In the war on drug trafficking and abuse in the Baltimore-Washington region, as many as 300 federal, state and local law enforcement officers are planning a coordinated attack.
The effort, to begin in March, will unite federal prosecutors and various police task forces in four regional headquarters in Howard County, Prince George's County, Washington, and Northern Virginia.
It will combine enforcement with programs similar to Baltimore's drug court to steer nonviolent drug abusers into treatment. Communities will also develop programs aimed at preventing young people from getting involved in drugs.
"Law enforcement realizes that we can't arrest everyone and incarcerate everyone that is involved with drug usage," said Thomas Carr, director of the Baltimore-Washington initiative in the National Office on Drug Policy Enforcement.
The regional headquarters and increased communication are designed to streamline drug-fighting programs.
"Instead of working in competition, law enforcement will be working together and focusing its resources," Mr. Carr said. "It's an improvement over what we have now."
The plan, which has attracted $15 million in federal funds, was developed after the Baltimore-Washington area was identified last year by the Office on Drug Policy Enforcement as a high
drug trafficking area. Other areas to get that designation include Los Angeles, New York, Houston and Miami.
But the Baltimore-Washington area, which has a high concentration of drug abusers, is considered a drug distribution point, not a "gateway" for U.S.-bound drugs like the other regions. So the plan for this area differs in that it focuses attention on treatment and prevention.
The plan will "hit both ends of the spectrum" -- users and dealers -- said state police spokesman Michael McKelvin.
About 100 officers, federal agents and prosecutors headquartered in Howard County will target the city and Baltimore, Howard and Anne Arundel counties. Many agents and officers will be grouped in task forces that have been functioning elsewhere for years.
The Baltimore officer of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, for example, will send two established task forces and one new group to the program, said Special Agent Larry E. Hornstein, a spokesman for the office.
Also contributing to the regional headquarters in Howard County will be the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the Immigration and Naturalization Service; the U.S. Customs Service; the Internal Revenue Service; the Secret Service; the Maryland State Police; the Mass Transit Police; the Baltimore police; Baltimore Housing Authority Police; and police from Baltimore, Howard and Anne Arundel counties.
Agents and police officers from Prince George's, Montgomery and Charles counties will be headquartered in Prince George's County.
The coordinated program will not halt drug trafficking and violence overnight, Mr. Carr said.
"There's no silver bullet. . . . This is a long-term process to reduce the amount of drug and alcohol abuse in our area and in our nation," he said.