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Article Excerpt
This article is approved by the following for continuing education credit:
ACFEI provides this continuing education credit for Diplomates after June 2001 that are required to obtain 15 credits per year to maintain their status.
ACFEI provides this continuing education credit for those Certified in Homeland security that are required to obtain 15 credits per year to maintain their status.
Keywords:
behavioral characteristics, developmental smugling model (DSM), United States Customs Service (U.S. Customs Service), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), smuggling, drug profile, drug smuggling
A Note About This Article
This article has beam divided into two parts. Part one, published here, introduces the article and describes a drug smuggler's perception of the current drug courier models. Next, it introduces a new developmental smuggling model (DSM) based on extensive research. Part one concludes with a description of the behavioral characteristics of the Phase-I (lowest-level) smuggler.
Part two of this article, to be published in the Spring 2004 Forensic Examiner, will describe the behavioral characteristics of the higher-level Phase-II and III smugglers, and will offer predictions based on the developmental smuggling behavior model.
Acknowledgements
This author would like to acknowledge the following individuals and agencies for providing information and/or reviewing earlier drafts of this paper: Agent Larry Himter, U.S. Customs Service, Ret.; Randy Wilt, J.D.; Frank Perri, J.D., MBA; Steven Erickson, Ph.D., psychologist; Christopher VanVleer, M.S., ED; Richard Early; Rudy Cole; U.S. Customs Service (USCS); the DEA and the FBI.
Abstract
This article presents a three-phase developmental model for identification of smugglers and smuggling organizations. Information provided by an international smuggler is applied after cross-referencing with declassified government documents, sources open to the public, and published literature. The smuggling model is reviewed and critiqued by agents from various government bureaus and services and criminal defense attorneys that are knowledgeable in this area. The developmental smuggling model (DSM) is then tested on two detainees that have been arrested for participating in smuggling operations.
Introduction
A unique situation emerged during my completion of a fitness to stand trial evaluation for the 17th Judicial Circuit Court, in Winnebago Country, IL. The individual being examined claimed that he was an international smuggler. Given the need to verify the assertions for the court and my interest in deriving behavioral data regarding the variances in smugglers, I carried out numerous in-depth interviews and conducted extensive psychological testing on the individual, in addition to cross-checking all given information against government records and databases from agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the U.S. Customs Service, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The result is a unique consortium of behavioral data that was assembled over a seven-year period and used to develop a three-phase model of smuggling behavior in individuals and organizations, referred to as the Developmental Smuggling Model (DSM). The data includes behavioral characteristics for all three phases of smuggling, as well as easily identifiable traits that will aid examiners and prosecutors in predicting behavioral outcomes. The efficacy of the DSM offers tangible characteristics thought to be common among smugglers in each phase of smuggling, including education, finances, loyalties, mannerisms, diversion tactics, and socialization factors, among others. The development of quantifiable behavioral characteristics, which this model includes, is critical for correct identification of major smuggling corporations and the individuals that manage them. Assimilated information that is properly organized via the DSM is beneficial for the appropriate prosecution and sentencing of various types of smugglers, as well as the identification of currently unknown sources of smuggling.
There have been a number of studies addressing the applicability of drug profiles in the American legal system. The papers presented by Young (1991) and Bernstein (1990) challenge the validity and reliability of a drug profile as a valuable tool in the identification of individuals involved in drug smuggling. The work of Nellis (1984) challenged psychologists to assist law enforcement in identifying smugglers. Nellis directed psychologists to study the behavior of dealers and 'mules' and to develop profiles that would withstand the constitutional challenges asserted by accused persons. Nellis defined mules as people that transport drugs. Nellis suggested that his directives could be done by completing studies that link currently used profiles with additional characteristics found to be common among drug smugglers. Turco (1990) identified four factors to be considered in the preparation of psychological profiles: (1) the crime scene in its entirety; (2) knowledge of neurological behavior and dyscontrol syndrome; (3) a psychodynamic perspective; and (4) demographic material based on the population studies of perpetrators.
The development of a smuggling 'profile' is complex in comparison to the development of profiles used for the detection of perpetrators of other crimes. Complexity in the development of a classification system for profiling smugglers occurs because of the variability of smuggling behaviors and organizations. The variability ranges from acts done by individuals, small groups, and large groups; acts done in different countries; acts committed under vastly different political systems; and the extensive range of ethnicities of smugglers. Furthermore, the smuggling may involve a single individual purchasing contraband through his or her own resources, transporting it him or herself; and then either keeping it for personal use or selling it to friends. Alternately, the smuggling operation may be at the multi-national level with many financial backers, involving complex methods, intricate transportation routes, and multiple vendors. Therefore, the development of the smuggling model is distinguished from profiles of other criminal perpetrators (Singh, 1994; Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, Ressler, 1992) in that it must encompass the behaviors of solo smugglers, as well as smuggling corporations in which many individuals cooperate to commit a single crime.
The approach taken in this case study is to have an international smuggler critique the profile used to identify smugglers. Then, when possible, to cross-check the authenticity of the concepts presented in the...
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