Select Commission Calls for Major Changes in Federal Law Enforcement

[DC]

http://www.justfacts.com/jftransfer.htm

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Select Commission Calls for Major Changes in Federal Law Enforcement


By the Staff of Just Facts

9-24-99

A five person commission funded by the Anti-Terrorist and Effective Death Penalty
Act of 1996 is poised to release a report that makes strong recommendations for
improvement of the nation’s law enforcement system. In the wake of Ruby Ridge and
Waco, a groundswell of grassroots activism demanding greater accountability from
federal law enforcement agencies prompted Congressional Republicans to establish
this Commission.

Democrats made repeated attempts to block the funding, fearing that politically
damaging information related to Waco would be uncovered, but the election of a
Republican majority to Congress allowed for enough votes to move the process
forward. Both Republicans and Democrats, as well as the Supreme Court Chief
Justice appointed members to the Commission. In the end, all Commission members
unanimously supported the findings. A draft copy of the report’s recommendations
obtained by Exclusive News Service does not mention Waco, but instead, proposes
measures to strengthen the accountability and effectiveness of federal law
enforcement.......(more).....

Recomendations:
The President and Congress gather federal law enforcement authority and responsibility
under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General. This includes the "immediate" transfer to
the FBI of all law enforcement functions currently performed by the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms.

The BATF is part the Treasury Department, and the FBI is a division of the Department
of Justice. The BATF currently has responsibility for the enforcement of firearms and
explosives laws, but is also tasked to collect taxes and regulate firearms, alcohol, and the
tobacco industries. According to the Commission’s findings, these taxing and regulatory
duties, "do not, and cannot, contribute to effective enforcement of the nations’ firearms
and explosives laws," and these functions, "can best be carried out in the FBI."

The report notes that this assessment, "has been supported by virtually every formal
review of BATF functions since gun control provisions became a significant feature of the
agency’s mandate in 1968."

· The immediate transfer of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s budget, authority and
people to the FBI. In among the reasons for this suggestion, the Commission writes:

"It strains credulity to find, as we did with our survey, that
both agencies consider themselves to have essentially the
same drug enforcement mission."


· The President and Congress create a system to ensure that all citizen complaints
regarding federal law enforcement agencies are recorded, investigated, and resolved. In
addition, the records and results of this process would be made public in an annual
report. This is to be done by the Attorney General with Congress providing ‘vigorous
oversight.’.......(more)
[/quote]

· All federal law enforcement agencies including their forensics labs undergo outside
accreditation. A former career federal agent told Exclusive News Service, "this is
standard practice for local law enforcement, but is resisted at the federal and big city
levels, where the majority of corruption and unaccountability exists."

· All federal law enforcement agents receive standardized across-the-board training and
guidelines in the ‘use of deadly force.’

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!

 

[Jim V]

Now, to see if there is enough guts in Washington D.C. to put these changes into effect. Given the excesses we have seen at the hands and trigger fingers of the FBI (Families Being Incinterated), I am not sure that they should be handling the firearms law investigations. They SHOULD be better than the BATF, that seems to use every thing as a photo op, but who can tell.

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Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
"If there be treachery, let there be jehad!"

 

[Rich Lucibella]

All I see here is a centralization of Power with a "promise" of accountability. If they simply suggested "defunding" duplicative agencies, that would be one thing. Here. they're talking about centralizing.

What'll the FBI get next? IRS?
Rich

 

[swifter...]

all I can say is: "Be careful what you ask for..." The best thing about BATF was its incompetence, not that the feebies are exactly superheroes. Looks to me like the start of a centralized national police force, a scary thought indeed. I was raised to believe " the policeman is your friend." I have a hard time believing that anymore...



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The Bill of Rights, and the Golden Rule are enough for civilized behavior. The rest is window dressing. Shoot carefully, swifter...

 

[Ivan8883]

Yes, i agrre this is just a move to centralize the police more. Take the power away from the evil ATF and GIVE it to a more evil FBI who will evolve into the dream of all dictators; a powerful national police force. Dont believe these sleazy politicos are out to help the voters.

 

[Ipecac]

It's a shame the commission didn't get the chance to throw their eyes over an old document called the Constitution of the United States. Had they bothered, they might have found that all of the agencies under scrutiny were unconstitutional as well as out of control, and therefore, should be disbanded immediately.

It seems so silly to ask them to play by their own rules.

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"...the probability of the people in power being individuals who would dislike the possession and exercise of power is on a level with the probability that an extremely tender-hearted person would get the job of whipping-master in a slave plantation."
Prof. Frank H. Knight