NCJ Number
102732
Date Published
1986
Length
253 pages
Annotation
This dissertation examines the formal and informal liaison relations between U.S. law enforcement agencies (Federal, State, and local) and their Mexican counterparts in the border area of Imperial County, Calif., and Baja California, Mexico.
Abstract
The study, which was conducted in the mid-1980's, relied primarily on interviews with U.S. law enforcement officials in key liaison positions in dealings with Mexican law enforcement officials. An analysis of the socioeconomic and political characteristics of the border region indicate that overpopulation, unemployment, and poverty in Mexico's northern regions has fueled crime and socioeconomic problems in the border region, requiring liaison activities between Mexican and U.S. law enforcement officials. Although the U.S. Constitution requires that all United States contacts with foreign government personnel be conducted through the State Department, most of the cooperative activities between Mexican officials and local and State U.S. law enforcement personnel are not under the direct supervision of Federal agencies. This study examines the nature and quality of these liaison activities, including factors that facilitate and inhibit such activities. This study recommends the establishment of full-time liaison officers in local and State agencies at the border, subsidized training of Mexican police by California agencies, and additional research on Mexican-American border liaison activities between Mexican police and U.S. local and State police. Research instruments and 84-item bibliography.