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The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program is a drug-prohibition enforcement program run by the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
Office of National Drug Control Policy. It was established in 1990 after the
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (, ) is a major law of the War on Drugs passed by the U.S. Congress which did several significant things: # Created the policy goal of a drug-free America; # Established the Office of National Drug Control Policy; ...
was passed. The HIDTA program was made permanent through Title III of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006. The mission of the program is "to enhance and coordinate America's drug-control efforts among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in order to eliminate or reduce
drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...
and its harmful consequences in critical regions of the United States."


Program purpose

The HIDTA program aims to reduce drug production and trafficking through: * promoting coordination and information sharing among federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement; * bolstering intelligence sharing among federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement; * disseminating reliable intelligence to law enforcement agencies to help them design effective enforcement operations and strategies; and * promoting coordinated law enforcement strategies that rely upon available resources to reduce illegal drug supplies not only in a given area, but also throughout the country. The HIDTA program does not focus on a specific drug threat, such as heroin trafficking; rather, funds are used to support the most pressing drug-related initiatives in each region. These range from multiagency enforcement initiatives involving investigation, interdiction, and prosecution to drug use prevention and treatment initiatives.


HIDTA Designations

The Director of ONDCP has the authority to designate areas within the United States that are centers of illegal drug production, manufacturing, importation, or distribution as HIDTAs. The director must first consult with the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
,
Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
,
Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...
, heads of the relevant National Drug Control Program Agencies, and the governor of the applicable state. Four main criteria are considered when designating an area as a HIDTA:
e extent to which # the area is a significant center of illegal drug production, manufacturing, importation, or distribution; # 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; # drug-related activities in the area are having a significant harmful impact in the area, and in other areas of the country; and # a significant increase in allocation of Federal resources is necessary to respond adequately to drug related activities in the area.High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program – Factors for consideration.
The HIDTA program uses counties as the geographic unit of inclusion in the program. To begin the designation process, a coalition of law enforcement agencies may petition the Director of ONDCP for their county to be included in an HIDTA. , there were currently 33 designated HIDTAs in the United States and its territories, and ONDCP indicates that of the 100 most populous metropolitan areas in the United States, 99 were included in areas designated as HIDTAs.


HIDTA Coordination

At the national level, the HIDTA program is administered by ONDCP. However, each of the HIDTA regions is governed by its own Executive Board, which consists of representatives from participating federal, state, local, and tribal agencies(if applicable), and there must be an equal proportion of federal and non-federal representatives. Additional non-voting members from non-participating agencies or associations are allowed. Each Executive Board is required to meet four times each year. Among other duties, each board is responsible for providing direction and oversight in establishing and achieving the goals of the HIDTA,managing the funds of the HIDTA, and selecting the HIDTA director for the region. The Executive Boards have the discretion to design and implement initiatives to addressspecific drug trafficking threats in their regions. This allows a board to tailor its strategy and reassess its initiatives to respond to changes in local drug threats.Each board is also responsible for ongoing evaluation of the HIDTA’s initiatives. The evaluation considers whether each initiative is in compliance with overall HIDTA program requirements, effectively implementing the HIDTA’s strategy, achieving the performance standards negotiated for the HIDTA, and productive enough to merit continued funding from that particular HIDTA.


Funding

Funding for the HIDTA program is provided by a direct appropriation to the HIDTA subaccount under the ONDCP account. From the total HIDTA program appropriation, each HIDTA receives a base amount of funding calculated, in part, on its previous annual funding and HIDTA size (ranging from $2.5 million to nearly $16.3 million in FY2020) to support initiatives in its region. The remainder of the overall HIDTA appropriation is allocated to HIDTAs based on specific priorities throughout the country—determined collectively by the HIDTA directors and ONDCP. Funds provided to the HIDTAs may be used to cover a range of costs,including both administrative costs (such as overtime, rent, and facilities fees) and programmatic costs. The programmatic costs may be related to activities such as enforcement initiatives involving investigation, interdiction, and prosecution activities; intelligence and information collection and sharing initiatives; drug use prevention and treatment initiatives; andmiscellaneous costs,such as trainings, lab fees, and information technology needs.


SUPPORT Act Changes to HIDTA

The HIDTA program was most recently amended and reauthorized in 2018 by the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT Act; ). In this reauthorization, the SUPPORT Act removed a prohibition on the use of HIDTA funds to establish or expand drug treatment programs and specified that a maximum of 5% of HIDTA appropriated funds can be used for “substance use disorder treatment programs and drug prevention programs.”


In popular culture

In popular culture, HIDTA was featured in an episode of ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
'' entitled "Locomotion". It aired in the show's 15th year (2004–2005 season). The two primary homicide detectives visited the HIDTA Branch in
Greenpoint, Brooklyn Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at Bushwick Inlet Park and McCarren Park; on the southeast by the Brooklyn� ...
. During episode 2 of the first season of ''
True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the s ...
'' the audience learns of
Rust Cohle Rustin Spencer "Rust" Cohle is a fictional character portrayed by Matthew McConaughey in the first season of the HBO's anthology television series ''True Detective''. He works as a homicide detective for the Louisiana State Police (LSP) alongs ...
's previous law enforcement history, including participation in the HIDTA program. HIDTA is also featured in crime writer Patricia Cornwell’s novel '' Black Notice''. A HIDTA squad is involved in the search for a brutal murderer.


References


External links

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Videos related to HIDTA
on C-SPAN {{authority control Illegal drug trade in the United States Drug Enforcement Administration