The National Drug Intelligence Center - Essay Example

The National Drug Intelligence Center One of the most common crime in the United s nowadays is of drug trafficking. This lucrative business has become a trend in the American society and is increasingly becoming a threat for the state. Just before this crime could become a national issue the government of United States realized its potential and formed several intelligence agencies which would look after the drug traffickers. The National Drug Intelligence Center is the formation of government of United States in this regard. It was formed in 1993 and is operating till date. The NDIC has proved quite successful in achieving its tasks and has proved as an asset to the United States. This essay would further describe the agency in detail in regard to its achievements and fallbacks. It would also give a clear view as to how it has affected the American society in particular. Drug trafficking was one the very common problems encountered by the law enforcement agencies of the United States of America. Though there were laws to cope with the issue but there was not an agency which was particularly working for the problem of drug trafficking. On September 5, 1989 President George H.W. Bush with the assistance of William Bennett who was the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Strategy put forward a new strategy for facing the issue of drug trafficking and related problems. According to the new plan all the federal agencies and federal programs were supposed to work together to curb with the issues related to the use of drugs and drug trafficking in the United States of America. Though this plan of 1989 did not lead to the creation of the social agency but it laid the foundation for the creation of an independent social agency for drug related issues. According to the order of 1989 the office of national drug control policy was supposed to collect data and information from all the federal agencies regarding the drug use and drug trafficking and then provide this information to particular agencies which would carry out operations against such activities. It was only in 1990 that the office of national drug control strategy put forward a new policy for the creation of an agency known as the national drug intelligence center which would also work upon collecting information and then providing it to the concerned agencies. This policy received the backing of the congress in 1993 and this led to the creation of the National Drug Intelligence Centre NDIC in 1993 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Initially the center had officials from the federal bureau of investigation and other agencies working in it and it had the same task of “coordinating and then forwarding the information”. It was only in 1998 that the center was declared as an independent part of the Department of Justice of the United States. As now being a part of the Department of Justice it now has its own Director who is chosen by the Attorney General of the United States. The national drug intelligence center as the name suggests is a social agency which works to collect all the information and intelligence related to the use of drugs and drug trafficking. It acts to collect all the information and then provide it to the agencies which would act against the drug related illegal activities. Thus the agency acts as a coordinator that is passing on the right information to the right people to prevent illegal drug related activities. The missions of the National Drug Intelligence Center are to compile all the intelligence reports regarding the drugs and provide not only this intelligence but also pass forward the documents, provide computer support and also give training to the officials of the desired agencies so that they work more efficiently to solve drug related issues in the United States of America. These agencies to which the National Drug Intelligence Center provides assistance include the drug control, public health, law enforcement and the intelligence agencies of the United States. All this is done by the social agency to diminish and lessen the bad effects of all drug related criminal activities which include drug use, drug abuse and supplying of drugs. Thus it can be said that the National Drug Intelligence center has the mission to coordinate all the intelligence and assist in all ways the agencies which can put an end to all drug related criminal activities. The National Drug intelligence center does not carry out crackdown operations of hunting criminals but it is an intelligence center which collects “strategic intelligence” and passes on the information to lawmakers and the policy makers so that they know better about the ongoing drug related issues. There are many agencies which work upon drugs but these agencies are not connected and it has always been the works of the National Drug Intelligence Center to collect all the information and make conclusions and create better information and reach to better results and then pass on this information to the authorities. The intelligence reports made by the National Drug and Intelligence Center are not like those of any other agencies. They are better and different from the rest because these reports are compiled from many different sources. The National Drug Intelligence center has the function to keep the policy makers updated with the new techniques and the new ways the drug traffickers would be using so that appropriate steps can be taken and the right planning can be done to cope with such issues. An example can be taken when the NDIC received information regarding the threat that the foreign drug traffickers from the Dominican Republic were trying to expand their illegal drug activities from New York to smaller states like Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina. The NDIC passed on this information via letters to the local law enforcement agencies of the states to alert them. The NDIC also collects information from FBI, DEA, U.S. Customs Services and other similar agencies to create annual national drug threat assessment and seven regional threat assessments. One such National Drug Threat Assessment was published by the NDIC in 1999. It was known as the 1998 National Drug Threat Assessment: An In-Progress Prototype. In early 1999, the NDIC provided a briefing of the assessment to the Deputy Attorney General, senior members of the NDIC itself and to the Chiefs of police from the Major cities. After a few months the NDIC received its responses regarding the assessment most of which were positive and the suggestions which were given to the NDIC were taken into consideration. Apart from this the NDIC also holds conferences which includes the Northeast Regional heroin conference which was held in Baltimore, Maryland in 1999. The NDIC also publishes a National Street Gang Survey Report every other year. The NDIC also publishes a National Drug Intelligence Digest which puts forward and explains to the agencies about the new techniques and ways that have born within the drug trafficking business. The NDIC also provides training to officials from different federal agencies so that more can be done to put an end to the drug trafficking business. The social agency is working towards its goals and to fulfill that it has introduced many programs which help to ascertain that their goals are achieved. Previously when the agency was able to reach to a conclusion that foreign drug traffickers were going to spread their criminal activities out of New York to other states, the agency took quick notice into the matter. It issued warning letters to all the states concerned and put them on alert by sending them letters so that they could dismantle the setting up of the organization before it created strong grounds in the states. This beforehand warning proved to be greatly beneficial for the states as it stopped the drug trafficking from expanding any further. However these warnings do not in any way eradicate the drug trafficking business from its root. Hence basically it is just stopping the business from expanding. The NDIC has a function of providing training to the personnel of the law enforcement agencies which include the FBI and other agencies which operate in the United States. This is done to create awareness and properly train the officers on how to work on drug related criminal activities so that the information that is passed on by the NDIC is properly used by the agencies. The agency has proved to be quite efficient in completing its tasks but it still has not been able to pinpoint every single deal happening in the USA. Thus it has to be more effective in designing its programs according to the modern era. The National Drug Intelligence Center has worked quite its way towards the top of the institutions of drug trafficking in the United States of America. However still a lot of things can be done to make this institute better so as to they can serve their mission statement in the way it is required by the institution. The institution can further enhance its current programs so they can deliver more in terms of the intelligence. Currently the number of employees working in the institution is round about to 500 and considering the size of the states they have to handle the number of employees is quite less. The number of employees can be increased by a great number so as to they can deliver according to the standards required by the institution. The institution can further seek help in compiling intelligence reports from other institutes and can use these reports to be given to states in a perfect form so they can be used by the relevant agencies in completing their tasks. Further the NDIC can also form a tactical unit which can function just like the police or other such agencies so that they can perform quickly when they receive intelligence reports about it. Moreover NDIC can improve the techniques through which they gather intelligence. Some reports such as the expansion of drug trafficking in NY should not be made public so that the culprits cannot know as to how they were caught or which methods were being used by the agencies. The agency should attract more funds by going to individual peace makers or the rich people. Previously the agency has been sending out warning letters to the police or other concerned agencies about the expansion of drug trafficking, here it can form a new unit which would lead the police directly towards the site of crime and would make the leads more obvious. As the social agency has proved to be quite beneficial in the long run for the United States it is expected that the agency would continue to work as a separate entity in the United States. The social agency presently supports the criminal justice system legislation regarding the drug trafficking system and it has been helping the authorities in curbing the drug trafficking issue. The criminal justice system of the United States has been greatly helped by the agency and thus it has an impact on the justice system. The criminal system can levy serious charges on the ones who are involved in drug trafficking as the threats posed by this are clearly outlined by the NDIC. The NDIC is an organization which has made the task of relevant police authorities easy and simple in terms of catching the culprits who are indulged in the drug trafficking deals. Further it has helped to measure the extent to which the crimes are taking place in the United States. It has also helped curb the expansion of marijuana deals all around the States with the help of the compilation of its intelligence. NDIC also is informing the system as to on which pace the problem is increasing. NDIC has proved a great asset for the state and with its effort has been able to curb drug trafficking presently happening in the United States of America. However there is still room for improvements in the agency so as to this problem can be complete eradicated from USA. Bibliography National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.), & National Gang Intelligence Center (U.S.). (2009). National gang threat assessment 2009. Washington, DC: National Drug Intelligence Center. https://www.hsdl.org/homesec/docs/justice/nps36-013009-01.pdf&code=b2831066ca03abaebba2593b88a6f393. National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S) < http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/index.htm#Top> Carroll, J. (2006). Marijuana: Opposing viewpoints. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press. National Drug Intelligence Center (U.S.). (2008). National drug threat assessment 2009. Johnstown, PA: United States Department. of Justice, National Drug Intelligence Center. Read More