In February of 1997, Iowa became one of the five Midwest states (Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, South Dakota) to form the new methamphetamine specific Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). In 1999, North Dakota became the sixth state to join the Midwest HIDTA which now has a total budget of $11.9 million. Iowa receives approximately $1.2 million of the $11.9 million for its enforcement initiative. HIDTA funding has allowed the Division of Narcotics Enforcement to increase staff to five Special Agents, two word processors, and the purchase of one clandestine laboratory emergency response vehicle. The Division of Criminal Investigation also receiving funding for the purchase of new laboratory equipment, which was needed to keep pace with the large number of methamphetamine cases being submitted to the State Laboratory.
The Midwest HIDTA promotes a comprehensive, cooperative strategy by law enforcement at the Federal, State, and Local level to meet the problem of methamphetamine head on.
The following agencies were recipients of the HIDTA funds for the hiring of additional manpower and overtime compensation:
United States Attorney's Office - Des Moines and Cedar Rapids
Department of Public Safety Intelligence
Division of Criminal Investigation's crime laboratory
Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office
Des Moines Police Department
Polk County Sheriff's Office
Sioux City Police Department
Federal Drug Enforcement Administration
Marshall County Sheriff's Office
Muscatine County Sheriff's Office
Muscatine Police Department
Tri-State Task Force
Since the HIDTA concept was initiated by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in 1988, 31 regional designations, including the Midwest HIDTA, have been made. The designations recognize the regions as having the most critical drug trafficking problems that adversely impact the nation as a whole, and then attempt to focus anti drug resources in a coordinated fashion.
Iowa's HIDTA enforcement initiative is to measurably reduce the amount of methamphetamine distributed in the state of Iowa by a coordinated effort against importation and distribution organizations, as well as against manufacturers of methamphetamine within the state. Close coordination will be undertaken with other Midwest HIDTA states and appropriate source area agencies to assure that investigations are developed to target and dismantle source organizations at the highest level wherever they are located.
The Midwest HIDTA's Board of Directors is composed of municipal, state, and federal representatives from each of the five states and meetings are held approximately every two months. Director of the Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Kevin Frampton, currently serves as Chair of the Fiscal Planning Committee and Vice Chair on the Midwest HIDTA Executive Board.
Midwest HIDTA