T
The420Guy
Guest
WASHINGTON (APBnews.com) -- America's "war on drugs" needs to be refocused
to increase resources for prevention and addiction treatment, the U.S.
Customs Service chief told APBnews.com.
Commissioner Ray Kelly said national policies that rely instead on
interdiction and incarceration as a means to stem the flow of drugs into
this country or punish those involved in the buying and selling of narcotics
have not worked as effectively as hoped.
"I don't know of any thinking person in law enforcement who doesn't say we
need more prevention and treatment," Kelly said.
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Customs Targets Money Smuggling
Of the billions of dollars spent each year by the government to fight the
drug problem, not enough goes to drug rehabilitation and education, he said.
The national drug strategy is rooted in politics, which historically has
stoked the public desire to be tough on drugs.
"I've been in this game a long time, and the emphasis has always been on
interdiction," Kelly said. "It sells politically."
Need to reduce demand
Intercepting drug shipments by air, land and sea will always be necessary,
he predicted, but reducing the demand is also an effective way to counter
the drug problem. Another useful weapon in the fight is intelligence on drug
shipments bound for the United States.
In spite of the efforts of several agencies, including the Drug Enforcement
Administration, the National Security Agency and the CIA to gather
intelligence, Kelly said there are information "gaps" that technologically
savvy drug smugglers take advantage of. They use wireless Internet,
satellite telecommunications and encryption to conceal their illegal
activities, making it difficult to track them, he said.
New challenges for agency
James Gordon Meek/APBnews.com
The day after the USS Cole bombing, Kelly discusses the terrorist attack
with FBI Deputy Director Thomas Pickard.
During Kelly's two-year tenure as head of an agency with a $3 billion annual
budget, intercepting terrorists at the borders has been a new challenge for
agents entrusted with looking for contraband smuggled into or out of the
country.
But the primary focus of Customs is not enforcement; it is to collect duties
on imported goods. Established by congressional legislation signed by
President George Washington in 1789, Customs today employs 20,000 and
collected $27 billion in tariffs last year.
Credited with reforms
Kelly, 58, does not look like a typical government official. The stocky
former Marine who sports hand-tailored wool suits carries a tough-guy
swagger that is more Hell's Kitchen than Georgetown.
He is credited with many reforms at Customs. When asked about his proudest
accomplishments since taking the helm, he said he brought focus to an
organization that was fragmented by its many satellite offices and
deficiencies in employee accountability.
The organization has since become "professionalized" in the past two years,
Kelly said, with a beefed up internal affairs unit and standards set by the
naming of the first director of training in 110 years.
Morale problem?
But some veteran agents are not convinced. Morale among agents is low,
sources told APBnews.com, and many are leaving Customs.
Kelly said he isn't convinced Customs has a morale problem at any level and
denied that the attrition rate has increased during his leadership.
"Any objective analysis of morale in this organization would show that it
has significantly improved," he said.
Until the presidential contest was finally decided, the Clinton appointee's
own Customs career was up in the air. It is doubtful he will remain at the
agency once President-elect George W. Bush takes office.
Self-described 'adventurer'
He recalled his many commands, from service with the Marines in Vietnam to
25 different command posts in a long career with the New York Police
Department.
Perhaps most unusual was his role as commander of a unit that monitored
Haitian police after the U.S. intervention in 1994. Another photo hanging in
Kelly's office shows Kelly and a U.S. peacekeeper carrying a bloodied victim
of fighting in the Caribbean nation.
"I like to think of myself as an adventurer," the commissioner said. "I'm
looking for excitement."
James Gordon Meek is an APBnews.com editor in Washington
(james.meek@apbnews.com
to increase resources for prevention and addiction treatment, the U.S.
Customs Service chief told APBnews.com.
Commissioner Ray Kelly said national policies that rely instead on
interdiction and incarceration as a means to stem the flow of drugs into
this country or punish those involved in the buying and selling of narcotics
have not worked as effectively as hoped.
"I don't know of any thinking person in law enforcement who doesn't say we
need more prevention and treatment," Kelly said.
Related Stories:
Feds Take Aim at Cash Smuggling
McCaffrey Looks Back on His Years as Drug Czar
Customs Chief Lauded for Agency Reforms
Record Year for Drug Seizures in Southwest
Customs Targets Money Smuggling
Of the billions of dollars spent each year by the government to fight the
drug problem, not enough goes to drug rehabilitation and education, he said.
The national drug strategy is rooted in politics, which historically has
stoked the public desire to be tough on drugs.
"I've been in this game a long time, and the emphasis has always been on
interdiction," Kelly said. "It sells politically."
Need to reduce demand
Intercepting drug shipments by air, land and sea will always be necessary,
he predicted, but reducing the demand is also an effective way to counter
the drug problem. Another useful weapon in the fight is intelligence on drug
shipments bound for the United States.
In spite of the efforts of several agencies, including the Drug Enforcement
Administration, the National Security Agency and the CIA to gather
intelligence, Kelly said there are information "gaps" that technologically
savvy drug smugglers take advantage of. They use wireless Internet,
satellite telecommunications and encryption to conceal their illegal
activities, making it difficult to track them, he said.
New challenges for agency
James Gordon Meek/APBnews.com
The day after the USS Cole bombing, Kelly discusses the terrorist attack
with FBI Deputy Director Thomas Pickard.
During Kelly's two-year tenure as head of an agency with a $3 billion annual
budget, intercepting terrorists at the borders has been a new challenge for
agents entrusted with looking for contraband smuggled into or out of the
country.
But the primary focus of Customs is not enforcement; it is to collect duties
on imported goods. Established by congressional legislation signed by
President George Washington in 1789, Customs today employs 20,000 and
collected $27 billion in tariffs last year.
Credited with reforms
Kelly, 58, does not look like a typical government official. The stocky
former Marine who sports hand-tailored wool suits carries a tough-guy
swagger that is more Hell's Kitchen than Georgetown.
He is credited with many reforms at Customs. When asked about his proudest
accomplishments since taking the helm, he said he brought focus to an
organization that was fragmented by its many satellite offices and
deficiencies in employee accountability.
The organization has since become "professionalized" in the past two years,
Kelly said, with a beefed up internal affairs unit and standards set by the
naming of the first director of training in 110 years.
Morale problem?
But some veteran agents are not convinced. Morale among agents is low,
sources told APBnews.com, and many are leaving Customs.
Kelly said he isn't convinced Customs has a morale problem at any level and
denied that the attrition rate has increased during his leadership.
"Any objective analysis of morale in this organization would show that it
has significantly improved," he said.
Until the presidential contest was finally decided, the Clinton appointee's
own Customs career was up in the air. It is doubtful he will remain at the
agency once President-elect George W. Bush takes office.
Self-described 'adventurer'
He recalled his many commands, from service with the Marines in Vietnam to
25 different command posts in a long career with the New York Police
Department.
Perhaps most unusual was his role as commander of a unit that monitored
Haitian police after the U.S. intervention in 1994. Another photo hanging in
Kelly's office shows Kelly and a U.S. peacekeeper carrying a bloodied victim
of fighting in the Caribbean nation.
"I like to think of myself as an adventurer," the commissioner said. "I'm
looking for excitement."
James Gordon Meek is an APBnews.com editor in Washington
(james.meek@apbnews.com
