Government Administration - , ,
HIDTA OverviewThe PC HIDTA region encompasses Chester, Delaware,1 and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania and Camden County in New Jersey. The PC HIDTA was designated in 1995 to address the threat posed by illegal drugs in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania (which includes the city of Philadelphia), and Camden County, New Jersey (which includes the city of Camden), and to increase the safety and quality of life of the citizens in the region by measurably reducing drug-related crime and violence. The HIDTA region and surrounding counties (Bucks and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania and Burlington and Gloucester Counties in New Jersey) compose the Philadelphia metropolitan area, which has an estimated population of more than 5.1 million. As such, the Philadelphia metropolitan area is the fifth-largest in the United States and the second-largest on the East Coast. Approximately 100 million people--over a third of the U.S. population--live within a day's drive of Philadelphia, providing many distributors and abusers ready access to illicit drugs distributed in the HIDTA region.