New York/New Jersey HIDTA
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Year of Designation: 1990 |
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Geographic Area of Responsibility: |
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New York: |
New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties |
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New Jersey: |
Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, and Union Counties |
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Contact: |
(646) 805-6105 |
Mission Statement:
The mission of the NY/NJ HIDTA is to reduce domestic drug trafficking and measurably reduce illegal drug use and crime by enhancing and coordinating drug trafficking control efforts. Recognizing that there is no single, effective solution, the NY/NJ HIDTA seeks to accomplish its mission through collaborative, measurable initiatives including information sharing, intelligence driven enforcement, training and prevention.
Threat Abstract:
Crime in New York City has decreased dramatically over the last six years and is now at its lowest level in over 35 years. According to the FBI Index statistics, New York City has been the safest large city in America since 1995. Despite law enforcement's tremendous accomplishments, communities in the New York metropolitan area are still plagued by illegal drugs and related crime. The NY/NJ HIDTA region remains one of the nation's major marketplaces and gateways for narcotics trafficking for several reasons:
New York City presents an ideal location for the importation of drugs from around the world. With 20 million people from more than 100 different countries living in the area, millions of people and packages travel through New York City every day. Over 20 million international passengers and over 100 million tons of freight pass through the region's three major airports, JFK, Newark and LaGuardia each year.
Numerous other transportation hubs are located throughout the area: several domestic airports, the railroad complexes of Grand Central and Pennsylvania Stations, and hundreds of miles of subway tracks. The New York metropolitan area also has an extensive waterfront and various points-of- entry for shipping cargo of every size and type and a complex network of highways and bridges which bring over one billion people into New York City each year. Each of these transportation avenues serves as a potential entry point for illegal drugs.
New York City, particularly the Washington Heights section of northern Manhattan, is the primary distribution center for retail and wholesale cocaine and heroin throughout the Northeast and is a significant point of distribution for locations across North America. A significant portion of the heroin seized in the United States is seized in or destined for New York City. In addition, a significant portion of the cocaine imported into the United States comes to or through New York City.
Cocaine, both powdered and crack, poses the most serious drug threat to the New York/New Jersey HIDTA region. It is readily available, frequently abused, and more often associated with violent crime than any other illicit drug. Heroin, primarily South American, poses the second most serious threat to the region because of the negative health effects and its emergence and spread within a new, younger abuser population. Marijuana's ubiquitous presence and acceptance by many segments of society distinguish it as a constant threat. The dramatic increase in the availability and abuse of Other Dangerous Drugs (ODDs), particularly MDMA (Ecstasy), mark these substances as the next greatest cause for concern. Methamphetamine is not, as yet, a serious threat to the region, although the level of abuse may be gradually increasing.
Strategy Abstract:
The NY/NJ HIDTA is led by an Executive Board consisting of 18 federal, state and local law enforcement leaders in the New York metropolitan area. Their leadership enhances the integration and synchronization of efforts to reduce drug trafficking, while eliminating unnecessary duplication of effort, systematically improving the sharing of drug intelligence, and supporting programs that effectively reduce the demand for illegal drugs. The
Strategy is implemented by the following initiatives:
| Intelligence |
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The Regional Intelligence Center |
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HIDTANET (technology) |
| Enforcement |
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El Dorado Task Force |
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Regional Fugitive Task Force |
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New Jersey Drug Trafficking Organization Task Force |
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New York OCDETF Strike Force |
| Support |
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Regional Training Center |
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Support Services |
| Prevention (non-HIDTA funded) |
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Citywide Armory Project |
Investigative Support Center:
The Regional Intelligence Center (�RIC�) consists of approximately 600 representatives from all the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in the New York metropolitan area. The RIC is the central conduit for information sharing among the numerous law enforcement agencies in the region. The RIC is organized into five sections and three satellite intelligence centers:
Watch Section: The Watch Section provides law enforcement with immediate access -�one-stop shopping�- to a wide range of law enforcement and commercial databases, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. RIC analysts have access to virtually all of the law enforcement and commercial computer records. Inquiries can be run on, among other things, persons, vehicles, businesses, addresses, and telephone numbers. Each Watch query becomes a permanent record in the Information Data System (IDS) which serves as a pointer- index for all requestors of the Watch.
Borough Intelligence Section: The Borough Intelligence Section consists of investigators from the NYPD, divided geographically into eight Borough Intelligence Teams (�BITs�) throughout New York City. The mission of the BITs is to provide a comprehensive, integrated picture of crime block-by-block, precinct- by-precinct throughout New York City. Each BIT consists of one Field Intelligence Officer (�FIO�) for every precinct in that BIT's geographic area of responsibility. The BITs have access to all intelligence reports within the NYPD and their Task Forces and are responsible for providing a timely and complete criminal intelligence picture in order to effectively drive enforcement decisions.
El Dorado Money Laundering Intelligence Section (HIFCA): The Money Laundering Intelligence Section, led by ICE and IRS, is also known as the HIFCA Section (High Intensity Financial Crimes Area). The HIFCA Section is responsible for providing a comprehensive, integrated intelligence picture of drug related money laundering in the New York metropolitan area to the HIDTA El Dorado Task Force.
The Firearms Section (Regional Crime Gun Center): The Gun Center, led by ATF, is the central location for all criminal and regulatory firearm information. The Gun Center gathers and consolidates all aspects of intelligence on illegal firearms use and trafficking and makes that information available to law enforcement 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Priority Targeting Section (PTS): The Priority Targeting Section consists of investigators and analysts, and is responsible for providing a comprehensive, integrated intelligence picture of the most significant drug trafficking and other violent organizations in the New York metropolitan area. They provide case support, threat assessments, strategic reports and organizational studies to Investigators. The Priority Targeting Section also cultivates informants and cooperating witnesses and generates investigations. Once developed, these cases are referred to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for further investigation.
Satellite Intelligence Centers:
Westchester Intelligence Center New Jersey Intelligence Center Nassau County Intelligence Center Suffolk County Intelligence Center Upstate NY Regional Intelligence Center Rockland County Intelligence Center (non- HIDTA funded)
Participating Agencies:
Federal
Army National Guard, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Department of Criminal Investigative Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Reserve Bank, FinCEN, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, United States Attorney's Offices, United States Coast Guard, United States Department of Defense/Joint Task Force-6, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development/Office of the Inspector General, United States Department of State, United States Marshals Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Probation, and United States Secret Service.
State
New York: New York National Guard, New York State Banking Department, New York State Commission of Investigation, New York State Department of Corrections, New York State Department of Health and Human Services, New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, New York State Division of Parole, New York State Police, and Waterfront Commission.
New Jersey : New Jersey Attorney General's Office, New Jersey Department of Corrections, New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey Division of Parole, New Jersey National Guard, and New Jersey State Police.
Local
New York: Bronx County District Attorney's Office, Clarkstown Police Department, Kings County District Attorney's Office, Mt. Vernon Police Department, Nassau County District Attorney's Office, Nassau County Police Department, New York City Criminal Justice Coordinator's Office, New York City Department of Correction, New York City Department of Investigation, New York City Police Department, New York County District Attorney's Office, Ocean County Sheriff's Department, Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for New York City, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Queens County District Attorney's Office, Ramapo Police Department, Richmond County District Attorney's Office, Rockland County District Attorney's Office, Rockland County Sheriff's Department, Stony Point Police Department, Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County Probation Department, Suffolk County Sheriff's Department, Westchester County Department of Corrections, Westchester County Department of Public Safety, and Westchester County District Attorney's Office.
New Jersey: Bayonne Police Department, Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, Camden County Sheriff's Department, East Brunswick Police Department, East Orange Police Department, Elizabeth Police Department, Essex County Prosecutor's Office, Essex County Sheriff's Office, Fort Lee Police Department, Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, Mercer County Sheriff's Department, Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Newark Police Department, Passaic County Prosecutor's Office, Passaic County Sheriff's Department, and Trenton Police Department, Union City Police Department, Union County Prosecutor's Office, and Union County Sheriff's Office.
Significant Achievements:
