More funding could be on the way to help Bartow County fight the drug trade.
Bartow County has been listed among 26 new counties nationwide as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.
The designation means law enforcement in the area has agreed to work together with federal agencies to combat the drug trade.
“It’s basically trying to break down those walls of communication between law enforcement agencies,” said Stephen Schatz of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Commander Joey Jacobs with the Rome-Floyd Metro Task Force said the designation is good news.
“We do work with the Bartow County Task Force on a case-by-case basis,” said Jacobs. “We have a good working relationship.”
Six other Georgia counties — Barrow, Forsyth, Cherokee, Clayton, Douglas and Henry — were also added recently to the list of cooperating agencies. Cobb, Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett had already been designated HIDTA counties.
Around $550,000 in federal funds were allocated for the Atlanta area HIDTAs this year. Allocated funds are then divided by areas according to need.
Schatz said that the metro Atlanta area has become a hub of drug trafficking in the Southeast and much of it has spread into the suburban and outlying counties.
“The collaborative approach of the HIDTA program creates a system of shared intelligence and resources, and helps disrupt and dismantle criminal drug trafficking organizations operating in the United States and abroad,” said John P. Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy.
“The law enforcement professionals working on the streets of our communities understand the unique drug threats faced by their regions,” he said, “and they are best positioned to develop solutions that eliminate the harms caused by the illegal drug trade.”
According to the ONDCP, there are 28 regions throughout the country designated as HIDTAs.
These counties comprise approximately 14 percent of U.S counties, and are present in 45 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia.
