Why this Program Exists
Law enforcement finds it increasingly difficult to penetrate
drug crime organizations. Drug distribution gangs
are based more and more on familial and village associations,
and drug dealers often employ sophisticated communications
technologies including cloned cell phones
and e-mail. In response to this threat to our country,
Congress funded the Technology Transfer Program to help
state and local cops in their fight against narcotraffickers.
Through the Technology Transfer Program, CTAC provides
a wide range of overt and covert technologies�most
of which had their start at CTAC or in the inventories of
the FBI, DEA, DoD, Customs, and other U.S. agencies.
During the past 3 years, Congress has appropriated
$39,000,000, empowering CTAC to provide federally
developed advanced devices and systems to over 1300 of
America's 17,000 state and local law enforcement agencies.
These technologies allow cops to see through darkness,
detect money laundering, penetrate complex drug
trafficking conspiracies with digital wiretaps, communicate
across agency lines in real time despite incompatible
radios, track drug dealers via satellite, share drug crime
information among regional departments, and convert
shaky, apparently useless surveillance video into clear,
court-presentable evidence. Many arrests, indictments,
and convictions have already been credited to the technologies,
and officer safety has improved as a result of the
deployment of the Technology Transfer Program.
Cop Friendly
State and local law enforcement agencies are often surprised
at how easy it is for a qualified department to get
high tech help from this program. At our regional workshop
in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department's Deputy Chief Glen
Mowrey looked out at the representatives of more than
200 police agencies and said, "All of us in this room
understand the politics of local law enforcement budgeting.
For a chief or a sheriff to go before local elected leaders
and ask for more money to buy technologies instead of
to hire additional officers is quite difficult." So, CTAC's
Technology Transfer Program is NOT a grant program.
There is NO transfer of money. Instead, state and local
law enforcement agencies decide what they need and
apply for the available systems and devices that meet
those requirements. Applications are reviewed thoroughly
but quickly and so long as funds are available, technologies
are purchased and scheduled for delivery in coordination
with training. The Program's goal is to get the technologies deployed rapidly to help local and state
authorities do the most damage possible to drug criminals
and their organizations and to increase officer safety.
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| Photo from local TV news report of CTAC workshop |
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How to Apply
To be considered for the Technology Transfer Program, a
law enforcement agency must submit two documents: (1)
An official letter signed by top management (Sheriff,
Chief, District Attorney) and (2) the completed
Technology Transfer Program application. The letter must
(1) request participation in the Technology Transfer
Program, (2) choose up to three among the listed technologies,
and (3) agree to provide evaluation reports
assessing the impact of the received technology on the
department's drug enforcement efforts. The signed letter
of request must be mailed on your agency's letterhead to
the program's administrators:
Electronic Proving Ground
Counterdrug Office
Fort Huachuca, Arizona 85613-7110
In addition you may complete the Technology Transfer
Program application form on-line at the Web site
www.epgctac.com. Alternatively, you may request a catalog
of the technologies available, which includes a copy of
the form, by calling (877) 374-2822, Monday through
Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., ET.
HIDTA Preference
Preference is given to departments that are located in
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs) that can
demonstrate a need for advanced technology assistance.
Mandatory Training & Evaluation
Departments receiving the technologies commit to using
them and to evaluating them. Mandatory, scheduled training,
which includes travel, precedes the delivery of any of
the systems and devices, and there are follow-up evaluations
at 60, 180, and 270 days.
What's Available
A full list of the systems and devices currently available
from the Technology Transfer Program can be viewed on
the Web site www.epgctac.com, or a from a catalog detailing the
available technologies will be mailed upon request by calling
(877)-374-2822.
