Page 2 - Customs Today Winter1984-OCR

Comment
Those of us who attended the Law Enforcement
Explorer Conference in Ft. Collins, Colo., last summer were inspired by the thousands of young
people who have chosen to get involved in law enforcement. It wasn't long ago that the youth of America were taking to the streets against the police, protesting things they believed were wrong with the country. But because a few good law enforcement people chose to get involved, over 40,000 young people are now taking to the streets with the police to learn how they can take part in law enforcement themselves.
I think Law Enforcement Exploring, which is under the auspices of the Boy Scouts of America, is a truly worthwhile program, and I have pledged the Customs Service to full participation. It is a program that deserves all the support we can provide. That
is why I was so pleased to accept when Bud Mullen, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, asked me to be chairman of the 1984 Law Enforcement Explorer Conference. I was also honored just re cently with an invitation to sit on the Executive Committee of Law Enforcement Exploring.
I have struck a theme for our participation in the
Explorer Scout program, it is "get involved and stay involved." Getting involved has resulted in our estab
lishing our first Customs-sponsored Explorer Scout post in Laredo, Tex. And we now have plans for start ing several others around the country. Law Enforce ment Exploring is the fastest growing youth program in the entire world today.
Through this involvement with Explorer Scouts we have an opportunity to mold the law enforcement officers of the future. It is a task as important as any we are in today. And it is one in which I am happy to participate, as I know are all other Customs officers.
In this issue of Customs Today, there are several articles about our participation in the Explorer pro
gram. We are also introducing what I hope will become a regular feature of the magazine, the
Commissioner's Round Table. Through this vehicle I hope to open lines of communication between my
self and Customs employees in the field. This issue's round table discussion is with a group of inspectors and mainly concerns the Red/Green system. In future issues, I will talk with representative groups from the other Customs professions about the pro grams they carry out in their daily work.
As we enter the new year, we are in position to do our jobs more effectively than ever. The Exodus
program, which is now over two years old, is well established, and we are developing stronger and better cases every day. We are experiencing the
same kind of success with all our programs. El Dorado and Greenback have enjoyed new successes
this year and will continue to do so. Our new effort on commercial fraud, Operation Tripwire, is also well established and going strong. Our commercial systems are developing right on schedule and are pointing the way toward a new day between the world of commerce and the Customs Service.
ii6Lz.jfewL . U.S. Commissioner of Customs