NCJ Number
111693
Date Published
1986
Length
53 pages
Annotation
This document examines the anticipated congressional expansion of the Air Force role in drug interdiction efforts, identifies deficiencies in current operations as exemplified by the South Florida Task Force, and provides recommendations for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of future Air Force interdiction efforts.
Abstract
The limited successes achieved by past interdiction efforts are attributable to major deficiencies in the areas of command, control, communications, and intelligence and insufficient cooperation of the agencies involved. For instance, between 1983 and 1985 there was no overall command and control authority to organize the interdiction campaign. This resulted in ineffective use of resources and interagency conflicts. Similarly, there is a lack of communications planning and organization among the involved agencies. Communications equipment is inappropriate for short-range communication, communication equipment is often incompatible, voice communication security is inadequate, and a data link/voice communications capability is needed. Finally, there is a lack of intelligence-sharing and there is no central framework for analyzing that intelligence which is available. These deficiencies will require remediation if the Nation's war on drugs is to succeed. 47 references.