NCJ Number
134074
Date Published
1991
Length
16 pages
Annotation
For fiscal years 1990 and 1991, Congress awarded the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) $107 million to assist localities with severe drug trafficking problems, and the General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed how these funds were spent.
Abstract
The GAO review showed that, although ONDCP designed the assistance program to be a collaborative effort, officials of key local law enforcement agencies said they were not always included in initial planning efforts on how best to spend the funds. ONDCP provided fiscal 1990 funds to Federal agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration and Customs Service. These agencies used the funds primarily to purchase investigative and office equipment and to move additional Federal agents to the five localities. Although GAO agrees with ONDCP that it is premature to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of fiscal 1990 assistance, ONDCP has not established the foundation needed to make such determinations in the future. During the fiscal 1991 planning cycle, State and local law enforcement agency participation has increased and has seemed generally satisfactory to participants contacted by GAO in four of the five areas. This is attributed in part to their increased involvement in local management and in part to Congress earmarking $32 million for distribution to State and local agencies. Given these conditions and the recognized need to continue with assistance, GAO recommends the establishment of a basis for accountability and assessment of Federal assistance and increased cooperation among Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies. Data on assistance initiatives for fiscal 1990 are appended.