DEPARTMENT: Police
DEPARTMENT HEAD: William P. McManus, Chief of Police
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Office of National Drug Control Policy; 2021 HIDTA Grant Submission and Application
SUMMARY:
An ordinance authorizing the submission of a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) grant application and acceptance of funds upon award in an amount up to $2,173,086.00 from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) for the period of January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022. This action also authorizes the acceptance of additional grant funds up to 20% of the grant and authorizes a budget and personnel complement of 17 positions which are currently funded with HIDTA funds.
This grant was presented to Public Safety Committee on March 24, 2021, and the Committee recommended the item for City Council approval.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Fiscal Year 2021 is the 28th year the City of San Antonio Police Department has been awarded this grant.
The HIDTA mission is to reduce drug trafficking in the San Antonio metropolitan area by instituting innovative narcotic enforcement investigations and the seizure of illegally obtained assets to reduce the profitability of narcotics trafficking.
The San Antonio HIDTA Initiative consists of eight segments:
1. San Antonio Police Department HIDTA Task Force
2. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) HIDTA Task Force
3. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) HIDTA Task Force
4. South Texas HIDTA Intelligence Center
5. HIDTA Information Technology Initiative
6. HIDTA Support Services Initiative
7. HIDTA Financial Crimes Initiative
8. Director's Administrative Support Office
The San Antonio HIDTA Initiative, DEA Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigations multi-agency task force perform drug interdiction operations designed to enhance the Police Department's narcotics enforcement efforts. This program allows the unit to use task force concepts which provides the capability to cross jurisdictional boundaries by employing law enforcement officers from local, state, and federal levels. The program targets narcotics organizations by focusing on the middle to upper level traffickers and investigates the distribution of narcotics and related enterprises. Members of this unit are trained to investigate money laundering, asset structuring, financial auditing, and to apply surveillance techniques necessary to develop intelligence and make arrests.
The South Texas HIDTA Intelligence Center and Information Technology Initiative have a two-fold responsibility. The center will respond to inquiries from San Antonio and surrounding counties' criminal justice agencies by providing timely intelligence reports gathered from databases of the respective member agencies. Secondly, the center will act as a de-confliction unit for South Texas, which covers an area from Bexar County, south to Brownsville, and west to Del Rio. This section of the center is of paramount importance to the safety of officers in the field. It is responsible for maintaining up to date information gathered from all law enforcement agencies operating in South Texas. With information provided by these agencies, the unit will identify potential conflicts involving officer safety and immediately notify the affected agencies of the potential conflict.
The Support Service Initiative supports and manages the building space occupied by SAPD, amenities, and training facilities. The training facility is managed by the HIDTA Executive staff and is utilized by the HIDTA Task Force, San Antonio Police Department, and surrounding Law Enforcement Agencies to conduct training and provides additional meeting space for briefs and board meetings.
The South Texas HIDTA Financial Crimes Initiative is a cooperative partnership of Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies encompassing Bexar and Travis counties in south and central Texas. The task force is collocated with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the San Antonio Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio and focuses on mid-to upper-level Mexican drug trafficking organizations, Transnational Criminal Organizations, terrorist organizations and money laundering organizations operating in the South Texas HIDTA area of responsibility with ties to Mexican transnational criminal organizations. The initiative leads and jointly investigates money laundering targets involved with specified unlawful activities consistent with money laundering activities.
The Director's Administrative Support Office is responsible for the overall administration and operation of the South Texas HIDTA program. Funds will be utilized for the rental of facilities for the director's office. Funds will also be utilized for the rental of facilities in the HSI, Support Services, and Financial Crimes Initiatives.
The table below provides the results of this program for calendar year 2020:
ISSUE:
This ordinance authorizing the submission of a grant application and acceptance of upon award in an amount up to $2,173,086 including the acceptance of additional grant funds up to a limit of 20% of the grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) for a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
ALTERNATIVES:
This grant provides an opportunity for the City of San Antonio to enhance the Narcotics operations of the San Antonio Police Department.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total proposed program budget of $2,173,086 is divided into eight (8) related segments as follows:
A General Fund cash match is not required. The grant will fund seventeen (17) authorized positions: four (4) Detectives, two (2) Sergeants, one (1) Administrative Associate, four (4) Crime Analysts, three (3) Sr. Crime Analysts, one (1) Client Service Analyst, one (1) Systems Administrator, and one (1) Management Analyst. The Management Analyst funding is split between the grant and General Fund.
This ordinance also authorizes the acceptance of supplemental funding in the amount up to 20% that may come available during the grant period. In FY 2020, the SAPD was awarded supplemental funding of $54,680 for the HIDTA Initiative in addition to the initial grant award of $2,138,932.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the submission, and acceptance of funding upon award, of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) grant.