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HIDTAs
High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Areas
The High Intensity
Drug Trafficking Areas program (HIDTA) was authorized by the Anti-Drug
Abuse Act of 1988 and is administered by the Office of National Drug Control
Policy. Since the original designation of five HIDTAs in 1990, the program
has expanded to 31 areas of the country, including five partnerships along
the southwest border. The DEA plays a very active role, and now has 282
special agent positions dedicated to the program. The 2000 HIDTA annual
budget is projected to be $186 million.
The HIDTA's mission
is to reduce drug trafficking in the most critical areas of the country,
thereby reducing its impact in other areas. This is accomplished by institutionalizing
teamwork among local, state, and federal efforts; synchronizing investments
in strategy-based systems; and focusing on outcomes.
To qualify
as a HIDTA an area must:
- Be a major center
of illegal drug production, manufacturing, importation, or distribution;
- Have state and
local law enforcement agencies already engaged;
- Have a harmful
impact on other areas of the country; and
- Require a significant
increase in federal resources.
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