Border leaders partner

By GARY SCHARRER
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Published: Saturday, April 18, 2009 8:36 AM CDT

AUSTIN - An informal arrangement for sharing information about child support cases and crimes such as human trafficking and drug smuggling turned more official Friday when Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and his Nuevo Leon counterpart put an agreement in writing.

Abbott and Nuevo Leon Attorney General Luis Carlos Treviño Berchelmann signed a memorandum of understanding that formally declares both states' commitment to work cooperatively and collaboratively to combat transnational crime.

Mexican authorities, for example, are interested in techniques and expertise developed by Texas officials in pursuing child predators, Abbott said.

Texas and Mexico border states, he said, "want to share information from investigations that will allow us to follow up on leads that may go into Mexico and vice versa."

They have been working together for years without a formal structure.

"We're pleased that these efforts have led to a forma memorandum of understanding that will memorialize what we have been working on," Abbott said.

Trevino Berchelmann said "the information exchange will be an important tool in the combat of crimes and in the enforcement of the rule of law.

On the other hand, children - one of the most vulnerable groups - will receive protection on both sides of the border."

Abbott remains particularly interested in child support collection.

"Our office is involved in cases where a child here in Texas may be owed child support by someone who is in Mexico.

Sharing investigative and other types of information can assist us in collecting that child support," Abbott said.

The agreement also stipulates that Texas will provide investigative and prosecutorial training for law enforcement officials from Nuevo Leon.

Co-operation between the border states is not new, Abbott said.

"This is the culmination of some of those efforts and a way of more formally memorializing issues and concepts that we have been working together for the past few years," he said.

Under the agreement, the Office of the Attorney General of Texas will:

Continue working to protect children, including cooperative efforts to improve the legal and social support services that are available to young victims;

Provide investigative and prosecutorial training for law enforcement officials from Nuevo Leon, including training about the investigation and prosecution of cyber crimes against kids; and,

Provide a directory of key personnel to help facilitate the exchange of information.

The Attorney General of Nuevo Leon will:

Continue working to protect children, including cooperative efforts to improve the legal and social support services that are available to young victims;

Provide investigative and prosecutorial training for law enforcement from Texas, including instruction about the investigation, preparation and resolution of criminal cases in Nuevo Leon;

Pay for travel expenses incurred by the OAG when its prosecutors and peace officers conduct law enforcement training in Nuevo Leon; and,

Provide a directory of key personnel to help facilitate the exchange of information between key agency personnel.

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