DRUG CZAR'S OFFICE SHOWS OFF LATEST TECH TOOLS

PITTSBURGH- Forget drug-sniffing dogs and disguises. Police officers have a
new arsenal _ from drug detectors akin to home pregnancy tests to computer
programs that can track cell phone calls and sort through bank accounts to
find laundered money.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy brought their latest technology
to Pittsburgh on Thursday, allowing police to window shop as part of a
federal program to help police battle drug dealers.

About 250 police officers from New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and
West Virginia watched demonstrations of about $1 million worth of
technology previously only available to federal agencies.

The Drug Czar's Technology Exchange Program, begun in 1998, has given free
technology to more than 3,800 departments across the country, including 107
in Pennsylvania. Congress has given the drug czar's office $79.5 million
over the past four years to put the technology in police officers' hands.

"There is no other program like this. We are Sears and Roebuck" for law
enforcement, said Al Brandenstein, chief scientist of the White House Drug
Czar's Office.

The technology ranges from Drugwipes, which can detect trace amounts of
drugs and cost dollars each, to a $40,000 video studio in a suitcase that
digitally cleans up otherwise unusable surveillance videos and can zoom in
on license plates or suspects.

A Drugwipe kit looks much like a home pregnancy test and can be used to
find minute amounts of marijuana, cocaine, opiates or amphetamines.
Officers rub a swab across something and place it into a vial which changes
color if drugs are present.

Another item, the Mini-Buster, about the size of a chalkboard eraser,
allows officers to find drugs, money or other contraband hidden in secret
compartments. The device works like a wall studfinder and detects density
changes in objects or walls.

Police also have access to computer programs that can help them analyze
complex crime organizations, much like Polaroid and pushpin representations
on bulletin boards.

People within a crime ring are represented with dots and lines connecting
them represent their interactions from meetings to phone calls to bank
transactions. By looking at a graphic representation, investigators can
find the most important people in the organization.

Besides busting drug dealers, the technology is also being used by police
departments on the front lines of counterterrorism.

"They are the first line of defense. Ninety percent of law enforcement is
done by local and state departments and you have to get them involved,"
Brandenstein said.

Three days after the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks law enforcement in Denver
coordinated efforts to respond to a bomb threat at the federal center there
using a radio system that receives radio transmissions on one frequency and
can transmit them on another. The system allows different agencies which
use different radio frequencies to talk to one another.

"Before this, they could talk to their guys and we could talk to our guys,
but we could talk to each other," said Lt. Jim Smith of the Boulder Police
Department. "In situations involving multiple departments and agencies,
you'd end up juggling radios."

On the Net:

Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center, http://www.epgctac.com