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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Does the US customs and border-patrol force need more staff to police its own conduct?
Monday, July 27, 2020
By Allegra Taylor
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YES
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which includes the Border Patrol, has relatively few officers assigned to enforcement of its own conduct standards. With 48,000 armed officers and 255 officers assigned to internal misconduct and corruption cases, the agency has one investigator for every 188 front-line officers. The ratio in New York City's police department (with 36,000 officers) is one for every 65 officers.
Using that force and the FBI as yardsticks, a 2014 review recommended CBP field at least 550 investigators, warning that "corruption is the Achilles' heel of border agencies."
CBP, the U.S.'s largest law-enforcement agency, was created in 2003 as part of the new Department of Homeland Security.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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