High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program of NY/NJ
Leslie
K. Penny
Module
4 Research Assignment 3
Chancellor
University
Abstract
The High intensity Drug
Trafficking Areas program, with the assistance of ONDCP, helps to bring
together law enforcement agencies using support and resources to Federal,
state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies that operate in areas that
have been recognized as critical drug-trafficking regions of the U.S. (Law
Enforcement and Criminal Justice Reform, 2013). One region in particular that will be
discussed in this essay is the New York/New Jersey region.
High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program of NY/NJ
As we continue our war on drugs, the ever changing mechanics
must be seen to. With each new President
over the years the tactics in this war have been altered and tweaked to meet
the demands of this ever pressing threat.
Our current Presidential administration has put forth commitment in
"restoring balance to U.S. drug-control efforts by coordinating an
unprecedented government-wide health and public safety approach to reduce drug
use and its consequences" (About ONDCP, 2013). As part of this reform, the High intensity
Drug Trafficking Areas programs, with the assistance of ONDCP, helps to bring
together law enforcement agencies using support and resources to Federal,
state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies that operate in areas that
have been recognized as critical drug-trafficking regions of the U.S. (Law
Enforcement and Criminal Justice Reform, 2013). One region in particular that will be
discussed in this essay is the New York/New Jersey region.
According to the New York/New Jersey HIDTA, their mission
"is to measurably reduce illegal drug use and the harm it causes" and
"seeks to accomplish its mission through collaborative, measurable
initiatives ranging from enforcement and prosecution to prevention" (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA). The closest HIDTA is actually about 35
minutes from my location which is based in Buffalo and covers Erie County, NY (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007). Other counties covered in my state of NY are
Monroe, Onondaga, Albany, Suffolk, Kings, Bronx, New York, Queens, Richmond,
Nassau and it also includes upper counties of New Jersey (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007).
The most recent New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis was conducted in June of 2007 and was
"prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting,
information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health
officials, and available statistical data" (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
The report is put together to give policymakers, resource planners, and
law enforcement officials "a focused discussion of key drug issues and
development facing the NY/NJ HIDTA (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
According to the assessment in regards to strategic drug
threat developments, major drug trafficking sources are Mexican drug
trafficking organizations (DTO's), Canada based DTO's, the Syracuse and Alban
regions, street gang involvement, and South America (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007). Mexican DTO's are taking advantage of the decline
of Colombian DTO's in this region by transporting in a larger percentage of the
cocaine and heroin that is readily available in this HIDTA region (NY/NY) (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007). Because of Columbia's decline in the market,
Mexican DTO's have increased their distribution of higher-purity crystal
methamphetamine as well bringing in
larger volumes of drugs that are transported overland mainly from the Southwest
Border, decreasing their influx of drugs that are transported to the HIDTA
region of Florida (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
Due to New York's proximity to Canada, the ever present
threat from the northern border rears its ugly face in the form of Marijuana (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007). In previous years, hydroponic marijuana loads
used to weigh several hundred pounds which were easily transported via private
vehicles but now Canada-based DTO's have greatly increased the size of these
loads and now need commercial vehicles to get the goods to their destination (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007). This influx indicates that "DTO's in
eastern Canada are expanding to more markets in the U.S. (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007).
Another major transshipment point for hydroponic Marijuana
that's being smuggled in from Canada through the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation
are the cities of Syracuse and Albany (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
In this area, we are getting into Dominican traffickers who drive from
New York City to meet with Native American drug smugglers to make the purchase
of marijuana under the cover of the Reservation (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
And to think, if Marijuana becomes legal in the state of New York, that
little business will be done. As of this
May, Senator Liz Krueger has announced her initiative to file legislation in
New York to legalize the recreational use, possession, private cultivation and
state-licensed sales of marijuana (Green, 2013). Time will tell on that matter.
Another threat for this area are street gangs. Street gangs contribute to the increase of
the retail-level distribution of cocaine and heroin which leads to increased
violence (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
The effects of this increase is seen particularly in the Upstate New
York HIDTA counties including a major city very near to this writer, Buffalo (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007). Due to the noticeable increase of violence
just over the past few years, one can imagine how much more severe violence
will be in the future.
On a good note, the analysis explains that the
predominant type of heroin available in the HDTA region, the purity of South
American heroin, has decreased slightly (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
Now Newark, who previously led the country in South American heroin, has
trailed behind Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York City which shows a
decrease since 2003 (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
However, even with a decrease, South American heroin poses an ever
present threat to the HIDTA region in regards to increasing abuse, the
increasing spread of abuse from
lower-income neighborhoods to middle- and upper-income neighborhoods (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007). The reason for this increase is unknown at
this time, which could have a lot to do with the "fact that heroin is now
commonly snorted, and the stigma of injecting the drug is less frequently
associated with its abuse" (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
The NY/NJ HIDTA region's drug threat overview represents
a "national distribution center for illicit drugs, principally cocaine,
heroin, and marijuana" (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
These drugs are brought into the area via air, land, and sea by the ton
from drug source and transit countries including Canada, Columbia, the
Dominican Republic and Mexico, not to mention other domestic locations:
Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Southwest (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
After the drugs have made it into this region, they are generally broken
down into smaller units for mass distribution to cities throughout the
Northwest, Southwest, and Midwest (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
The highest threat to the NY HIDTA region is cocaine
while heroin represents the greatest threat to the New Jersey section (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007). Because cocaine is
becoming the main source of income for many violent street gangs, crack cocaine
distribution continues to show an increasing threat to the state of New York (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007). Whereas heroin abuse is growing in the youth
population spreading rapidly which contributes to the far exceeding amount of
"heroin-related admissions to publicly funded treatment facilities in the
region (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
Another contender are Jamaican DTO's who "are the
most prominent marijuana distributors in the New York City metropolitan
area" by getting their hands on Mexican marijuana from Mexican suppliers
at the Southwest Border and then transporting the drugs to this region (New York/New
Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis, 2007). Ethnic Chinese DTO's are also major smugglers
of Southeast Asian heroin that they bring into the region using cargo
containers and couriers on commercial aircrafts (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
According to the analysis, the outlook for Mexican DTO's
is that their influence will continue to increase in the coming years in the
NY/NJ HIDTA (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
The outlook is the same for New York-based DTO's and gangs drug markets
located in the upstate HIDTA counties (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug
Market Analysis, 2007).
Heroin abuse is also looking to be on the increase in the coming years
in this region (New York/New Jersey HIDTA Drug Market Analysis,
2007).
To conclude, as
with any illegal enterprise, if the demand for illegal drugs is present, then
the distribution process will maintain its ferocity. This writer feels that as long as drugs
remain illegal, the future outlook in the New York area does not look
comforting. Even with programs in place
like the HIDTA. As long as the funds are
there for these programs, those involved will continue the good fight, but this
writer does not see an end on the war against drugs in her lifetime.
Works Cited
About ONDCP.
(2013). Retrieved July 27, 2013, from Office of National Drug Control Policy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/about
Green, J. (2013, 05
20). Legislation Announced to Legalize Marijuana in New York. Retrieved
07 27, 2013, from The Weed Blog:
http://www.theweedblog.com/legislation-announced-to-legalize-marijuana-in-new-york/
Law Enforcement and
Criminal Justice Reform. (2013).
Retrieved 07 27, 203, from Office of National Drug Control Policy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/law-enforcement-and-criminal-justice-reform
New York/New Jersey
HIDTA. (n.d.). Retrieved 07 27,
2013, from HIDTA Office of National Drug Control Policy: https://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/enforce/hidta2001/ny-nj-fs.html
New York/New Jersey
HIDTA Drug Market Analysis. (2007,
06). Retrieved 07 27, 2013, from U.S. Department of Justice:
http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs23/23502/23502p.pdf
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