News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2002

DEA DIRECTOR HUTCHINSON
ANNOUNCES INCREASED PRESENCE IN ARKANSAS

To better meet drug enforcement needs of the citizens of Arkansas, DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson today announced approval for two important upgrades DEA had recommended to Congress earlier this year. The first is an upgrade of the Little Rock, Arkansas office, which will bring an Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) to the office for the first time. The second will put an agent dedicated to reducing the demand for drugs by working at the grass roots level with the community in Arkansas.

"These new positions show the DEA's double-barreled commitment to solving the drug problem: drug education, prevention, and treatment are just as important as enforcement. Today, we have invested in a drug-free future for all Arkansans," said Administrator Hutchinson.

DEA's Little Rock office has historically been run by a Resident Agent in Charge (RAC), who along with the RAC in Fayetteville, previously reported to the New Orleans Division Office. Arkansas will now have one special agent to supervise and coordinate all of DEA's operations in the state.

The two-pronged approach will combine the higher level of management described above with the addition of an agent dedicated solely to bringing law enforcement together with prevention, education, and treatment in a balanced approach, based on neighborhood solutions to the global drug problem.