Transnational Crime and the American Policing System

Abstract

The 21st century US can be characterized as a period of globalization, during which countries have become increasingly interconnected. However, since the 9-11 terrorist attacks on US soil—unease about the possibility of subsequent attacks and other transnational crimes has become ever more prevalent. While traditional security agencies, such as the FBI and CIA, have changed since this phenomenon, US police have been forced to assume a greater share of the responsibility as part of a comprehensive homeland-security framework. Consequently, through an in-depth descriptive analysis of transnational crime and the strategies and methods police agencies presently have at their disposal to combat it, one can determine if US police have the tools needed to handle this salient issue. Thus, recommendations can be made of ways to improve the efficacy of US policing agencies in the pursuit of their homeland-security directives, and moreover, methods of implementing these recommendations can be devised.