STRENGTHEN THE BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL
NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS (INL)
* Text taken directly from The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) website.
The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) works to keep Americans safe at home by countering international crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. INL helps countries deliver justice and fairness by strengthening their police, courts, and corrections systems. These efforts reduce the amount of crime and illegal drugs reaching U.S. shores.
Combating Crime and Corruption
INL combats crime by helping foreign governments build effective law enforcement institutions that counter transnational crime –everything from money laundering, cybercrime, and intellectual property theft to trafficking in goods, people, weapons, drugs, or endangered wildlife. INL combats corruption by helping governments and civil society build transparent and accountable public institutions – a cornerstone of strong, stable, and fair societies that offer a level playing field for U.S. businesses abroad. INL builds the ability of partner nations, as well as regional and global capacity, to combat criminal activity that can harm American citizens and national security. It does so largely through international training and mentoring programs, as well as the development of legal and institutional frameworks and relationships that enable diplomatic and law enforcement collaboration across borders.
INL establishes and implements international commitments. International treaties establish shared rules for combating crime and provide tools for legal cooperation in criminal cases among countries. On behalf of the United States INL negotiates treaty and regional commitments, such as the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), and works with the Organization of American States, Council of Europe, Financial Action Task Force, G20, G7, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and other international fora to monitor implementation. INL helps the global community turn such shared international rules into concrete action toward reform and justice, including through strengthening mechanisms that monitor the implementation of commitments and bring peer pressure to encourage change.
INL builds capacity and will. INL helps foreign partners build capacity to address crime and supports law enforcement cooperation across borders. Through development of training materials to address a specific type of crime, fostering transnational approaches to transnational crime through the work of the International Law Enforcement Academies (ILEAs), and through bilateral assistance to countries across the globe, INL advances the international fight against crime. To build momentum and will for anti-corruption and anti-crime initiatives and reforms, INL also works diplomatically with individual countries, regional international groups, and non-governmental organizations.
INL stays ahead of trends. In addition to traditional areas of concern, INL also develops training to target and attempts to focus the international community on new and emerging criminal trends, such as trafficking in counterfeit medicines, cybercrime, and the smuggling of cultural properties. We also apply cutting-edge research, tools, and methods, such as DNA analysis of elephant tusks to identify poaching hotspots, chemical analysis of illegal drugs to determine country of origin, and the application of other high-tech tools in criminal investigations.
INL’s Specialized Programs Target
Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. Money laundering is the process of making the proceeds of criminal activity appear to have been legally obtained. According to the IMF and World Bank, criminals launder an estimated two to nearly four trillion dollars each year. Among those who seek to disguise the illegal proceeds of their crimes are drug traffickers, terrorists, corrupt public officials, and organized criminal groups. Introducing illegally obtained funds into the stream of legitimate commerce and finance allows criminals to profit from their illegal activity, taints the international financial system, and erodes public trust in the integrity of the system. Some criminals use the financial system to support terrorists or acts of terrorism. Terrorist financiers and other criminals use the formal financial system, new payment methods such as bitcoin and Ripple, traditional methods of value transfer such as hawala*, trade based money-laundering, and cash couriers, particularly in countries with non-existent or weak national anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) tools.
Border Security/Migrant Smuggling. INL works with international partners to develop effective approaches to border and maritime security. INL designs, plans, and funds foreign assistance programs to address aspects of border security including cross-border crimes, maritime security, aviation security, migrant smuggling, and trafficking in persons. This includes sponsoring training, workshops, and technical support provided by other U.S. agencies and international organizations. Such efforts leverage technical, legal, and managerial U.S. expertise to enhance foreign officials’ abilities to implement border security professionally and effectively. INL programs help deter and prevent the flow of illegal migrants into the United States as part of the U.S. National Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime, as well as other national security-related strategies. INL efforts aim to disrupt and dismantle trafficking networks before illegal migrants reach the United States and complement the activities of U.S. federal law enforcement agencies to disrupt and dismantle major migrant smuggling rings operating domestically and abroad.
Combating Corruption and Promoting Good Governance. Corruption and other forms of crime are interconnected: addressing both is core to INL’s mission. Keeping corruption in check: Boosts stability, the rule of law, human rights, and democracy; Promotes economic growth in foreign markets, and levels the playing field for American businesses; Strengthens our law enforcement partners; and makes it harder for those engaging in transnational crime, terror, and illegal trade to operate. The United States believes addressing corruption begins with countries around the world sharing a common vision and a strong commitment to taking effective, practical steps to prevent and prosecute corruption. To turn talk into action, the United States directly engages other countries, promotes internationally recognized standards, sponsors reform programming, and contributes to building the architecture for cross-border cooperation. To sustain this effort, INL engages in high-level diplomacy and reinforces the important role played by civil society, the media, and the business community.
Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Crime. As our world is transformed by the revolution in information technology that is now underway, cyber crooks work to exploit every opportunity they find. While cybercrime threats may come from anywhere – from lone individuals to nation states – the greatest challenge takes place where technology enables once-isolated criminals to join forces with one another, often anonymously. Established transnational organized criminals also are using computers to facilitate traditional crimes. These networks constantly find new ways to interact with each other, posing tremendous challenges to law enforcement, especially where cooperation involves developing nations with limited resources.
Wildlife trafficking and other environmental crime. Wildlife trafficking is a multibillion-dollar transnational organized criminal activity and a critical conservation issue. The United States is a leader in the fight against the illicit trade in wildlife and INL plays an important role in the development and implementation of anti-wildlife trafficking policies around the world. INL’s experts draw on our extensive experience combatting other forms of transnational crime and apply it to the illicit trafficking of wildlife around the world. INL also fights environmental crimes beyond wildlife trafficking such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and illegal logging, as well as facilitative crimes that enable wildlife trafficking such as corruption and money laundering.
The International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA)
The work of the five ILEAs sponsored, funded, and administered by INL is an important part of the interagency U.S. effort to combat international crime. The ILEAs advance the anti-crime effort through building the capacity of foreign criminal justice partners of the United States. The training provided through ILEAs is a proven, effective method for expanding the skills of partner-nation law enforcement affairs, fostering partnerships across national borders within important regions of the world, and improving partner nations’ relationships with American law enforcement agencies. Crime knows no borders and the work of the ILEAs is an essential part of enhancing our ability to effectively confront transnational criminal threats. The five ILEAs are located in: Budapest, Hungary; Bangkok, Thailand; Gaborone, Botswana; San Salvador; and Roswell, New Mexico. Over 60,000 individuals from 85 countries have graduated from ILEAs over the past 20 years. Since 1995 the program has continued to grow, and today there are more than 4,500 graduates from the ILEA program annually.