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http://www.foxnews.com/national/020200/fbi.sml
Commission Urges Consolidation
Of Law Enforcement Agencies
7:24 a.m. ET (1224 GMT) February 2, 2000 By Jim Abrams
WASHINGTON - The global dimensions of crime require that the attorney
general and the FBI extend their authority over other law enforcement
agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, according to a
congressional report.
The Commission on the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement recommended
Tuesday that the law enforcement functions of the Treasury Department's ATF
be shifted to the FBI and that the Drug Enforcement Administration become a
separate division of the FBI.
Congress, which created the commission in 1996 in the wake of law
enforcement controversies such as the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff in Idaho and
the 1993 Branch Davidian siege in Waco, Texas, has failed to act on similar
recommendations in the past.
The departments of Treasury and Justice, in a joint statement, said the
report was "thoughtful and deliberative," but noted that the idea of merging
the ATF and DEA into the FBI was not new and had previously been rejected.
"We believe such a merger would be unnecessary and would be detrimental to
our law enforcement efforts."
But the chairman of the five-member group, former FBI Director William H.
Webster, said better coordination is crucial if the country is to meet the
growing threats of global crime, terrorism and cyber-crime.
"I have serious concerns about the readiness of the federal government to
protect Americans and the national security" without structural changes, he
said.
The report said the attorney general should be responsible for overseeing
all major federal law enforcement policies and practices.
The commission also criticized the recent tendency to "federalize" crimes.
It said 40 percent of federal crimes have been put on the books since 1970
and now total more than 3,000. "This situation threatens to overwhelm
federal law enforcement capacities, just as dramatic and serious new law
enforcement challenges grow in intensity."
Webster acknowledged that others in the past, going back to President Lyndon
Johnson, have attempted to restructure the ATF or consolidate law
enforcement efforts, with limited success.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said his panel
"will study the report and review its recommendations." A hearing on the
findings was scheduled for Thursday.
Webster said that while such events as Ruby Ridge and Waco had become
"metaphors" for some of the recent problems in law enforcement, they were
only part of a larger picture that included some real successes such as law
enforcement coordination after the 1995 bombing of the federal building in
Oklahoma City.
The FBI was deeply involved in both the 1992 Ruby Ridge and 1993 Waco
incidents. At Ruby Ridge, the wife and son of white separatist Randy Weaver
and a deputy U.S. marshall died. At Waco, which began with a botched ATF
raid on the Branch Davidians religious sect's complex, the FBI was in charge
for most of the standoff that ended in the complex's destruction by fire,
with more than 80 people dead.
The commission also recommended that law enforcement and intelligence
communities better coordinate their activities, that global crime be made a
national law enforcement priority and that Congress require that law
enforcement agencies establish new standards for professionalism and
integrity.
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