NCJ Number
66428
Date Published
1979
Length
21 pages
Annotation
A STUDY OF THE U.S. CUSTOMS SERVICE'S OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL AT THE BEHEST OF THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS A NEW INVESTIGATIVE STRATEGY TO IMPROVE EFFECTIVENESS.
Abstract
THE OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS HAS IN RECENT YEARS USED ITS 650 AGENTS PRIMARILY IN INVESTIGATIVE EFFORTS DIRECTED AT UNCOVERING FRAUD, SMUGGLING, CARGO THEFT, AND VIOLATIONS OF NEUTRALITY AND CURRENCY LAWS. NOTWITHSTANDING A NUMBER OF MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, MOST OF THE OFFICE'S RESOURCES HAVE BEEN SPENT ON CASES WHICH YIELD NO VIOLATIONS OR DEFICIENCIES. BY ACCEPTING AND INVESTIGATING NUMEROUS CASES REFERRED TO IT BY OTHER CUSTOMS ORGANIZATIONS REGARDLESS OF CASE MERITS, THE OFFICE IS OVERLOOKING CASE QUALITY AND MEASURING ITS PERFORMANCE BY THE MERE COUNTING OF NUMBERS OF CASES, CONVICTIONS, OR DOLLAR SETTLEMENTS. THESE SO-CALLED 'ACCOMPLISHMENT' STATISTICS, WHICH ARE THE INDICATORS USED BY CONGRESS, THE TREASURY, AND CUSTOMS TO EVALUATE THE OFFICE'S EFFECTIVENESS, DO NOT ACCURATELY GAUGE EFFECTIVENESS BECAUSE THE REPORTING CATEGORIES ARE MISLEADING, THE ACCOMPLISHENTS QUESTIONABLE, AND THE DATA INCCURATE. FOR EXAMPLE, 90 PERCENT OF SEIZURE VALUES CLAIMED WERE ONLY TEMPORARY SEIZURES WHICH WERE RETURNED TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATORS. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT: (1) THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY HAVE THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY (ENFORCEMENT AND OPERATIONS) PROCEED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF INVESTIGATIVE PRIORITIES AND CASE SELECTION CRITERIA THAT WILL PLACE MORE EMPHASIS ON CASE QUALITY; AND (2) THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY SHOULD HAVE THE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS IMPLEMENT CLEAR, ACCURATE, AND COMPLETE REPORTING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT STATISTICS. AN APPENDIX PROVIDES A LETTER FROM THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE. (DEG)