Pubdate: Thu, 18 Jan 2001
Source: Times Argus (VT)
Copyright: 2001 Times Argus
Address: P.O. Box 707, Barre VT 05641
Fax: (802) 479-4032
Feedback: http://timesargus.nybor.com/Opinion/Letters/
Website: http://www.timesargus.com/
Author: Tracy Schmaler

TOP DRUG COP PLEADS FOR MORE STAFF

MONTPELIER - The Vermont State Police drug task force is so 
short-staffed that it can't handle the flourishing drug trade in the 
state, according to its commander.

Lt. James Colgan told lawmakers Wednesday that the task force's 
budget has barely increased over the last decade. As a result, the 
number of officers staffing the specialized squad has decreased from 
21 in 1992 to 10 today.

"We flat out do not have enough people to be effective," he told the 
House Judiciary Committee. "We are getting to the point where the 
cost is increasing enough that the funding will not keep us afloat."

The task force, which has northern and southern divisions, is 
expected to get two more officers in the coming year. But Colgan said 
those positions are being funded with federal money and do not bring 
the membership back up to adequate levels to fight the dramatic 
increase in heroin and cocaine use.

Colgan told the committee he would like to boost the unit's size to 
21 for at least a three-year interval. In that amount of time, he 
suggested, the police could put a dent in the drug activity that has 
ballooned in Vermont in recent years.

The statistics offered by officials paint a dismal picture. In 2000, 
62 percent of the task force's drug possession investigations 
involved heroin. The number of Vermonters hooked on the drug also 
appears to have spiked in the last few years. According to the 
Department of Health, 344 Vermonters sought treatment in 2000, 
compared to 164 in 1997.

"We're still small enough in the state ... that we can put up a good 
fight at the border," he said. "If we could get three years (of 
funding) we could make a difference."

Colgan's proposal is an expensive proposition; each additional staff 
position would cost between $75,000 and $100,000, including vehicle 
costs, overtime pay and training.

Gov. Howard Dean said Wednesday that he had no information about the 
drug task force's financial history and included nothing in his 
budget proposals for more State Police officers.

"Our biggest problem is not adding new State Police officers. We're 
in negotiations right now with State Police over pay. I think that's 
the serious issue," he said. "We have 30 vacancies in the State 
Police because the salaries are not adequate."

Dean has been vocal in advocating for more stringent enforcement of 
heroin dealers. In his budget address last week, Dean received an 
ovation from lawmakers when he pledged to expel the drug from 
Vermont. One of the ways he planned to do that was by allocating 
$230,000 to help local police departments hire officers to help stop 
the sale and use heroin in their communities.

Dean's proposal for municipal departments brought praise from some in 
the law enforcement community, but it also raised questions among 
police and health officials about the sustainability of that program 
and apparent lack of emphasis on prevention and treatment.

The $230,000 was proposed as a one-time expenditure that may or may 
not be included in future budgets, Dean said.

"Enforcement is not the answer to this thing," Colgan said. "We've 
got a total package here that needs to be looked at. The arrest 
initiates treatment."

While not including any money in his budget proposal for heroin 
treatment, Dean said Wednesday he would like to add some money to 
accelerate the opening of treatment clinics this year.

"We would like to get the clinics up and running sooner rather than 
later - that means before July 1," he said at his weekly news 
conference.

The Legislature passed a law last year that would allow clinics to 
operate within hospitals. The law marked a dramatic change for Dean, 
who had been an avid opponent of methadone as a form of treatment. 
Dean relented to include the drug in a list of acceptable treatment 
options in the law on the condition that the programs were based in 
hospitals.

Dean said he did not know how much it would cost to speed up the 
opening of the clinics. Only two hospitals have expressed firm 
interest in setting up such programs - the Brattleboro Retreat and 
Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington.

Sen. James Leddy, a Chittenden County Democrat who has been a strong 
proponent of methadone treatment, estimated that it could cost 
between $200,000 and $250,000 to get those two clinics running in the 
coming months.
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MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer