Office of National Drug Control Policy

HIDTA Initiatives

Domestic Highway Enforcement

The Domestic Highway Enforcement (DHE) Strategy promotes collaborative, intelligence-led, unbiased policing in coordinated and mutually supportive multi-jurisdictional law enforcement efforts on the Nation’s highways.  The DHE strategy both improves the investigative efforts of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) in attacking drug trafficking organizations and has significant impact on traffic safety, homeland security, and other crimes.

Goals:

  • To enhance investigations leading to the disruption and dismantlement of the drug trafficking and money laundering organizations that use the Nation’s highways as a means of transporting illegal drugs, currency, and other contraband and illicit commodities from one location to another
  • To cultivate and share intelligence information pertaining to individuals and organizations who use the Nation’s highways as a means of transporting illegal drugs, currency, and other illicit commodities or create other threats and hazards on those highways
  • To promote shared operational planning, intelligence, and coordination among Federal, state, and local law enforcement to improve their ability to effectively address all crimes, threats, and hazards relating to our Nation’s highways

Given the wide footprint of the HIDTA program, a coordinated nationwide highway enforcement strategy contributes significantly to reducing criminal activity and enhancing public safety on the Nation’s major transportation corridors.  Such an approach builds on the strengths of both the HIDTA program and state and local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) which have historically provided resources to ensure the Nation’s highways are safe for citizens and not used for illegal activities, such as drug trafficking. 

The DHE strategy has been implemented within nine designated DHE regions.  These regions are designated by ONDCP in consultation with HIDTA directors. The DHE Regional Coordinators are currently the HIDTA directors in the following HIDTAs:

  • Region 1 – Southwest Border HIDTA - South Texas Region
  • Region 2 – Northwest HIDTA
  • Region 3 – Rocky Mountain HIDTA
  • Region 4 – Midwest HIDTA
  • Region 5 – Chicago HIDTA
  • Region 6 – Michigan HIDTA
  • Region 7 – New England HIDTA
  • Region 8 – Philadelphia/Camden HIDTA
  • Region 9 – Atlanta HIDTA

National Methamphetamine & Pharmaceuticals Initiative

The National Methamphetamine & Pharmaceuticals Initiative (NMPI) is a national High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program initiative funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) through the Southwest Border HIDTA California Region. The NMPI is a national strategy, intelligence sharing, and training initiative addressing methamphetamine and pharmaceutical drug crimes in the United States.

The mission of NMPI is to reduce the availability of methamphetamine and its precursor chemicals throughout the United States. NMPI also seeks to reduce pharmaceutical drug crimes by utilizing best practices for investigations and intelligence collection and analysis.

The NMPI has a National Advisory Board consisting of four Federal and six state and local representatives from various regions of the United States.

2011 NMPI Strategic Priorities:

  • Methamphetamine precursor control (pseudoephedrine);
  • Effective pharmaceutical drug monitoring programs;
  • Training to Federal, state, local, and tribal personnel on methamphetamine and pharmaceutical drug crimes, trends, drug-endangered children, and best practice solutions; and
  • Enhance parcel interdiction and investigations.

Prevention

While the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program’s primary mission is to dismantle and disrupt drug trafficking organizations, expanding prevention efforts offers HIDTAs the ability to address the drug threat in a community in a more balanced fashion. 

As recently as 2010, only four HIDTAs used base funding for prevention initiatives.  Currently, 20 HIDTAs, including all 5 Southwest Border Regions, fund prevention activities.

Examples of HIDTA Prevention Initiatives

  • The Southwest Border HIDTA - California Region works closely with more than a dozen other organizations on prevention initiatives, including drug courts, youth service organizations, and a U.S. Border Patrol program that educates children about drug use.  One of the primary coalitions, California for Drug Free Youth, Inc, is a Drug Free Community Support Program (DFC) grantee and is co-located with the HIDTA.
     
  • Working together, the Oregon HIDTA and Oregon Partnership, a Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grantee, provide resources to law enforcement officers to educate youth on the “faces” of addiction, the dangers of substance abuse, and the risks associated with use that can lead to youth violence and criminal street gangs.