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**U.S. Department of Justice**        Office of Community Oriented Policing Services            145 N Street, N.E.       Washington, DC 20530      www.cops.usdoj.gov×         Menu         - Home
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**North Texas Sheriffs Work Together to Reduce Drug Smuggling and Human Trafficking**
  December 2018 | Volume 11 | Issue 12

It started as a routine traffic stop in December 2017. A Rockwall  County (Texas) sheriff’s deputy pulled over a car with a faded paper license  plate on a remote stretch of North Texas highway. But the incident soon became  far from routine. A search of the vehicle found seven pounds of  methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl. What’s more, one of the three occupants was  a murder suspect with a warrant for his arrest, and the car contained three  illegal weapons including a fully automatic Glock 19, all within easy reach. 
Eight counties created one formidable enforcement unit
Had there not been immediate backup from two neighboring  jurisdictions, this intervention could easily have turned deadly. However, the  deputy who initiated the stop worked for one of the eight counties that have  banded together to create the North Texas Criminal  Interdiction Unit (NTXCIU), a mutual aid task force that has greatly  increased the response time and enforcement power of each participating county.

Launched shortly before the traffic stop described earlier  by the sheriffs of Collin, Grayson, Hunt, Parker, Rockwall, Smith, Tarrant, and  Wise counties, the NTXCIU was created to stop the growing problem of drug and  human trafficking on their highways. And according to Nick Bristow, Public  Information Officer for the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, it has exceeded  expectations. 
$18 Million in illegal drugs, two murder suspects, and two abducted children
In the 10 months since its formation, the unit has  intercepted $668,632 in U.S. currency, four automatic weapons, 20 stolen  vehicles, 103 pounds of cocaine, 105 pounds of heroin, and more than 1,000  pounds of other drugs with a total street value of $18.8 million. Deputy sheriffs  from the NTXCIU have also arrested 114 persons—including two capital-murder  fugitives—and recovered two abducted children.

The first unit of its kind in the United States, the NTXCIU  got off the ground when the participating sheriffs enlisted the support of county  judges and their commissioner courts, who signed agreements allowing deputy  sheriffs to conduct investigations and enforce the law across county lines. 
Interoperability with a high degree of flexibility but clearly defined roles
Today, the unit consists of 10 specially trained highway  patrol deputies authorized to make arrests in any of the participating  counties. They wear the same uniform, drive similarly marked cars, and are supported  by many of the same professionals, including dispatchers and analysts. But despite  the high degree of cooperation, there is also a high degree of operational flexibility.

The deputies are free to make their own decisions about coordinating  joint efforts, and interdiction officers from two or more counties can meet to work  a stretch of highway in any member county. However, deputies from the host county—where  the operation, arrest, or seizure occurs—are usually responsible for taking  custody of arrestees, property, or seized vehicles. The host county also controls  dispatch.

**Heading the eight NTXCIU agencies are:**
-  Collin County  Sheriff Jim Skinner
- Grayson County Sheriff Tom Watt
- Hunt County Sheriff Randy  Meeks
- Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler
- Rockwall County Sheriff Harold  Eavenson
- Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith
- Tarrant County Sheriff Bill  Waybourn
- Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin.

Moreover, every deputy must comply with his or her own  office’s policies—as well as the host county’s policies—especially those that  deal with vehicle stops, searches, arrests, and the use of force. Each county also  retains primary financial and other responsibility for its deputies, employees,  vehicles, and other property. Radio interoperability, federal detainer  requests, forfeiture cases, citations in lieu of arrest, video and audio  recordings, and record keeping are also addressed by the NTXCIU’s mutual aid  agreement.
A strong and effective force multiplier
Says Sheriff Jim Skinner of Collin County, “Setting up the  unit took time—there are many moving parts—but the results were far more than  worth it. We’re disrupting the drug and money supply chains, and the community’s  response to the increased safety has been outstanding.” Noting that the right  kind of mutual aid force helps sheriffs improve public safety without  significant personnel changes or great cost, Grayson County Sheriff Tom Watt said  that it’s a good, strong force multiplier. Added Bristow, “By working together,  we can not only make Texas safer but also the nation as a whole. Reducing the illegal  drug supply and human trafficking benefits us all.”

          To learn more about collaborative efforts in law  enforcement, see the following:
- The  Collaboration Toolkit for Law Enforcement: Effective Strategies to Partner with  the Community
- Operation  Partnership: Trends and Practices in Law Enforcement and Private Security  Collaboration
- The COPS  Collaboration Toolkit: How to Build, Fix, and Sustain Productive Partnerships
- The  Collaboration Toolkit for Community Organizations
- The  Methamphetamine Summit: A Process in Collaboration and Decision Making   

Faye C. Elkins, Sr. Technical Writer          COPS Office

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