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Scope and Content Notes: These are the files of the Subcommittee on Field Offices, known familiarly as the "strike force" subcommittee. The materials primarily evaluate the effectiveness of strike forces within various U.S. Attorney jurisdictions. These includes memoranda, teletypes, correspondence, news releases, reports, annotated articles and the questionnaire that Thornburgh issued to all of the U.S. Attorneys for evaluation of the Organized Crime Strike Forces in their districts. The final reports of this subcommittee are included with the above "Advisory Committee" files.
Strike Forces are federal teams comprised of investigators and prosecutors who combine their efforts in a single geographic area with a significant organized crime problem in an attempt to control organized crime and racketeering activities within that area. "The 'Strike Forces' had become institutionalized and expanded under [Attorney General] John Mitchell to the point that considerable friction had developed in a number of areas over 'turf' issues and the allocation of cases between the U.S. Attorney, the presidentially-appointed chief law enforcement officer for the district, and the local 'Strike Force' chief, appointed by and responsible to the Attorney General ... Our report, ultimately recommended that the 'Strike Forces' be returned to their original status as 'trouble-shooting' teams and that the role of the U.S.Attorney as the chief federal law enforcement officer in his community be reaffirmed" ("Evidence" draft, p. 196-7).
Files of the other subcommittees of the Attorney General's U.S. Attorneys Advisory Committee follow here. Also see "Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division" files on Strike Forces.
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