A map showing the counties in the federally designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas for the year 2013. Chautauqua County, NY was added to the list in September 2014.
WASHINGTON – The recent increase in heroin use and other drug trafficking in the area has resulted in the federal government designating Chautauqua County as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
According to Sen. Charles schumer, the designation will allow local law enforcement to receive federal funding to further the coordination and development of drug control efforts. It also will allow local agencies to benefit from ongoing HIDTA coordinated initiatives working to reduce drug use and its criminal and health consequences.
Chautauqua County would be included within the New York / New Jersey area, which also currently includes the Buffalo region, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and New York City, among other counties in the northern part of the state.
At the local level, the HIDTAs are directed and guided by Executive Boards composed of an equal number of regional Federal and non-Federal law enforcement leaders. Both the Chautauqua County Sheriff and the police chiefs of the local police departments in the county would serve on the board.
There are currently 28 HIDTAs throughout the country with more an estimated 16 percent of all counties in the United States being part of the areas. According to the HIDTA website, 60 percent of the U.S. population is located within HIDTA.
More information about the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas programs – including a map of all counties that are currently in the program – can be found online at www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/high-intensity-drug-trafficking-areas-program.
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