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National Drug Pointer Index

For many years, state and local law enforcement envisioned a drug pointer system that would allow them to determine if other law enforcement organizations were investigating the same drug suspect. The DEA was designated by the Office of National Drug Control Policy in 1992 to take the lead in developing a national drug pointer system to assist federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies investigating drug trafficking organizations and to enhance officer safety by preventing duplicate investigations. The DEA recognized that the development of this system would require a truly cooperative effort among state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies. The DEA drew from the experience of state and local agencies to make certain that their concerns were addressed and that they had extensive input and involvement in the development of the system. The nominees from 19 states and 24 law enforcement organizations formed a Project Steering Committee and six working groups.

The National Drug Pointer Index (NDPIX) became operational across the United States in October 1997. The National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS)--a familiar, fast, and effective network that reaches into almost every police entity in the United States--is the backbone for the NDPIX. Participating agencies are required to submit active case targeting information to NDPIX in order to receive pointer information from the NDPIX. The greater the number of data elements entered, the greater the likelihood of identifying possible matches. Designed to be a true pointer system rather than an intelligence system, the NDPIX merely serves as a "switchboard" that provides a vehicle for timely notification of common investigative targets. The actual case information is shared only when telephonic contact is made between the officers/agents who have been linked by their entries into the NDPIX. The DEA is a full participant in the NDPIX and has entered 86,000 drug investigative targets into the system as of June 2000. As more and more law enforcement agencies participate in the NDPIX, it will have far-reaching implications in the effort to dismantle the drug organizations that are causing most of the violence in the United States.