Summary
International crimes, such as drugs and arms trafficking, terrorism, money laundering, and public corruption, transcend national borders and threaten global security and stability. The National Security Council (NSC) told GAO that international crime and the framework for the U.S. response are under review by the new administration. The extent of International crime is growing, but measuring its true extent is difficult. Several efforts have been made to gauge the threat posed to the United States and other countries by international crime. The 1999 threat assessment was classified, but a published version of the 2000 assessment divided the threat into the following five broad categories: (1) terrorism and drug trafficking; (2) illegal immigration, trafficking of women and children, and environmental crimes; (3) illicit transfer or trafficking of products across international borders; (4) economic trade crimes; and (5) financial crimes. NSC identified 34 federal entities with significant roles in fighting international crime. These included the Department of Justice, Treasury, and State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The efforts to combat public corruption internationally involves two strategies: the elimination of bribes in transnational business activities, such as government contracting, and the implementation of law assistance, which focuses on U.S. support for legal, judicial, and law enforcement reform efforts by foreign governments. Much of the technical assistance that the U.S. provides to other nations for fighting international crime involves training, particularly training at law enforcement academies established abroad. There are no standard measures of effectiveness to assess the federal government's overall efforts to address international crime. Justice's, Treasury's, and State's plans describe their efforts to combat specific types of crime, along with the performance measures to be tracked. In some cases, however, these measures do not adequately address effectiveness.
Recommendations
Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change
from "In process" to "Implemented" or "Not implemented" based on our follow up work.
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Recommendations for Executive Action
Recommendation: Recognizing the establishment of the Policy Coordination Committee (PCC) for International Organized Crime and its intended responsibilities and priorities, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs should take appropriate action to ensure that this PCC provides sustained and centralized oversight of the extensive and crosscutting federal effort to combat international crime. Consistent with the coordination and related issues discussed in this report, as the responsibilities of the PCC are defined, they should include systematically updating the existing governmentwide international crime threat assessment to maintain a thorough understanding of credible existing and emerging threats.
Agency Affected: Executive Office of the President: Office of the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs: Policy Coordination Committee
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: Recognizing the establishment of the PCC for International Organized Crime and its intended responsibilities and priorities, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs should take appropriate action to ensure that this PCC provides sustained and centralized oversight of the extensive and crosscutting federal effort to combat international crime. Consistent with the coordination and related issues as the responsibilities of the PCC are defined, they should include systematically updating the International Crime Control Strategy, or developing a successor--to include prioritized goals and implementing objectives--as appropriate to reflect changes in the threat.
Agency Affected: Executive Office of the President: Office of the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs: Policy Coordination Committee
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: Recognizing the establishment of the PCC for International Organized Crime and its intended responsibilities and priorities, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs should take appropriate action to ensure that this PCC provides sustained and centralized oversight of the extensive and crosscutting federal effort to combat international crime. Consistent with the coordination and related issues discussed in this report, as the responsibilities of the PCC are defined, they should include systematically designating responsibility for executing the strategy and resolving any jurisdictional issues.
Agency Affected: Executive Office of the President: Office of the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs: Policy Coordination Committee
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: Recognizing the establishment of the PCC for International Organized Crime and its intended responsibilities and priorities, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs should take appropriate action to ensure that this PCC provides sustained and centralized oversight of the extensive and crosscutting federal effort to combat international crime. Consistent with the coordination and related issues discussed in this report, as the responsibilities of the PCC are defined, they should include systematically identifying and aligning the necessary resources with the strategy's execution.
Agency Affected: Executive Office of the President: Office of the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs: Policy Coordination Committee
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: Recognizing the establishment of the PCC for International Organized Crime and its intended responsibilities and priorities, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs should take appropriate action to ensure that this PCC provides sustained and centralized oversight of the extensive and crosscutting federal effort to combat international crime. Consistent with the coordination and related issues discussed in this report, as the responsibilities of the PCC are defined, they should include systematically developing outcome-oriented performance measures linked to the strategy's goals and objectives to track and assess progress, identify emerging challenges, and establish overall accountability.
Agency Affected: Executive Office of the President: Office of the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs: Policy Coordination Committee
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: Recognizing the establishment of the PCC for International Organized Crime and its intended responsibilities and priorities, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs should take appropriate action to ensure that this PCC provides sustained and centralized oversight of the extensive and crosscutting federal effort to combat international crime. Consistent with the coordination and related issues we have discussed in this report, as the responsibilities of the PCC are defined, they should include systematically periodically reporting the strategy's results to the President and the Congress.
Agency Affected: Executive Office of the President: Office of the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs: Policy Coordination Committee
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
