SUPPORTING STATEMENT
Drug Enforcement Administration National Drug Threat Survey
OMB No. XXX-xxx
In June 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) assumed the responsibilities for producing domestic strategic intelligence from the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). DEA is congressionally mandated to prepare “high priority strategic drug intelligence” in order to provide policymakers with the most current information on availability, demand, production, cultivation, transportation, and distribution, as well as the effects of drugs on abusers and society. DEA will produce the National Drug Threat Assessment on an annual basis to policymakers, law enforcement personnel, and treatment providers at the federal, state, and local levels. This assessment will draw upon a broad range of information sources to describe and analyze the drug threat to the nation. Additionally, DEA will produce national level topical assessments regarding specific drug threats. These recurring strategic products will draw upon DEA and proprietary reporting from law enforcement, intelligence, and public health sources, along with open source information.
The DEA will prepare strategic intelligence products to provide federal, state, and local policymakers and law enforcement decision makers with information to assist in forming counterdrug policy and plans allocating resources in the fight against illegal drugs. DEA products to be produced annually include a National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA), a Domestic Cannabis Cultivation Assessment, a Drug Pricing Index, and other topical strategic assessment as needed.
One mechanism by which information will be obtained for these reports is the National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS). The NDTS was formerly administered by the NDIC and will now be administered by DEA. To ensure the accuracy of data obtained through the NDTS, DEA will annually verify the appropriate point-of-contact (POC) at each law enforcement agency (LEA) selected in the NDTS sample to ensure that the most accurate data are obtained via the survey.
The information requested of state, local, and tribal law enforcement and counterdrug agencies through the NDTS, combined with other Federal, state, and local information, will be used to present an accurate picture of the national drug threat. NDTS statistical estimates will be used by DEA analysts to corroborate and verify anecdotal drug intelligence obtained from various sources. In addition to supporting DEA products targeted to counterdrug policymakers, the statistical estimates derived from NDTS response data also will be used by Federal, state, and local agencies in support of counterdrug and public health programs.
The use of this NDTS will provide the most efficient means for collecting and processing the required data. Providing electronic submission as the sole method of response is unreliable since many local agencies do not have the capability to respond to the survey electronically. A PDF form that can be completed electronically and returned to DEA via email will be available for respondents with the capability to respond electronically. Respondents will be urged to respond electronically, whenever possible, through notification letters and reminders sent to survey recipients.
There is no similar information available currently that can be used for this purpose. No source of representative data exists to assess the threat imposed by activities attendant to the trafficking of illicit drugs in the United States, from the perspective of state and local law enforcement agencies. The NDTS was designed and developed in response to the lack of reliable data that could be used a comprehensive measure to corroborate anecdotal qualitative data that is germane to the intelligence collection and reporting process. DEA will continue to track survey responses.
Federal drug enforcement data sources generally do not provide comprehensive data on specific drug trafficking activities such as the availability of specific drugs or threat associated with the trafficking of specific illicit drugs. Generally, federal drug-related databases contain information related to specific program parameters (e.g., number of drug investigations initiated) or provide data that cannot be accurately summarized across regions and states. Information that can be used to produce statistical estimates of the perspective of state and local law enforcement charged with enforcing drug laws within their jurisdictions provides a “ground up” view of the drug problem in the United States. This information can be integrated with higher level federal data and information and intelligence that provides a “top down” view of the problem to enable DEA analysts to develop comprehensive domestic strategic drug intelligence.
This collection of information will not have an impact on small businesses or entities.
The use of this information will provide several benefits to both the provider and DEA. The information received will be analyzed and included in an intelligence product that is shared, thus providing a complete picture of the national, regional and local drug threat. If NDTS data are not collected, the assessment of the threat of specific drugs to the US could not be fully assessed and policymakers would have less reliable and less comprehensive information on which to base their decisions. The input of state and local law enforcement agencies would be missing, agencies that are on the “front lines” of drug enforcement and carry out the strategic policies and programs designed by policymakers. The emerging drug trafficking trends and patterns that are either identified and/or verified through the collection of NDTS data would not be presented in their proper perspective to policymakers who are responsible for allocating federal resources to combat the trafficking of illicit drugs in the United States.
7. There are special circumstances applicable to this information collection.
8. Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 CFR Part 1320, Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, on August 17, 2012, DEA requested that this collection of information be processed pursuant to section 1320.13 Emergency processing. The emergency request was a product of unique circumstances—in June 2012, the DEA absorbed the “domestic strategic intelligence” functions of the National Drug Intelligence Center. DEA is congressionally mandated to produce several significant strategic-level intelligence products, including the National Drug Threat Assessment and other drug topical reports of national interest. DEA cannot reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures because the use of the normal clearance procedures is likely to prevent or disrupt the collection of information.
9. There are no payments or gifts to respondents.
10. There is no assurance of confidentiality.
11. Responses to questions may contain law enforcement sensitive information. Sensitive information will be included in the analytical process but not be referenced in the final public document.
12. Annual Reporting Burden
a. Number of Respondents 2,807
b. Number of Responses per Respondent 1
c. Total Annual Response 2,807
d. Hours per Response 0.33
e. Total Annual Report Burden 926
The collection of information is estimated to average 0.33 hour per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed and completing and reviewing the information collection.
Total Annual Reporting Burden
Total annual reporting burden hours are 926. This figure was derived by multiplying the number of respondents (2,807) x frequency of response (1) x 0.33 hours per response. The estimate time for response is a conservative estimate. The technology available to the respondent will further reduce response time.
There are no capital or start-up costs associated with this information collection. There is no fee associated with this information collection. DEA will include a self-addressed stamped envelope in with the surveys that will be mailed; therefore, the respondents will incur no associated mailing costs. The cost of the self-addressed stamped envelopes is included in the printing/mailing costs in the Annualized Cost Analysis.
Annualized Cost Analysis
Printing/Mailing Costs $ 2,000
Collection and Processing/Staff Support Costs $ 73,000
Total Cost to Government $ 75,000
The estimated cost to the Government is $75,000. This figure includes an estimate of partial annual salaries (including overhead) for an information technology developer /programmer, one information technology administrator, the NDTS program administrator, and a clerical assistant. Also included is the cost of verification and follow-up activities performed by DEA Domestic Strategic Unit (NWWD) personnel. In addition, this figure includes the estimated printing and mailing costs of $2,000 associated with the processing of the paper survey document.
15. DEA intends to use NDTS response data for several purposes. DEA analysts will use NDTS data to corroborate drug intelligence data obtained from other sources that include: federal drug investigations initiated and conducted through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement (OCDETF) Task Forces program administered by the Department of Justice; federal drug seizure data collected through the National Seizure System maintained by the DEA El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC); national level drug demand and usage studies conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services that include the National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health, the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) reports on drug-related emergency visits and drug-related deaths, and the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) for admissions to drug treatment agencies ; and reports and summaries from intelligence reporting from other federal state and local law enforcement agencies, drug task forces, and investigators’ associations.
16. Responses to NDTS questions that are designed to provide quantitative (categorical) data are adjusted for non-respondents and then weighted to produce national, regional, and state-level percentage estimates for each response category. The results are presented in cross tabulation tables that DEA analysts will use to verify anecdotal (qualitative) information obtained through the sources listed above. Additionally, selected cross tabulation tables of estimated response percentages are included in the text of NDIC reports and assessments as well as in report appendixes. Geographical Information Systems software is used to produce maps and charts that depict NDTS data at the national, regional, and state levels.
While most of the NDTS questions are designed to provide quantitative data by means of categorical responses, several items in the survey are designed to provide qualitative data for use by DEA intelligence analysts through open-ended questions. These qualitative questions, specifically Question 1a and Question 6 are constructed to obtain “pointer” data that DEA analysts use to make follow-up inquiries to their contacts at federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to further understand the drug trafficking situations within their jurisdictions. In addition to providing current analytical drug intelligence, DEA analysts are tasked to include predictive, forward-looking, intelligence in their products as well. Response data from these questions are treated as anecdotal information that is not tabulated in any manner. Information obtained through these questions enable DEA analysts to identify emerging trends and patterns in the dynamic drug trafficking situation within the United States. Including these questions with questions designed to collect qualitative data enables DEA to gather “value added” intelligence
17. DEA has no objections to displaying the expiration date of this information collection.
18. DEA does not request an exception to the certification of this information collection.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | SUPPORTING STATEMENT |
| Author | ndic |
| Last Modified By | Cabell, Anna M. |
| File Modified | 2012-10-24 |
| File Created | 2012-10-24 |