Need for Training

With the DEA’s rapid creation of tactical diversion squads throughout the United States, the number of newly assigned special agents and other personnel with a limited background on pharmaceutical diversion created a need for specialized training.⁴

Special agents required training on investigating DEA registrants (those authorized by law to possess, prescribe, or dispense drugs) who violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).⁵ Their state and local counterparts needed training on pharmaceutical controlled substances. Specifically, state and local officers learned how pharmaceutical information from traffic stops, search warrants, and public tips could build on a current “pill mill” case.⁶

Prosecutors benefited from actionable training on investigative and prosecution strategies. Social services, schools, and community leaders needed education on current trends in pharmaceutical abuse and points of contact in their community for resources. From legal, pharmacological, and investigative standpoints, training can catapult stagnant cases and provide information for medical and community personnel desperate for knowledge and action.

Often, criminal diversion investigations have complex legal and constantly evolving investigative components. From case initiations to sentencings, success in these investigations involves extensive documentation, data, and graphic summaries to support the findings. These skills require continuous, specialized trainings.

Criminal diversion investigations often have fraud and financial elements, which require multiagency coordination and an understanding of violations beyond the scope of the CSA. These investigations can sometimes span over several years and may involve additional years in the prosecution phase.

Providing joint training for prosecutors and investigators across agencies can alleviate some of the burden of resources, strategy, and investigative approaches. Early, consistent, and meaningful trainings will promote cohesiveness early on and allow for greater prosecution success rates. Nothing is more frustrating than to watch cases linger because of a lack of applicable training on both the investigative and prosecution phases.

Targeted Approach

The DEA established the Diversion Specialized Training Unit (DSTU) in 2018 to address the need for diversion training. During its first two years of existence, the DSTU trained approximately 1,300 DEA personnel and prosecutors. As its training cornerstone, the unit takes a team approach — special agents, diversion investigators, intelligence research analysts, task force officers, and prosecutors learn together.

From investigative strategies, to search warrant affidavits, to presenting the case to a prosecutor, these trainings provide actionable information designed to help initiate, advance, and successfully conclude civil and criminal diversion investigations. Over a dozen courses developed by the DSTU address the many facets of the opioid crisis, including interviewing vulnerable victims, working with the medical community, and coordinating with social services.

During the pandemic, the DSTU incorporated a virtual format and trained federal prosecutors in 33 federal judicial districts throughout the United States on prosecuting diversion cases. The in-person and virtual trainings provided not only actionable information and case examples but also community among law enforcement and prosecutors to exchange experiences, tools, and motivation for attacking the problem. These trainings were also a call to arms for the trainees to return and educate the communities they came from.

The DSTU was designed to complement the DEA and other agencies’ approaches to the opioid crisis. Both the DEA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have implemented such strategies.

In 2015, the DEA introduced its 360 Strategy, which employs a three-pronged approach to respond to the heroin and prescription opioid pill crisis.

1. Coordinated law enforcement actions against drug cartels and heroin traffickers in specific communities
2. Diversion control enforcement actions against DEA registrants operating outside the law and long-term engagement with pharmaceutical drug manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacies, and practitioners
3. Community outreach through local partnerships that empower communities to take back neighborhoods affected by enforcement actions and prevent the same problems from arising again⁷

In 2017, the HHS initiated a five-point strategy aimed at the most effective methods of addressing the opioid misuse disorder.

1. More effective addiction, prevention, and treatment services
2. More reliable data
3. Enhanced pain management
4. Improved targeting of overdose-reversing drugs
5. Better research⁸

Both the DEA’s 360 Strategy and HHS’ five-point strategy offer a community response in addressing the opioid epidemic, and focused trainings will elevate these important initiatives.

Comprehensive Approach

Conclusion

Training that reaches not just law enforcement personnel but also community members is crucial to addressing the opioid crisis and creating a community that can develop, share, and strategize. The outreach education to the neighborhoods we live in, along with consistent trainings on the evolving trends surrounding opioid abuse, will increase awareness on this epidemic and equip all members of society in tackling this devastating crisis.