Volume 4, Issue 4	NDPIX  NEWS	October 2003

The NDPIX Unit hosted a conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration Headquarters, Arlington Virginia on August 26, 2003 to discuss future strategies for promoting the NDPIX to state and local law enforcement agencies. Attendees included DEA Assistant Special Agents in Charge/NDPIX Points of Contact and DEA Intelligence Analysts. Representatives of the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) and the Maryland State Police (MSP) were invited to speak on their state perspectives on NDPIX: 1) MSHP as an NDPIX supporter since its inception in 1997; and 2) MSP as a participant in NDPIX since March 2002. The MSHP representatives stated that they were pleased with NDPIX and described how it had enhanced many of their investigations. The MSP representatives stated that they are still learning to use NDPIX and are working on familiarizing MSP officers on the use of NDPIX as an investigative tool.

Judith E. Bertini, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Intelligence, Office of Policy and Management, welcomed the group and introduced the incoming NDPIX Unit Chief, Special Agent Peter Orosz. Mrs. Bertini then presented an overview of NDPIX.

Mrs. Bertini also briefed on the status of the National Virtual Pointer System (NVPS), a concept developed by the DEA, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), and Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) that will link existing target deconfliction pointer databases to create a nationwide pointer system. The NDPIX will be linked to the RISS and HIDTA target deconfliction pointer databases.

The conference was well received by attendees. Representatives of both the MSHP and the MSP stated that they look forward to the completion of NVPS and that they believed that NVPS is the wave of the future for the sharing of information among federal, state, and local agencies.

During the conference discussions, several recommendations were put forth and adopted by the attendees. These recommendations, and follow-up actions taken by the NDPIX staff are:

1. Include the DEA Case Number in NDPIX Response Notifications.

NDPIX will provide a case number to all participants. All Hits and Notifications messages will include case numbers. For example: If MSHP receives a hit notification with DEA, the message to MSHP will include the appropriate DEA Case Number; and DEA's notification message will include MSHP's case number.

2. Modify NDPIX to reject duplicate entries upon their receipt.

NDPIX has been modified to reject duplicate entries. Duplicates are records that match on Name (including Alias or Moniker), DOB, Case Number, and Agent Name (POC). An NDPIX message will be generated notifying users of duplicate records. However, any record currently in NDPIX, if updated, will receive a hit on its notification until it is purged. This cleanup process should take about 6 months.

3. Extend the NDPIX 180 Day Purge Cycle

The NDPIX staff is currently researching the 180 Day Purge Cycle. This modification will extend the purge cycle to 360 days. The modification is expected to be completed in calendar year 2004.

NDPIX Training

On request, the NDPIX staff provides training and briefings on NDPIX to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Previous training was provided to: DEA field offices, Tennessee Information Enforcement System Conference, Georgia Annual Information Conference, Basic Intelligence Research Specialist Class, Federal Law Enforcement Analyst Training, and Drug Unit Commanders Academy.

Training sessions and materials are tailored for each agency. Please contact the NDPIX staff at (202) 307-8430 or 1-800-276-5558 for additional information or to schedule a training session for your agency.

Update on NVPS

DEA has entered into a partnership with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and the Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) on the development of the National Virtual Pointer System (NVPS). NVPS will cover all crimes and enable the tracking of targets across all crime categories.

NVPS, the linkage of NDPIX with HIDTA and RISS, will provide a truly national target deconfliction pointer system. For NDPIX users, this will increase the number of match notifications that can result from targets entered into NDPIX.

The Technical Working Group (TWG) met in early October 2003, in Nashville, Tennessee to prepare a draft design implementation document for the first phase of the NVPS Pilot project. The document will be submitted to the NVPS Project Steering Committee for review and approval.

Once approved, the pilot project will link NDPIX, the Midwest HIDTA in Kansas City, Missouri, the South Florida HIDTA in Miami, Florida, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and RISS. NDPIX participants will be kept abreast of the status of this initiative through the NDPIX Newsletter and NLETS bulletins.

The TWG will monitor the performance of the pilot project, recommend system adjustments, and proceed to the next phase with the approval of the Project Steering Committee.

STATES WITH CONNECTIVITY TO NDPIX