FBI Co-hosts International Conference Entitled "Corruption Within Security Forces: A threat to National Security"

The FBI together with the German Federal Criminal Police (BKA) and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies will be co-hosting an international conference entitled "Corruption Within Security Forces: A Threat to National Security," in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on May 14-18, 2001.

This is a second in a series of conferences hosted by the FBI, the Marshall Center and the BKA to examine the threat that organized crime poses to national security and regional stability. This year's conference will focus on corruption of government officials and processes within security forces: law enforcement, customs and border control and military service.

The conference objectives are to evaluate the threat that corruption within security forces poses to the development of democratic processes and institutions; and its impact on force protection, national security and regional stability; determine what is required for the early and successful identification and containment of corruption within the security forces; review the effectiveness of measures that have been used to combat and contain corruption; and to propose measures and processes that should be implemented domestically and transnationally to eliminate corruption within security forces. Specifically, a large portion of the conference will address the issues of weapons smuggling and illegal immigrants; two problems that are of major concern to all countries slated to attend the Garmisch meetings.

Scheduled participants number more than 120 from nearly 30 countries of North America and Eurasia. Included on the attendee list are more than 15 Ministers or Members of Parliament and numerous heads of national agencies that deal with corruption or national security, such as Security Services, Customs, Criminal Investigations, Justice, Defense and Counter-Intelligence, as well as representatives of international organizations such as Europol, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The FBI will be represented by Assistant Directors of the Criminal Investigative Division (CID), and the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR); and officials from the Office of General Counsel, the New York Field Office and the Organized Crime and Corruption/Civil Rights Sections of the CID.

News media representatives interested in more information regarding the conference or in covering the event may contact Debbie Weierman at the FBI National Press Office at (202) 324-8055 prior to Friday May 11; or at the George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany at 011 49 8821 750543 starting Saturday, May 12.

The Marshall Center maintains an academic policy of "non-attribution," but the Public Affairs Office of the Center and FBI Media Representative Debbie Weierman will seek to accommodate advance requests for interviews with distinguished guest speakers following their presentations or other requests for coverage of the conference.