What Have We Learned From Evaluations of MJTFs?

BJA's 1996 assessment of early task force program evaluations resulted in the identification of critical components of successful multijurisdictional task forces. These components include:

Written interagency agreements establishing guidelines;
Prosecutor involvement;
Computerized information/intelligence systems;
Communication among task force members;
Coordination of effort;
Experienced leadership;
Effective asset seizure and forfeiture activities;
Commitment to long-term funding;
Clearly formulated goals, objectives, and performance measures;
Collection of data, monitoring, and evaluation;
Technical assistance and training programs that draw on the experiences of more seasoned task force supervisors’ expertise.

Review of subsequent evaluation studies leads to the following conclusions regarding the effectiveness of task forces:

Good communication - among participating agencies, between the task force and the community, and between the task force and nonparticipating agencies - is essential to the success of a task force.
The importance of having an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the problem the task force intends to address is critical and should not be underestimated.
Prosecutorial involvement is key. A prosecutor, with designated prosecutorial time allocated for the purpose of prosecuting task force cases, should be involved as an active member of the task force.

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