Pubdate: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 Source: Indianapolis Star (IN) Copyright: 2001 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.starnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/210 Author: Matt Schwartz POLICE DISCUSS RAVE-ECSTASY LINK Amid Summit Strategizing, Chief Barker Says IPD Will Keep Shutting Down The All-Night Parties. A piece of candy. A flashlight. A glowing green stick. They may look like toys to the untrained eye, but to Sgt. Scott Baldwin, they are red flags that a child might be attending so-called "raves" and getting high on the weekends. "When you look at all these things together, they begin to look very suspicious," said Baldwin, who heads the Indianapolis Police Department's narcotics unit. "You see a pack of Tootsie Rolls or Skittles and it very well may be Ecstasy (an illegal drug)." Investigators from throughout central Indiana attended a rave "summit" Wednesday at the city's Police Training Academy to slow Ecstasy's growing presence and share investigative strategies for closing the all-night dance parties. Electronic music promoters have protested that they do everything possible to keep drugs out, and they are calling on Indianapolis Police Chief Jerry Barker to repeal a ban on off-duty officers working security at their events. "Police are refusing to provide public safety at events where we need it the most," said Gary Bastin of Positivity Productions, whose June 30 party ended prematurely when power was cut off. Bastin says the police showed up at his Near-Northside event, but he doesn't believe they cut off the electricity. Barker said the ban remains in effect as part of the department's anti-rave program. The goal is to stop the spread of Ecstasy, not rave culture, he said. "We have nothing against rave clubs. We have nothing against dancing, music, and children enjoying themselves in a safe environment," Barker said. "What we are against is drugs." He said city police will shut down raves whenever and wherever they occur, coordinating with the 25 agencies that attended the summit and prosecuting promoters for building-code and permit violations. "We are going to continue to monitor these raves and work with authorities to attack the promoters," Barker said. Ecstasy use has been growing in Indiana and around the country, according to law enforcement agencies. Indiana State Police confiscated 215 Ecstasy pills last year, up from 60 in 1999. Authorities recently charged a British citizen with smuggling as many as 20,000 doses a month into central Indiana. But authorities still don't know whether raves have anything to do with the drug's growth. City police have no data correlating rave attendance with drug use or studies of other cities that solved their Ecstasy problems by cracking down on raves, officials said. A video shown to The Indianapolis Star of a recent rave depicted dozens of young people lying on the floor and eating unidentified tablets. About 50 of the 500 people who attended the event in Indianapolis were using an illegal drug, said undercover officers. Johnson County Sheriff J.D. Richards said he is certain about the connection between raves and drugs. "If you see a girl and a boy in the dark, chewing pacifiers and waving colored wands," he said, "they're probably on Ecstasy." Richards said he shut down a rave Friday at the Future Farmers of America in Johnson County. About 1,000 people attended. No drugs were found, he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom