Inside the DEA, DEA Programs, State & Local Task Forces

This cooperative effort between the DEA and local law enforcement agencies actually began in 1970, before the establishment of the DEA, with a pilot task force created in New York City by the former Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD). The first task force was comprised of investigators from major state and local regional agencies, primarily the New York City Police Department and the New York State Police, along with BNDD personnel.

A major factor contributing to the willingness of all three levels of government to develop mutual programs is a shared realization of the serious nature of the national drug problem. No single agency has, or ever will have, adequate resources to investigate all drug trafficking organizations or to identify and investigate the most significant members of these organizations.

The DEA State and Local Task Force Program provides a federal presence in sparsely populated areas where the DEA would not otherwise be represented. Combining federal leverage and the specialists available to the DEA with state and local officers' investigative talents and detailed knowledge of their jurisdiction leads to highly effective drug law enforcement investigations.

In 2002, the DEA State and Local Task Force Program consists of 207 state and local Task Forces, of which 153 are program funded and 54 are provisional. The difference between funded and provisional state and local task forces is that the financial support for funded task forces is provided by DEA headquarters and includes additional resources for state and local overtime. Provisional task forces are supported by the operating budgets of DEA field division offices, without resources from DEA headquarters, and do not include state and local overtime. These task forces are staffed by 1,172 DEA special agents and 1,916 state and local police officers. Participating state and local officers are deputized to perform the same functions as DEA special agents.