HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.
![handle is hein.crs/govesqx0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
nforming ii
Updated March 4, 2025
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program
Administered by the White House's Office of National
Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the HIDTA program
provides assistance to law enforcement agencies-at the
federal, state, local, and tribal levels-that are operating in
regions of the United States that have been deemed as
critical drug trafficking regions. The 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 as
determined by each region. These range from multiagency
enforcement initiatives involving investigation, interdiction,
and prosecution to drug use prevention and treatment
initiatives. Congress initially created the HIDTA program
through the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-690). It
was permanently authorized through the Office of National
Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 (P.L.
109-469).
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. Four main criteria are considered when
designating an area as an HIDTA (see 21 U.S.C. §1706):
the extent to which [1] the area is a significant
center of illegal drug production, manufacturing,
importation, or distribution; [2] 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; [3] drug-
related activities in the area are having a significant
harmful impact in the area, and in other areas of the
country; and [4] a significant increase in allocation
of Federal resources is necessary to respond
adequately to drug related activities in the area.
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 are currently 33 designated HIDTAs in the United
States and its territories, and of the 100 most populous
metropolitan areas in the United States, 99 are included in
areas designated as HIDTAs.
H1DTA 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 nonfederal representatives.
Additional nonvoting members from nonparticipating
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 address specific 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.
HIDTA Funding
Funding for the HIDTA program is provided by a direct
appropriation to the HIDTA subaccount under the ONDCP
account. For FY2024, Congress provided nearly $298.6
million for the HIDTA program through the Further
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-47). 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 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.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govesqx0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)