About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


1 1 (June 10, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/ozdcmedg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: & Congressional a & Res'earch Service The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Program: Going Forward June 10, 2025 The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program was originally created in 1982 as part of President Reagan's initiatives to counter drug trafficking and organized crime. It is the largest anti-crime task force in the United States. The program operates as a stand-alone component within the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), not under the leadership of any one particular partner agency. OCDETF targets transnational organized crime (TOC), with the intent to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks with an historically drug-centric focus. Some policymakers have shown interest in the future of the OCDETF program, as President Trump's proposed budget for FY2026 includes substantial changes to it-chiefly, eliminating all future funding for OCDETF in its current form. OCDETF Structure The OCDETF program has federal partners within DOJ and the U.S. Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Treasury, Labor, and State, and the U.S. Postal Service, as well as state and local law enforcement partners. OCDETF's prosecutor-led, multi-agency task force model relies on coordination, intelligence and information sharing, and directed resourcing to counter the highest priority targets. The program has nine regions and 19 strike forces around the country to coordinate investigations and prosecutions. These co-located strike forces bring together federal, state, and local law enforcement to conduct multi-jurisdictional operations, and the OCDETF Fusion Center (OFC) leads intelligence sharing for the program. The OFC also houses the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2), allowing for information sharing between these two entities and their partners. The IOC- 2 was established in 2009 and later placed under administration of the OFC. The OCDETF Director manages the Consolidated Priority Organization Target (CPOT) process for identifying priority drug trafficking threats as well as the Priority Transnational Organized Crime (PTOC) process for the designation of investigations of priority non-drug organized crime threats. OCDETF's nine regions can also designate regional priority targets. The OCDETF program has been involved in carrying out various national strategies including the National Drug Control Strategy and the Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime. (The National Drug Control Strategy and the Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime were most recently updated during the Biden Administration.) Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12563 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress