| STRATEGIC GOAL 5: INTERNATIONAL CRIME AND DRUGS |
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Minimize the Impact of International Crime and Illegal Drugs on the United States and its Citizens |
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A female police officer chats about her experience as a member of the Afghan Police's Family Response and Domestic Violence Unit with Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Anne Patterson, August 2006. Photo courtesy of DynCorp |
Americans and our global partners face growing security threats, both at home and abroad, from international terrorist networks and international criminal enterprises. International trafficking in persons or small arms, smuggling of migrants and contraband, money laundering, cyber crime, theft of intellectual property rights, and other offenses cost U.S. taxpayers and businesses billions of dollars each year and undermine rule of law in both developing and developed nations. The Department and USAID work with other U.S. Government agencies and foreign governments to break up drug trafficking and other international crime groups, disrupt their operations, and pursue legal prosecution of their leaders. On the diplomatic level, the Department works with international bodies such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of American States and the Group of Eight Industrialized States to set international counter-drug, anti-crime and counter-terrorist standards, foster cross-border law enforcement cooperation, and deny safe havens to crime, drug and terrorist groups. Department and USAID efforts to strengthen judicial offices and create less corrupt and more transparent national and local government structures help strengthen law enforcement and establish political stability in countries struggling against narco-terrorists. Finally, the Department provides American civilian police and other police experts to UN, regional or other peacekeeping operations to establish or rebuild democratic and professional police forces and rule of law in those areas.
The table below summarizes the performance ratings for Department of State and USAID results for the International Crime and Drugs strategic goal.
| Significantly Below Target | Below Target | On Target | Above Target | Significantly Above Target | Totals | |
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| Number of Results | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Percent of Total | 0% | 14% | 43% | 29% | 14% | 100% |
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Performance Trends. There were a number of positive trends under the Andean Counterdrug Initiative: hectares sprayed, shipments seized, and licit crop production increased. In addition, host government law enforcement partners have become stronger and more effective, capturing an increasing share of the cocaine produced in the Andean region. Unfortunately, the four-year trend in Afghanistan shows an increase in illicit opium poppy cultivation, despite U.S. Government efforts to discourage planting, eradicate the crop and promote alternative development.
Key Initiatives And Programs. In FY 2006, Congress appropriated $734.5 million to the Department of State to carry out the Andean Counterdrug Initiative, of which approximately $229 million was earmarked to USAID for alternative development and institution building, including $131 million for assistance to Colombia. An additional $477 million was appropriated in FY 2006 to fund international narcotics and law enforcement activities, including $16 million to fund International Law Enforcement Academies.
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U.S. Andean Counterdrug Initiative
Police officers escort Eduardo Restrepo Victoria at the National Police headquarters in Bogota, Colombia, July 2006. Restrepo was arrested on charges of smuggling cocaine to the United States. AP/Wide World |
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PART Outcome | |
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JUSTIFICATION: Statistics on seizures complement estimates on cultivation and production. They are an indication of law enforcement effectiveness but much less reliable as a snapshot of drug trafficking. | ||
| FY 2006 PERFORMANCE | Target |
Seizure Rate: at least 28% of total net production. |
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| Results |
Although actual data for metric tons produced or actual metric tons seized is not expected to be distributed until April 2007, based on results for 2005 and past experience, it is reasonable to forecast that the seizure rate will remain on target. | |
| Rating | On Target | |
| Impact |
The seizure rate measures the effectiveness of U.S. Government assistance to law enforcement capacity building in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. The upward trend from 2003 to 2005 indicates that the host government law enforcement, working together with the U.S. Government, continue to capture an increasing share of the cocaine produced in the Andean region. | |
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Outcome | |
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JUSTIFICATION: Strengthened laws requiring strong penalties for traffickers and comprehensive assistance for victims indicate concrete efforts to prosecute and convict traffickers and to protect victims. | ||
| FY 2006 PERFORMANCE | Target |
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| Results |
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| Rating | Significantly Above Target | |
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Concrete actions taken by governments to fight trafficking result in more prosecutions, convictions, and prison sentences for traffickers and comprehensive assistance for victims. | |
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Outcome | |
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JUSTIFICATION: Given the uncertain political and security environment, a measure of the capacity and professionalization of the police force is extremely relevant and useful to program planning and decision-making. | ||
| FY 2006 PERFORMANCE | Target |
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| Results |
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| Rating | On Target | |
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Strengthening the law enforcement and justice sectors in Iraq is essential to restoring public confidence in the Iraqi government. Improvements in the accountability and transparency of the police, courts, and prisons systems are critical to the success of the U.S. mission in Iraq. | |
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Combating Trafficking in Persons & Migrant Smuggling
An elementary school student reads a brochure about the dangers of trafficking. USAID Photo |
The U.S. multi-year investment in the Andean Counterdrug Initiative to combat narco-terrorism in the Andean Region of South America is paying important political, security and economic dividends. This is particularly apparent in Colombia, which faced a frontal assault by major narco-terrorist organizations in the 1990s. Today, civil violence such as terrorist attacks, kidnappings, and homicides have dropped dramatically. Virtually all 30,000 members of a local terrorist organization have been demobilized with U.S. help. Drug seizures in 2006 reached a record high for the third consecutive year and the Colombian Government continues to extradite record numbers of traffickers to the United States. Despite these gains, the fight against narco-terrorism continues; Colombia continues to supply approximately 90% percent of the cocaine and heroin entering the United States.
Trafficking in persons is a crime that particularly targets the most vulnerable members of society, women and children, who are subjected to economic, sexual and other forms of exploitation and abuse. Although trafficking in persons has increased in tandem with economic globalization, many governments have only recently begun to recognize it as a crime and to begin taking steps to prevent and break up trafficking operations and to punish those involved. The Department uses its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which assesses the anti-trafficking efforts of nearly 150 countries, to spur governments to take action by threat of sanctions and through offers of anti-trafficking assistance.