TOP STORY: ICE Director John Morton addresses Chatham House

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton spoke at the Chatham House in London, United Kingdom Tuesday, Feb. 5.

The Chatham House is the home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and is considered to be a world-leading source of independent analysis, informed debate and influential ideas on how to build a prosperous and secure world for all.

In his remarks, Morton spoke on international law enforcement cooperation, and said that the timing was perfect because of the potential creation of the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the United Kingdom this year.

The NCA is a proposed law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. Scheduled to launch Dec. 2013, the NCA would include the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and parts of the National Policing Improvement Agency and the UK Border Agency.

"I am a very strong supporter of the concept, and think it a positive step for Britain generally and UK law enforcement in particular," he said. "Like the proposed NCA, ICE is a recent creation that merged other law enforcement agencies to create a national investigative force with a particular emphasis on organized trans-national crime and border offenses. "

Morton explained that modern, global law enforcement must be vigilant because their responsibility is broad, covering everything from child exploitation and human trafficking, to financial crimes, to intellectual property crimes and the illicit smuggling of contraband, people, art and weapons.