Monday, October 17, 2005

Keel: Congress would end drug task forces without reform












Keel doubts the law will hasten the demise of task forces.






Anonymous said...

Drug Task Forces are not just a problem in Texas and money drives those task forces in the same way it does a drug trafficker.

That said, look for the local departments in Texas to find other federal funding mechanisms like HIDTA, OCDETF, and DEA.

They'll find funding and they'll find a drug task force that's federally funded, just not Bryne Grant Funded.

Tulia won't end the problems with drug task forces because Tulia wasn't just about funding. It's about funding something with no oversight, scrutiny, accountability, and inspection.

Do you really believe that the other federal fuding mechanisms have better oversight?

They don't and Texas is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to corrupt drug task forces that are federally funded.

The rest of iceberg is located in the other 49 states.

Gritsforbreakfast said...

I'm with you, my friend, and I wish I knew how to influence D.C. more or to export what's happened here to other states. But I figure us Texans have to take care of our own affairs. You start where you are, you know?

That said, to Grits readers outside Texas: You've got these task forces in your backyards, too, plus the HIDTA and others the commenter mentions, which are all pretty similar and problematic in many of the same ways as Byrne task forces. It's all a massive subsidy to a failed strategy. Suggesting a better one that shifts money to more productive programs has been a successful approach in Texas, and the same argument applies, for sure, in all 50 states.