US law enforcement in the fight against organised crime

The United States has a long history of dealing with organised crime. Specific federal laws have been adopted and a number of government agencies set up to tackle various aspects of such criminal activities.

Federal law enforcement agencies have played an important role in dealing with organised crime and drug-trafficking organisations, with drugs addressed separately to some extent. The Department of Justice and its two component agencies (the FBI and the DEA) are the main bodies involved, although they often coordinate their efforts with those of other agencies. Sizeable numbers of staff of the Departments of Homeland Security, the Treasury and State are also responsible for tracking criminal activities within their respective areas of activity.

Given the scale and impact of international organised crime, agencies with specific jurisdictions and those operating at various levels (federal, state and local) have had to join forces to address it. Numerous task forces, working groups and intelligence centres have thus been set up. The International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Programme are among major coordinating structures of this kind.