Drug Control

The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program run by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) coordinates federal, state, and local efforts to combat drug trafficking in critical areas of the United States. ONDCP requires each high intensity drug trafficking area to (1) assess drug threats within its geographic area, (2) prepare strategies and initiatives to address these threats, (3) develop a proposed budget to accomplish its initiatives, and (4) prepare an annual report on its accomplishments. Each high intensity drug trafficking area is allowed to tailor its own program to address local needs. For example, one area has a substantially greater treatment and prevention component than the others because it is a major distribution center with a large number of hard-core drug abusers. The program has grown substantially since its inception, from the original five areas in 1990 to 20 in 1998. The number of headquarters staff overseeing the program has also grown--from one in 1991 to six today. ONDCP has made some progress in developing approaches to evaluate the program's effectiveness, but more work remains. Total budget authority for the program rose from $25 million in 1990 to about $162 million in 1998. Headquarters officials and three area directors said that the program has underscored the value of collocation and intelligence-sharing among federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

GAO noted that: (1) ONDCP has implemented the HIDTA program within a general framework that requires each HIDTA to: (a) assess drug threats within its geographic area; (b) prepare strategies and initiatives to address these threats; (c) develop a proposed budget to accomplish its initiatives; and (d) prepare an annual report that details its accomplishments; (2) ONDCP is to conduct program and financial reviews to oversee HIDTA operations and assess compliance with HIDTA policy and financial guidance; (3) the HIDTA program has grown substantially since its inception, from the original 5 HIDTAs in 1990 to 20 in 1998; (4) over the same period, the number of headquarters staff operating the program grew from one in 1991 to six currently; (5) according to ONDCP, one effect of the expansion was the creation in 1996 of HIDTA Assistance Center (HAC); (6) the number of HAC staff is currently 18; (7) in GAO's 1993 report on ONDCP operations, GAO recommended that Congress direct ONDCP to develop better performance measures with which to evaluate program results; (8) in reauthorizing ONDCP in 1994, Congress directed ONDCP to perform annual evaluations of the effectiveness of federal drug control; (9) ONDCP first published information on the performance measurement system it developed in March 1998; (10) this system was designed to assess the effectiveness of the National Drug Control Strategy, including the HIDTA program; (11) ONDCP and HIDTA officials told GAO that baseline data are lacking, making it difficult for ONDCP and the individual HIDTAs to measure program impact; (12) ONDCP contracted with two consulting firms to develop performance measures for the HIDTA program for which there would be baseline data; (13) total budget authority for the HIDTA program grew from $25 million for fiscal year (FY) 1990 to about $162 million for FY 1998; (14) over the years, Congress has imposed funding requirements on the program; (15) ONDCP has complied with these requirements for the 3 years GAO reviewed; (16) headquarters officials and the three HIDTA directors said that the value of collocation and the value of intelligence-sharing among federal, state, and local law enforcement officials are the key lessons learned from the HIDTA experience; (17) the objective of these systems is to prevent officers from unknowingly conducting undercover transactions against other officers; and (18) this objective is to be accomplished through the computerized sharing of information from HIDTA law enforcement officers concerning their undercover operations.