drugs and Crime discussion board

Respond to three peers only Do notcomplete the assignment.
 
Initial Assignment:
DQ#1-
In 2006, Sheriff Harold Franklin Cassell and 17 members of his departmentwere arrested on drug and other charges.
The accusations involve them stealing cocaine and marijuana, distributingsteroids and weapons on the street, and possession of ketamine (often used as adate-rape drug) at a location that sheriffs deputies used for parties andextramarital trysts.
Cassell was the sheriff of a county in Virginia that only had a populationof 58,000 residents.
View the following video:
 

 
 
Answer the following question within your post:

How can corruption be prevented when illegal drugs provide so many temptations to law enforcement officials?

DQ#2-
Pick a federal agency of your choice (from Slide 28 of Chapter 10PowerPoint) and post the following for your chosen federal agency:
(use the text and the internet to report out the following):

Size of agency (# of employees and field offices)
Mission of agency
Jurisdiction of agency (international/domestic)
Responsibility of agency as it relates to drug crimes and investigation
Formal coordination with other agencies
Challenges agency has in respect to drug investigation/enforcement

 
 
 
(1)Kenzie fuxa

To prevent temptation, I think mandatory randomdrug testing for all police officers should exist. This way, those doing drugswould be either on a probationary period or terminated. Additionally, in caseswhere drugs are a factor, I believe there should be as few officers in chargeof this evidence as possible. When drugs are seized, they should be kept securein a place where only few officers have access to. The people in charge of thisevidence could maybe be from an independent party or organization so thatofficers are not able to get involved in drug issues like the video mentioned.However, I think even with stricter rules surrounding this, there will still beways in which drugs can infiltrate law enforcement in the wrong way.
I chose the Internal Revenue Service which fallsunder the Department of the Treasury. The IRS has around 2,800 employees in theCriminal Investigations division, but in general has around 75,000 employees.The IRS aims to help taxpayers follow the regulations set by the government andadditionally makes sure that those who avoid paying taxes are found and tried.The Criminal Investigations deals with avoidant taxpayers, especially thoseinvolved in drugs. Drug organizations are known to avoid taxes and try toperform all their dealings in cash that cannot be traced by the government. Thejob of the criminal investigations unit is to track down those drugorganizations who avoid taxes, and they also focus on money laundering thatties into drug organizations as well. The IRS has federal jurisdiction andoften interacts with the bureaus and agencies under the Department of Justice.The challenges facing the IRS include infiltrating drug organizations andtracing money routing and cryptocurrency. There are multiple ways to transfermoney and the IRS is in charge of staying on top of all of the new emergingcurrencies. The IRS employs people who are specially trained in cryptocurrencyto combat this issue.
 
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(2)Rilly Stearnes

DQ#1:
In order to prevent corruption in law enforcement, teaching ethics andintegrity during police training and education should be implemented. Thisshould begin during the recruitment process all the way up to managementtraining. Having a code of ethics can help there be more respect among officerseven on different rankings. It can also help the law enforcement professionhave a more positive image. Corruption can also be prevented with the supportand responsibility of supervisors and managers. Having anti-corruption policiesas well can help prevent it. 
DQ#2:
Drug Enforcement Administration
The DEA has over 10,000 employees including about 5,000 special agents, 500diversion investigators, 800 intelligence research specialists, and 300chemists. They have 239 domestic offices throughout the U.S. and 91 foreignoffices in 68 countries. The mission of the DEA is to enforce the controlledsubstance laws and regulations of the U.S. and bring to the criminal and civiljustice systems. Their jurisdiction is both internationally and domestic. TheDEA investigates and prepares the prosecutions for those who break the druglaws as well as the drug gangs. They coordinate with federal, state, local andtribal law enforcements through task forces, investigations, sharing ofinformation and resources, and training. This helps them to extend theirabilities and resources. A few of the agencies the DEA works with is theFederal Bureau of Narcotics, Bureau of Drug Abuse Control, and the Bureau ofNarcotics and Dangerous Drugs. I feel like a huge challenge the DEA faces isthe constant change and evolvement of drug trafficking. Also figuring out whereexactly these extremely dangerous drugs like fentanyl are being produced andsupplied to. 
 
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(3) Mia Pearson

Corruption can be prevented from the get go ofthe hiring processes. Making sure they thoroughly investigate a potential hireand make sure theyre the best candidate for the position. Building an agencythat they can feel comfortable and talk to their chief, sgt, etc can helpofficers not feel like they need to hide things. Always having two officers onscene when something like this occurs to make sure there isnt easy access tostealing drugs, evidence, etc. Body cams are very common today too, so makingsure these officers are wearing theirs can help deter them from stealing aswell. 
I chose the Drug Enforcement Administration. It maintains 23 domestic field divisions with 222 field offices and 92 foreignoffices in 70 countries. With a budget exceeding $3 billion, DEA employs 10,169people, including 4,924 Special Agents and 800 Intelligence Analysts.Becoming a Special Agent or Intelligence Analyst with the DEA is a competitiveprocess. The mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is to enforcethe controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bringto the criminal and civil justice system of the United States, or any othercompetent jurisdiction, those organizations and principal members oforganizations, involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution ofcontrolled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in theUnited States; and to recommend and support non-enforcement programs aimed atreducing the availability of illicit controlled substances on the domestic andinternational markets.
They have jurisdiction internationally. Their mission pretty much explainsthe responsibility of this agency. They are ran by the US dept. ofjustice. Here are some of the challenges that were taken note in their yearlyassessment. 
       MexicanTransnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) remain the greatest criminal drugthreat in the United States.
       Illicitfentanyl is one of the primary drugs fueling the epidemic of overdose deaths inthe United States, while heroin and prescription opioids remain significantchallenges to public health and law enforcement.
       Mexicancartels are increasingly responsible for producing and supplying fentanyl tothe U.S. market. China remains a key source of supply for the precursorchemicals that Mexican cartels use to produce the large amounts of fentanylthey are smuggling into the United States.  
       Drug-poisoningdeaths and seizures involving methamphetamine have risen sharply as MexicanTCOs increase the drugs availability and expand the domestic market.
       Constraintsassociated with the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic daily travel restrictions, U.S.border closings, closure of nonessential businesses, and broad shelter-in-placeorders temporarily posed new challenges to criminal organizations movementof drugs during the first half of 2020.
 
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