U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL AND SOLICITOR GENERAL OF CANADA
ATTEND SEVENTH U.S.-CANADA CROSS-BORDER CRIME FORUM

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV, - U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Canadian Solicitor General Wayne Easter met today at the seventh annual U.S.-Canada Cross-Border Crime Forum. The Forum, which is a key action item in the Smart Border Declaration of 2001, brings together more than 150 officials from Canada and the U.S. on transnational crime and border issues, such as terrorism, smuggling, organized crime, mass marketing fraud, money laundering, missing and abducted children, and cybercrime.

Attorney General Ashcroft and Solicitor General Easter made a number of announcements at the Forum:

Joint 5-Year Report on Mass-Marketing Fraud:

The joint report is a product of the U.S.-Canada Working Group on Cross Border Mass-Marketing Fraud created in 1997 and includes current trends, progress made in both countries, and a new Joint Action Plan to continue combating cross-border fraud.

Two Joint Public Advisories on Identity Theft:

The U.S. and Canada will issue two joint public advisories, one for consumers and one for retail businesses regarding identity theft. Both advisories are attached to this release and can also be found at either <www.usdoj.gov <http://www.usdoj.gov>> or <www.sgc.gc.ca <http://www.sgc.gc.ca>>.

New Integrated Border Enforcement Teams (IBETs):

A new Integrated Border Enforcement Team will focus on the Prairie region, covering Saskatchewan, North Dakota and Montana. A second new IBET team will focus on the Nova Scotia and Maine border area. The IBETs fulfill a key commitment of the Smart Border Action Plan. IBETs are multi-agency law enforcement teams with U.S. and Canadian police, immigration and customs officials, working together daily with local, state and provincial enforcement agencies.

Attorney General Ashcroft said, “Bringing law enforcement leaders together from both sides of the border helps us improve our ability to protect our citizens against threats to their safety and security. Our continued cooperation and information sharing is vital to our efforts to fight crime and terrorism.”

“These efforts clearly show our shared commitment to ensure the Canada-U.S. border remains open for business but closed to crime,” said Mr. Easter. “We share a common goal to protect Canada and the U.S. from threats to public safety and to stop cross-border criminal activity.”

The U.S.-Canada Cross-Border Crime Forum was created in 1997. The Cross-Border Crime Forum includes the participation of law enforcement agencies, as well as prosecuting authorities, with jurisdiction and interests along the border in each country. Participants in the Crime Forum from Canada include the Solicitor General, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Citizenship and Immigration, Justice, Customs and Revenue Agency, provincial and local police forces and officials. Participants from the United States include the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorneys’ offices, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs Service, the Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, immigration officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service, as well as regional state and local authorities.

Both Mr. Ashcroft and Mr. Easter will deliver open remarks at the Forum on Wednesday, May 21, 2003 beginning at 1:15 p.m. EDT. The public advisories, this press release, and further information about the Cross-Border Crime Forum are available at either: <www.usdoj.gov <http://www.usdoj.gov>> or <www.sgc.gc.ca <http://www.sgc.gc.ca>>.

###

03-304