High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
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HIDTA’s Mission
The mission of the HIDTA Program is to disrupt the market for illegal drugs in the United States by assisting federal, state, and local, and tribal law enforcement entities participating i n the HIDTA Program to dismantle and disrupt drug trafficking organizations, with particular emphasis on drug trafficking regions that have harmful effects on other parts of the United States.
HIDTA’s Function
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program’s function is to enhance and coordinate drug control efforts among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies.
The program provides agencies with coordination, equipment, technology, and additional resources to combat drug trafficking and its harmful consequences in critical regions of the United States.
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs) are regions designated by the Director of ONDCP, “in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security, heads of the National Drug Control Program agencies, and the Governor of each applicable State,” under the authority of Public Law 109-469, the “Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006,” (“the ONDCP Act”).
In deciding whether to designate an area under this section as a HIDTA, the Director of ONDCP shall consider, in addition to such other criteria he/she may deem appropriate:
• The extent to which the area is a significant center of illegal drug production, manufacturing, importation, or distribution; • The extent to which state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies have committed resources to respond to the drug trafficking problem in the area, thereby indicating a determination to respond aggressively to the problem; • The extent to which drug-related activities in the area are having a significant harmful impact in the area, and in other areas of the country; and • The extent to which a significant increase in allocation of federal resources is necessary to respond adequately to drug-related activities in the area.
The HIDTA Program helps improve the effectiveness and efficiency of drug control efforts by facilitating cooperation between drug control organizations through resource and information sharing, collocating and implementing joint initiatives. HIDTA funds help federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement organizations invest in joint initiatives to
confront drug-trafficking organizations.
Funds are also used for demand reduction and drug treatment initiatives. Resources provided by the Program have grown from $25 million in Fiscal Year 1990 to over $224 million in Fiscal Year 2006.
Types of Initiatives
There are four types of HIDTA initiatives: Enforcement, Intelligence and Information Sharing, Support and Management and Coordination. Each HIDTA is required to have at least one initiative of each type.
Enforcement Initiatives: Enforcement Initiatives include multi agency investigative, interdiction, and prosecution activities targeting drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, drug production organizations, drug gangs, drug fugitives, and other serious crimes with a drug nexus.
Intelligence and Information Sharing Initiatives include:intelligence analysis (tactical, operational, and strategic),
deconfliction services (event and case /subject),information collection and dissemination, and other analytical
support for HIDTA initiatives and participating agencies.
Support Initiatives: Support Initiatives include activities beyond the core Enforcement and Intelligence and
Information Sharing Initiatives; e.g., training, treatment, prevention, crime and forensic labs, and information technology initiatives.
Management and Coordination Initiatives: Management and Coordination Initiatives fund the basic overhead of the
HIDTA; e.g., salaries and fringe benefits for the Director, Deputy Director, and other administrative staff positions
approved by the Executive Board, rent and facilities charges for administrative staff, etc.
Intelligence and Information Sharing
Purpose: A basic tenet of the HIDTA Program is that federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies significantly improve their ability to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations when they work together and share information.
The full benefit of the HIDTA Program can be achieved only with a robust Intelligence and Information Sharing Initiative. This Section describes the basic requirements and provides guidance for such initiatives within the HIDTA program.
Basic Requirements: Each HIDTA must have at least one Intelligence and Information Sharing Initiative that is responsible for developing information and intelligence collection requirements, and for collecting, evaluating, collating, analyzing, and disseminating law enforcement information and intelligence for the entire HIDTA.
The initiative must consist of commingled participants from federal , state, local, and tribal agencies. Each participating agency shall provide on-site,direct access to its pertinent databases at the primary intelligence center unless the site or personnel cannot meet the agency’s established security requirements. Each participating agency not located at the primary intelligence center must designate specific points of contact to provide access to the agency’s criminal information
for intelligence center personnel.
HIDTA Intelligence and Information Sharing Initiatives must comply with applicable federal, state, local, and tribal regulations, including 28 CFR PART 23, “Criminal Intelligence Systems Operating Policies.”
Program Goals
The HIDTA Program goals are to:
Disrupt the market for illegal drugs by dismantling or disrupting drug trafficking and /or money laundering organizations; and Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of HIDTA initiatives.
