NCJ Number
119212
Date Published
1989
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This report evaluates the U.S. Department of Justice's Organized Crime Strike Force efforts to increase interagency planning and coordination of organized crime investigations and prosecutions.
Abstract
Fourteen Federal Strike Forces operate around the country to plan and coordinate a unified Federal effort against organized crime. All of the mechanisms required by the Attorney General to plan and coordinate a unified Federal effort, however, are not being fully used. In addition, U.S. attorneys report conflicts and competition with Strike Forces, and they recommend merging Strike Forces into their offices. To help achieve Strike Force-level planning and coordination, the Attorney General requires that the U.S. attorney in each Strike Force city form and head an executive committee that includes the Strike Force attorney-in-charge and key investigative agency officials. These executive committees are required to review and plan Federal enforcement efforts against organized crime and devise ways to facilitate communication among the agencies involved. The General Accounting Office found that none of the Strike Forces visited during the current review had an executive committee operating as required. It was also determined that making appropriate management judgments on the success of existing or future Strike Force efforts will depend on the development of measures for assessing the effectiveness of efforts to curtail organized crime.