Addressing the ever-changing nature of drug threats to communities
BY ANNA RUSSELL
In 2016, the chief of staff of the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program, Jeff Beeson, presented Roger Hartley, dean of The University of Baltimore’s College of Public Affairs, with a partnership idea that would benefit both institutions.
The regional HIDTA—established 30 years ago under the National Drug Control Policy—was searching for a new fiduciary body to provide oversight of its grant program, which provides funding and resources to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies (LEAs) with the goal of reducing drug trafficking and production.
Instead of simply acting as a fiduciary body, Hartley suggested they “build something bigger, something that more accurately reflects the mission of the University.” The result was the Center for Drug Policy and Enforcement (CDPE), a joint effort between the HIDTA and UBalt, to bring together policy experts, advocates and scholars dedicated to using applied research methods to stop the proliferation of drugs and violence in our communities. (Read “In Crisis, Hope” to learn more about the founding of the CDPE in the Fall 2017 Issue of The University of Baltimore Magazine.)
By 2020, the opioid epidemic became a public health crisis that forced another priority shift. The CDPE pivoted as well, becoming the Center for Policy and Prevention (CDPP) and focusing on fostering collaboration between law enforcement and health and human services agencies, as well as awarding funds for innovative prevention and treatment projects through the Federal Combating Overdose through Community-Level Interdiction (COCLI) Initiative.
But public health goes hand in hand with public safety when it comes to tackling the nation’s drug crisis, both demanding an equitable share of attention and resources to combat drug-related criminal activity and addiction. Beeson and Hartley once again saw an opportunity to be at the forefront of something bigger.
Last October, UBalt established the Center for Advancing Prevention Excellence (CAPE), an offshoot of the original applied research center that will make prevention its top priority to address the ever-changing nature of drug threats to communities. Then, earlier this year, the CDPP unveiled a new name, mission and executive director.
Beeson took the helm of the newly minted Center for Public Safety Innovation (CPSI) in January after having served as the deputy director and chief of staff of the Center since its inception.
“When we first came to the University, the majority of our work was about interdiction, supporting drug investigations and funding other law enforcement initiatives,” said Beeson. This included the development of HIDTA technologies designed to support interagency collaboration and intelligence sharing, such as the Overdose Detection Mapping Application (ODMAP); Case Explorer, a case management and deconfliction software program; and Performance Management Process, a database to facilitate information sharing and HIDTA program performance measurement.
Now, the CPSI team is putting all that data collection to work to identify, evaluate and invest in practices and strategies that reduce violence and drug trafficking in communities, while Lora Peppard, executive director of CAPE, and her team are promoting the integration of evidence-based strategies to increase protective conditions and reduce the underlying causes of substance use and behavioral health issues to achieve positive youth development.
Peppard also added that, “CAPE is currently assessing the needs of the UBalt community related to prevention science and application of that science to the roles UBalt prepares students to assume upon graduation. Several ideas have been generated ranging from specific trainings to formal coursework in the form of a stackable prevention certificate. The goal is to create bi-directional communication channels between academic programming and CAPE activities to enrich student development through experiential learning that would, in turn, inform future pursuits for CAPE.”