NCJ Number
181664
Journal
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: December 1999 Pages: 229-241
Date Published
December 1999
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article reviews cooperative interagency approaches to the illegal drug problem.
Abstract
Recent advances in law enforcement recognize that, increasingly, more types of crime have migrated across localities and even nations. Law enforcement requires the combined efforts of disparate agencies that must cooperate across organizational and jurisdictional boundaries. Nowhere is this trend more evident than in efforts to combat trafficking in illegal drugs. Recent efforts involve applying new communication and information technologies to help organizations pool their talents and information in order to attack their common problems more efficiently and effectively. This article studies such a multi-agency alliance. It describes the two formative phases of the alliance negotiation and commitment. It recounts several potential barriers to forming multi-agency alliances, including agency diversity, resource limitations, and disincentives to collaboration. It also identifies factors critical to successful formation of alliances, including common goals, facilitative structural mechanisms, broad participation, and external support. Table, references