Much of the technology we are applying today to counterdrug
police work�including smuggling prevention and detection�flows
from previously classified military initiatives, some of which I
helped along as an Office Director of the Defense Department's
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
At DARPA, we never lost sight of the fact that everything we did
had to translate into more missions accomplished and more lives
saved. A similar philosophy guides CTAC's research: Help doctors
prevent and treat abuse, help cops make more high-quality arrests,
and improve officer safety by boldly pursuing new scientific ideas
and adaptations which hold the promise of breakthrough in our
wide ranging struggle against every aspect of the drug problem.
Learning more about law enforcement's requirements has stimulated
fresh, new thinking as well as innovative applications of existing
national security technology. Some of our systems literally reach
for the sky to enhance police capabilities. Sheriff Jim Connolly of
rural Fillmore County, Minnesota, made history by being the first
cop to use handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) units to
obtain a narcotics search warrant. The search yielded almost a
hundred pounds of marijuana and three felony arrests�no small
matter in his rural community. Sheriff Connolly's real-world testing
of the counterdrug enforcement value of miniaturized GPS (another
DARPA development) by a small, widely dispersed, local law
enforcement agency, is a reflection of our strongly held view that
CTAC functions best when we listen and learn from the professional
in the streets. And in American law enforcement today, the word
"streets" takes on many different meanings�and requirements�depending on the kind of community, the terrain, and number of officers available to confront drug crime challenges.
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| Dr. Brandenstein listens in Burlington, Iowa. |
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Sheriff Connolly
on patrol with GPS in hand.
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Dr. Brandenstein and Brownsville, Texas, Police Chief Ben Reyna with Thermal Imager at CTAC-sponsored training session in Phoenix, Arizona.
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