Drug Enforcement: Assistance to State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies in High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas

GAO discussed the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program. GAO noted that, in response to previous GAO recommendations concerning the need to promote collaborative federal, state, and local planning in the five HIDTA and to establish a system for assessing program performance, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP): (1) issued guidance to HIDTA to designate area coordinators to conduct all necessary coordination and consultation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials; (2) established local HIDTA steering committees with state and local law enforcement agency representatives to foster their participation in HIDTA planning and policy making decisions; and (3) required that 1992 funding proposals include a narrative of grantee plans and that HIDTA report semiannually as to benefits and program accomplishments. GAO also noted that: (1) according to most states, problems resulting from delays in disbursement of federal funds have been resolved; (2) ONDCP did not see anything wrong with the New York HIDTA requirement that state and local agencies accept a matching funds arrangement as a condition for receiving federal funds under the HIDTA Program; (3) ONDCP has not systematically collected any data on the HIDTA Program; and (4) the Office of Management and Budget eliminated continued funding for the state and local part of the HIDTA Program for fiscal year 1993.