A new perspective for creating geographic products for drug interdiction

According to former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director, William Webster, "The only way any coordinated efforts can succeed in combating drug trafficking, organized crime, terrorism, or even bank robberies is through the timely and candid exchange of intelligence data on criminal activities." This paper proposes an approach to creating geographic products that could be used in fighting the war on illegal drug trafficking. Products such as likely trafficking routes, border crossing observation points, and potential processing plant locations represent combinations of geographic and intelligence data which would be assets in drug interdiction. The approach described in this paper is significant in that it addresses the four primary phases of drug interdiction: cultivation, processing, smuggling, and distribution. The digital data sets and computer technologies required to create the products are discussed including topics such as fusion by common coordinates of imagery and feature data, and dynamic segmentation using textual and feature information. This approach towards managing intelligence and environmental data and creating products for drug interdiction will help maximize the effectiveness of law enforcement assets.