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Organized Crime

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Organized Crime

Intelligence development and exchange are complex tasks, so a lot of resources, energy,

and time must be invested. Collaboration among various stakeholders who believe in the power

of such cooperation has been fostered by strong leadership, dedication, commitment, and trust.

Leaders from all the organizations involved also actively support and advance the information-

sharing initiative. That implies that mechanisms and structures are in place to promote

intelligence sharing and successfully combat organized crime. Given the information at hand, it

seems unfounded and inconsistent with the described efforts and advancements in information

sharing within law enforcement and related sectors that the claim that no effective structures or

information exists. This paper will review the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the

Department of Justice (DOJ), and the entire criminal justice department to establish the extent of

organized crime information sharing.

Since its establishment 25 years ago, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task

Forces (OCDETF) Program has been a crucial collaborative initiative. It comprises various

federal agencies and departments that combat drug trafficking and money laundering (Padden,

2009). The collaborative approach enhances the capacity to effectively identify and dismantle

organized criminal groups to address this complex and evolving threat. To supplement

information sharing, the Department of Justice formulated Fusion centers. The centers are

cooperative hubs where several agencies work together to improve information and intelligence

sharing to fight crime and terrorism (Intelligence, 2006). They make the most of their resources,

organize their work more effectively, and implement the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing

Plan (NCISP), which encourages cooperation and intelligence-led policing. These centers collect

data from various sources, including unconventional collectors like public safety and private
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sector organizations, to analyze and disseminate helpful information. The importance of

networking, observing privacy laws, and involving all tiers of government, the private sector,

and the general public is emphasized in the guidelines. Fusion centers foster collaboration to

effectively protect homeland security and deter crime while adapting to contemporary

challenges.

The United States Attorney's Manual is guided by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt

Organizations (RICO) Act. It emphasizes the need for a cautious and selective application of the

law (Organized Crime and Racketeering, 2015). RICO focuses on cases involving significant

organized crime, corruption, or when local authorities lack the resources and are unlikely to

pursue prosecution. Additionally, RICO addresses criminal behavior that cannot be effectively

prosecuted at the state or local level. The act's existence centralizes procedures for the Criminal

Division. Another example of effective inter-agency collaboration to eliminate organized crime

elements is the U.S. Marshals Service's Witness Security Program. That is a crucial component

of the multi-agency effort to combat terrorism and organized crime (Witness Security, n.d.).

Because they cooperate with law enforcement, government witnesses and their families are

protected from severe threats. Eligibility is determined through thorough screening procedures

involving several organizations, including the sponsoring law enforcement, U.S. Attorneys, and

the Department of Justice.

Different agencies provide the necessary resources that are useful in the fight against

organized crime. To state that there are no structures and information available to law

enforcement to assist in handling the threat of organized crime on the street and in the courtroom

would be an understatement to the immense work of the DOJ's fusion centers and the U.S.

Marshal's initiatives to vet and protect witnesses. While such efforts continue to be supported,
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more must be done to ensure that the fight against organized crime is a collective effort of

departments involved in the criminal justice system.

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References

Intelligence, L. E. (2006). Fusion Center Guidelines. Department of Justice-Bureau of Justice

Assistance. Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council.

https://bja.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh186/files/media/document/fusion_center_guideline

s_law_enforcement.pdf

Organized Crime and Racketeering. (2015, February 19). Justice.gov.

https://www.justice.gov/jm/jm-9-110000-organized-crime-and-racketeering

Padden, T. W. (2009). Privacy impact assessment for the organized crime drug enforcement task

force fusion center and international organized crime intelligence and operations center

system. Justice.gov. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opcl/docs/crime-

taskforce.pdf

Witness Security. (n.d.). Usmarshals.gov. Retrieved September 5, 2023, from

http://www.usmarshals.gov/witsec/index.html