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THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON

February 10, 1950.

MY DEAR MR. ATTORNEY GENERAL: When you told me of your plan to hold a conference of Federal, State, and municipal officials concerned with law enforcement problems in the United States, I welcomed the idea. It seemed to me that it would be most useful for these law-enforcement officials to gather together in order to devise ways and means of making law enforcement better and more effective. With the cessation of hostilities in World War II, came a substantial increase in crime in this country. This is disturbing, as it is a problem that affects every community in the country and every level of government. It is important, therefore, that we work together in combating organized crime in all its forms, and I feel that such a conference as you propose will go far to meet this postwar problem.

I want to congratulate you on bringing these law-enforcement officials together. The Federal Government has important responsibilities in the field of law enforcement, and I assure you that your conference has my support in your cooperative efforts to combat crime in the United States.

Very sincerely yours,

THE HONORABLE,

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Washington, D. C.

III

Foreword

In the winter of 1949-50 representatives of the United States Conference of Mayors, American Municipal Association, National Institute of Municipal Law Officers, National Association of Attorneys General, and others came or wrote to me expressing their alarm over the mounting problems of criminal law enforcement facing their communities, particularly the difficulties that are presented to the local communities in meeting the evils arising from organized gambling operations. It was quite apparent that in spite of the fact that practically all of the States had laws prohibiting gambling, in many instances the efforts of diligent local law-enforcement officials were often frustrated by the ease with which information and paraphernalia essential to gambling operations can be disseminated or distributed across State lines. In view of this situation, it was suggested that a conference be called to discuss the law-enforcement problems of local, State and Federal officials. I called such a conference in conjunction with the annual meeting of the United States attorneys. The conference, which took the name "Attorney General's Conference on Organized Crime," met in Washington on February 15, 1950. This book contains a record of the proceedings, lists the delegates and committees participating in the conference, and includes the reports of the Federal, State, municipal, and cooperative committees of the conference.

In publishing the proceedings, and the reports of the various committees, I feel that interested parties can look to this book as a record for encouraging mutual assistance in combating some of the problems of law enforcement, affecting combined Federal, State, and local jurisdictions. The delegates of the conference were well aware of the fact that problems of such magnitude cannot be solved by a single conference. But inroads have been made. I feel that in making this record available it will be clear that among other things, the Department of Justice is cognizant of the needs of, and ready to work hand-inhand with the States and municipalities in the war against organized crime. In such a spirit of cooperation we cannot fail to make this country a better Nation and a better place in which to live and work with our fellow man.

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Table of Contents

Letter from Harry S. Truman to the Attorney General . . .

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Report of Subcommittee on Federal Legislation
Report of Subcommittee on State Laws.
Report of Subcommittee on Municipal Laws.
Report of Subcommittee on Cooperation

Appendix

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