4.1: Collaboration with the Public and Partners in Law Enforcement
Engage the public as partners in law enforcement. Other Information:
The American public has been hit hard by the recent financial crisis, which has harmed the economy and individual lives across
the country. Those who have preyed on the public by violating the law to bring the country to the point of crisis or by violating
the law in their efforts to take unfair advantage of the crisis must be brought to justice. This is an issue in which every
American has a stake.
Stakeholder(s):
- The Public
- Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force: By Executive Order, the President established the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force and directed the Attorney General,
in conjunction with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to lead efforts to address
the financial crisis. The Task Force is one of the largest collaborative efforts in the history of federal law enforcement.
It is far broader in scope than the Corporate Fraud Task Force it replaces because it focuses not only on major corporate
and securities fraud, but also on mortgage fraud that has devastated individual Americans, lending discrimination and fraud
on the federal treasury. The Task Force includes over 20 federal departments, agencies and offices, but unlike many prior
federal task forces, also includes state and local law enforcement partners. In addition, the Task Force is focused not simply
on bringing prosecutions, but also on training officials in the public and private sectors to recognize fraud, obtaining compensation
and assistance for victims, and on disseminating information and educating the public to reduce the risk of a future crisis.
The Task Force has recognized that it can learn much by hearing directly from the people who have been victims of scams and
has been holding public listening sessions in the hardest‐hit areas, hearing both from the public and from local law enforcement
about the challenges facing particular areas. The Task Force recently met in Miami and Phoenix as it began a series of Mortgage
Fraud Summits. As part of its mission to wage an aggressive, coordinated and active effort to investigate and prosecute financial
crimes, the task force members met in Miami and Phoenix with community members; banking, mortgage and real estate industry
representatives; and law enforcement officials to discuss the problem of mortgage fraud from a national, state and local perspective.
To provide more information directly to the public about these efforts, the Department will develop a Web site at StopFraud.gov.
This site will give the public access to a number of resources to help them better understand, protect themselves against,
and report fraud.
- Attorney General
- Secretary of the Treasury
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Indicator(s):
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