for Sentinel, and the FBI would need an additional $56.7 million to bridge the gap between the requested funds and its FY 2007 requirements for Sentinel."

The inspector general said the FBI expects to have about $50 million remaining from the first phase of Sentinel and will use unspent prior-year balances from other sources to make up the gap. However, taking money from other FBI programs could erode the FBI's mission capability in counterterrorism, cybercrime and other important operational areas, according to the report.