Office of National Drug Control Policy

Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Reform

The Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy promotes public safety by strengthening coordination among law enforcement professionals and supporting initiatives that work to break the cycle of drug use, crime, incarceration, and re-arrest.    

Facilitating Coordination among Law Enforcement: High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program (HIDTA)

Drug trafficking organizations and associated criminal groups pose a persistent and dangerous threat to communities across the United States.  Facilitating cooperation among Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies helps foster intelligence sharing and support the execution of effective enforcement operations aimed at dismantling these organizations.  Through the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, ONDCP brings together law enforcement agencies by providing support and resources to Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States.   

ONDCP’s 28 HIDTAs operate in approximately 16 percent of all counties in the United States and cover approximately 60 percent of the U.S. population.  The program currently funds 670 initiatives throughout the nation, including:

  • Enforcement initiatives comprising multi-agency investigative, interdiction, and prosecution activities;
  • Intelligence and information-sharing initiatives;
  • Support for programs that provide assistance beyond the core enforcement and intelligence and information-sharing initiatives; and
  • Drug use prevention and drug treatment initiatives.

Learn more about the HIDTA program

Reforming the Criminal Justice System

Decades of research have shown that drugs and crime are inextricably linked.  Data also show that over half of state and Federal inmates used drugs during the month preceding their offense and nearly one-third of state prisoners and one-quarter of Federal prisoners used drugs at the time of their offense.   This connection is why the Administration is dedicated to stopping the revolving door of the criminal and juvenile justice systems by addressing not only the offenders’ criminal activities, but, equally important, their underlying substance abuse problems.

Through the National Drug Control Strategy, ONDCP encourages the implementation of a wide array of evidence-based interventions to address the needs of the offender, while ensuring the safety of the community.   Learn more about ONDCP’s efforts to break the cycle of drug use and crime, alternatives to incarceration, drug and veteran courts, and support for those in-custody or reentering society after incarceration.

Learn more about ONDCP's work in:

Domestic Issues

ONDCP is also working to address synthetic drugs, such as Ecstasy, and reduce access to precursor chemicals.