DOJ ANNOUNCES CONTRACT AWARD FOR MANAGEMENT STUDY OF THE ORGANIZED CRIME DRUG ENFORCEMENT TASK FORCES PROGRAM

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that the Department of Justice has awarded a task order to the firm of Ernst & Young LLP to conduct a comprehensive management review and to develop performance and accountability standards for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Program (OCDETF). OCDETF is the centerpiece of the Attorney General's drug strategy and is the only nationwide drug program that combines experienced federal agents, prosecutors, as well as state and local law enforcement. OCDETF utilizes the expertise and statutory authorities of nine DOJ, Treasury Department and Department of Transportation components to disrupt and dismantle the nation's most significant drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The nine agencies participating in OCDETF include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Customs Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the 94 United States Attorney offices throughout the United States.

Ernst & Young LLP was selected from a competition conducted under the General Services Administration's Management, Organizational and Business Improvement Services Schedule, which enabled the Justice Department to assess a broad range of experienced business advisory firms in a timely manner. Ernst & Young LLP, which will partner with Giuliani-Kerik LLC, has extensive experience in data collection and analysis, as well as the development of management and accountability systems. Giuliani-Kerik LLC, which is headed by Rudolph W. Giuliani, has experience in the development and implementation of law enforcement performance and accountability systems. This combined expertise in performance and accountability systems, as well as their application in a law enforcement environment will be instrumental in the success of the OCDETF management review.

OCDETF has recently implemented a series of new initiatives to enhance and expand OCDETF investigations, as well as to heighten the Program's impact in reducing drug supply. Ernst & Young LLP and Giuliani-Kerik LLC will evaluate OCDETF's business model and culture. They will design management and oversight systems, performance measures and a resource allocation system to monitor and assess the impact of the OCDETF program. They will also ensure implementation of the new program initiatives.

Ernst & Young LLP and Giuliani-Kerik LLC will interview senior officials from all member OCDETF agencies. They will visit each region to identify needed modifications in OCDETF's reporting structure, operating systems, policies and data collection systems; they will also provide recommended changes to eliminate existing inefficiencies.

The results of the study, which are scheduled to be published in May 2003, will provide

OCDETF the managerial blueprint and systems to measure its effectiveness and ensure that the Program is appropriately structured to fulfill its primary mission of disrupting and dismantling the most significant drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.

###

02-609