Criminal Justice

Law Enforcement, the Courts and Corrections

During his eight years as Director of FEMA, James Lee Witt's agency handled more than 350 major events.  The vast majority were natural disasters -tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes and floods.  But a man-made disaster
on April 19, 1995 - the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City - served somber notice, since reinforced by the horrors of September 11, 2001, that disaster scenes can also be crime scenes - with all the criminal justice and legal ramifications that entails.

James Lee knows first-hand, through over 25 years of service, the critical role of the criminal justice system in ensuring public safety and security.  He has also seen that criminal justice professionals, whether laboring in the vanguard of first responders in the aftermath of a disaster or performing their myriad of other duties and responsibilities, face issues and challenges not unlike those faced by others in the public safety field.

Issues include:

• Interoperability problems
• Need for broadband wireless communication
• Access to new technologies, including cutting-edge GPS and GIS applications
• Information management issues
• Budget constraints affecting staffing, training, etc.
• Short and long term strategic planning
• Innovative solutions such as public-private partnerships
• Accessing critical homeland security resources
• Jail and prison overcrowding
• Unwieldy probation and parole caseloads

Through the Criminal Justice Division of James Lee Witt Associates, James Lee and his team provide wide-ranging services and innovative solutions to meet the critical needs facing those tasked with protecting our communities from crime - law enforcement, the courts and corrections.