SCHUMER ANNOUNCES, AFTER DIRECT VISIT & YEARS OF ADVOCACY, RENSSELAER COUNTY HAS RECEIVED CRITICAL FEDERAL “HIGH INTENSITY DRUG TRAFFICKING AREA” DESIGNATION; SCHUMER SAYS[...]

Schumer Stood In Cap Region In 2022 To Push For HIDTA Zone For Schenectady & Rensselaer County To Combat Overdose Epidemic, And After Delivering Schenectady Later That Year Now Secures The Missing Piece Of The Puzzle To Boost Fed Resources To Go After Drug Traffickers In The Cap Region

Schumer: HIDTA Designation Will Help Combat Capital Region Overdose Epidemic With New Fed Tools To Cut Problem Off At Its Source

After standing with law enforcement and addiction service advocates to call for increased federal resources to combat the opioid crisis in the Capital Region, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer today announced that the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has heeded his call and granted Rensselaer's request to be designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). Schumer explained federal designated HIDTA zones help get increased equipment, technology, and additional federal intelligence resources, and now after working directly with law enforcement and addiction advocates this designation will help the community directly tackle the opioid crisis in the Capital Region.

"The Capital Region, and Rensselaer County especially, have been devastated by a deadly spikes in overdoses fueled by the surge in drug trafficking and fentanyl on our streets. The data shows that Rensselaer is on the front line of the opioid scourge, and I stood with law enforcement and addiction advocates in 2022 to say enough is enough and I would not stop fighting to increase federal resources to keep our community safe. Now after years of fighting, Rensselaer County has been granted the critical HIDTA designation it desperately needs to get on the ground tools, increased intelligence, coordination and resources from the feds to stop dangerous drug traffickers and reduce the flow of deadly opioids across the Capital Region," said Senator Schumer. "This will save lives. We must do everything we can to stop the opioid crisis from wreaking more havoc to public health and the well-being of individuals across the Capital Region and New York State, and this designation will help do just that. I'm grateful for the work of Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly for her leadership. Today marks a major step forward to finally reverse the tide of the overdose epidemic in the Capital Region."

"Rensselaer County is grateful to our federal partners for recognizing our commitment to combat the impact of illegal drugs on our community. The HIDTA designation will provide access to specialized resources in our fight against illegal drug trafficking and drug overdoses. I would like to thank Senator Schumer for his support and assistance as we continue to combat the opioid crisis, dismantle drug networks and provide justice for victims," said Mary Pat Donnelly, Rensselaer County District Attorney.

Schumer explained that Rensselaer County has seen spikes in overdoses throughout 2024, including three that were fatal over the course of two days earlier this year. Schumer worked directly with addiction advocates and law enforcement to fight to bring these additional resources to the Capital Region, visiting personally in 2022 to call on the federal government to address the major gap of the Capital Region's largest counties, Schenectady and Rensselaer, not yet having the critical HIDTA designation they said they needed. Later that year, Schumer successfully announced that he had secured Schenectady County's request to be designated a HIDTA zone, and today he delivered the same for Rensselaer as well.

The HIDTA program funds intelligence-sharing initiatives, drug use prevention and drug treatment initiatives, as well as general support for programs that provide assistance to law enforcement beyond their normal scope of duty. Schumer explained that Rensselaer County has a population of over 160,000 people, including over 50,000 in the city of Troy, and that it's central geographic location and close proximity to Albany make it an appealing and convenient location for drug traffickers. Schumer said that Rensselaer County's HIDTA designation will directly support coordinated law enforcement strategies at all levels and will make more federal resources available to reduce the supply of illegal drugs, like fentanyl, in the Capital Region. This includes giving local law enforcement the ability to purchase key equipment, such as narcotics analyzers and other technology to combat drug trafficking at the ground level.

Schumer also said Rensselaer's HIDTA designation would strengthen treatment access by facilitating critical partnerships between public health agencies and law enforcement and grants can be used to purchase critical equipment like Naloxone kits for first responders to mitigate the number of overdoses and prevent deaths. These kits have been proven repeatedly to save lives, and in the Capital Region alone, their use has skyrocketed, proving the immediate need to increase resources that help expand the use of this equipment in reversing overdoses.

You can learn more about the NY HIDTA program here.

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