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The DARPA Connection: Continuing a Proud Tradition
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A Report from Dr. Al Brandenstein

Super Sniffer Drug Dogs

By Land or By Sea or By Air

Carrying Out Congress' Command

Anti-Cocaine Medications

DENS: The Drug Evaluation Network System

Friends Under the Dome

Mission Accomplished: Advanced Technology Pursuit Boat

Technology Transfer Program's Impact

The DARPA Connection

The Technology Transfer Program: Applying for Advanced Counterdrug Technologies

A CTAC-FBI Partnership

VoiceBox Digital Wiretap

Unlocking Mysteries Deep in the Brain

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.

Dr. Brandenstein listens in Burlington, Iowa.
Sheriff Connolly on patrol with GPS in hand.

Dr. Brandenstein and Brownsville, Texas, Police Chief Ben Reyna with Thermal Imager at CTAC-sponsored training session in Phoenix, Arizona.








Last Updated: August 29, 2002



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