ABOUT us
The Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor (SNP) works collaboratively with New York City’s elected District Attorneys to investigate and prosecute felony narcotics cases across all five boroughs of the city.
We share the common goals of protecting city residents and ensuring our criminal justice system is fair for all. Built on a task force model, SNP has authority to prosecute felony cases involving narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and addictive pills, and related crimes such as weapons sales and possession.
New York City is unique in many ways, including its division into five separate boroughs, each with its own District Attorney empowered to prosecute crimes committed there. The city is also a major hub of international narcotics importation. Each drug shipment has a single point of entry through one of the five boroughs but may be distributed to all. SNP was created in 1971 and empowered under New York State’s Judiciary Laws to address this free flow of narcotics across county lines and drug-related violence.
The city’s five District Attorneys appoint the Special Narcotics Prosecutor and assign Assistant District Attorneys to serve in SNP. All of SNP’s wiretap investigations are overseen by the District Attorneys.
Working in collaboration with its partners, SNP strives to strengthen communities. The office’s mission is to protect the public and prevent overdose deaths by investigating and prosecuting high-level narcotics trafficking organizations and illicit prescription drug distribution networks, and by responding to community complaints about persistent drug activity and associated violence. Targeted prosecutions and alternative dispositions are essential components of an effective strategy to save lives and reduce arrests. The office’s approach is consistent with the city’s goals to reduce incarceration. SNP further strives to decrease demand for narcotics by raising public awareness and facilitating treatment for those with substance use issues.
Bridget G. Brennan,
Special Narcotics Prosecutor
Bridget G. Brennan was appointed as New York City’s Special Narcotics in 1998 and is the first woman to hold the position. She oversees a staff of approximately 200 legal and support personnel. The agency has its own budget for operating expenses and receives funding from the city, state, and federal government.
Under Ms. Brennan’s direction, the office has developed innovative strategies to stem the flow of drugs into the city. Under Ms. Brennan’s leadership, the office has developed expertise to meet challenges posed by each new phase of the deadly opioid epidemic. Ms. Brennan established the Heroin Trafficking Interdiction Team (HIT), the Digital Forensics and Litigation Unit, the Criminal and Investigative Analysts Unit, the Prescription Drug Investigation Unit (PDIU), the Narcotics Gang Unit, the Money Laundering and Financial Investigation Unit, the Community Outreach Unit, the Discovery Compliance and Litigation Unit (DLU), and the Post Judgment Litigation Unit.
The office strives to reduce demand for narcotics by raising public awareness and facilitating alternatives to incarceration and drug treatment, and is in regular communication with providers in the fields of education and drug treatment. The office is committed to ensuring that our criminal justice system is fair for all.
Ms. Brennan has been an Assistant District Attorney since 1983, when she joined the New York County District Attorney’s Office. During her tenure, she handled was designated both a homicide and sex crimes prosecutor before becoming a deputy chief in a financial crimes bureau. She joined the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office in 1992, serving first as Chief of the Special Investigations Bureau, overseeing some of the most significant narcotics investigations in the country, then as Chief Assistant from 1995 to 1997.
Before her legal career, she was a print, radio and television reporter in her native Wisconsin. Ms. Brennan graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin.
Ms. Brennan has been a speaker at international conferences and in academic settings throughout the United States, and has been interviewed as an expert on national and local media. She was recognized as Outstanding Prosecutor by the Criminal Justice Section of the New York State Bar Association, and for her leadership by the Drug Enforcement Administration, New York County Lawyers Association, and numerous community organizations, enforcement agencies, and substance use treatment providers.
STRATEGIC ENFORCEMENT
SNP implements a strategic approach to protecting the public and saving lives that reduces arrests and incarceration. This approach is consistent with SNP’s commitment to promoting fairness and justice. By intercepting large amounts of lethal narcotics at the top of the supply chain, and investigating and prosecuting high-level traffickers, SNP prevents countless overdoses and street-level arrests.
Multi-Pronged Approach
In order to fulfill its public safety mission and reduce arrests and incarceration, SNP developed a multi-pronged approach to strategic enforcement that includes Supply Reduction, Overdose Death Investigations, Prescription Drug Investigations, Community Impact and Treatment Alternatives.
Supply Reduction
As its central mission, SNP works to prevent overdose deaths by removing bulk quantities of dangerous drugs from the highest levels of the supply chain. New York City serves as a regional hub for the distribution of narcotics produced by international trafficking organizations. Drug shipments flow through the city to local distributors and organizations in surrounding states.
Learn More
Overdose Death Investigations
By investigating overdose deaths, SNP and its partners seek to identify organizations that supply lethal drugs and thereby prevent further fatalities. A close working relationship with public health agencies enables SNP to identify new lethal drugs impacting the city in order to develop effective strategies.
Learn More
DRugs and violence
SNP strives to protect New York City neighborhoods from the destabilizing effects of drug-related violence by investigating a wide variety of organizations, from street gang affiliates to entrenched narcotics distribution groups. The office is committed to devoting resources to help strengthen communities impacted by narcotics-related crime.
Prescription Drug Investigations
Widely recognized for its expertise in investigating and prosecuting those involved illegal trafficking in prescription drugs, including corrupt medical practitioners, SNP’s Prescription Drug Investigation Unit (PDIU) was created in 2011. As a result of these enforcement efforts, combined with improved education for doctors, increased public awareness and enhanced regulatory systems, the supply of diverted prescription drugs in New York City has been reduced.
Learn More
Community Impact
SNP responds to community complaints about narcotics trafficking by conducting investigations and providing resources to neighborhoods. Assistant District Attorneys work closely with the NYPD to address complaints about drug crimes and related violence. Additionally, the Community Outreach Unit meets with community and religious leaders, block associations, the New York City Housing Authority, while conferring regularly with NYPD officials to devise strategies to combat crime. Once an investigation is completed and a drug organization is removed from a building or neighborhood, resources are devoted toward providing community support services. Learn More
Treatment Alternatives
Eligible felony defendants are provided with an array of service, including substance use treatment, mental health services, cognitive behavioral therapy, educational and vocational training, case management, and various types of prosocial programming. SNP’s Alternative Sentencing Division has successfully worked for 30 years to provide treatment services as an alternative to incarceration through SNP’s pioneering Drug Treatment Alternatives to Prison (DTAP) programs. Experienced office staff also assist in screening applicants for Judicial Diversion and Manhattan Felony Alternatives to Incarceration Court. Learn More