Pubdate: Sat, 25 Aug 2001
Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (NY)
Copyright: 2001 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Contact:  http://www.democratandchronicle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/614
Author: Patrick Flanigan
Note: Ongoing coverage - The Big Deal - Illegal Drugs In The Rochester Region

COPS ADD EXTRA OVERTIME IN BATTLE AGAINST DRUGS

Strategy Puts More Officers In City's High-Crime Areas

On a recent evening, Rochester police Sgt. David Joseph spotted five men in 
an alley that often doubles as an illegal drug market.

After a quick check with a dispatcher, Joseph and three other officers 
learned that two of the men had outstanding warrants for their arrest.

They went to jail. The others walked away.

"We hang out with them until they don't want to hang out with us anymore," 
Joseph said.

Such encounters are becoming more frequent under a new police strategy to 
thwart the city's illegal drug trade by using overtime money to place more 
uniformed officers such as Joseph in high-crime areas.

"This problem is so complex and so huge that we have to constantly rethink 
and re-evaluate our strategies to make sure we're doing everything we can 
to attack it," Chief Robert Duffy said. "We may not stop it, but I'll tell 
you what, we plan on disrupting it."

Since the beginning of the city budget year that started July 1, Duffy has 
spent about $400,000 of his annual $2.4 million overtime budget.

"My budget may explode this year with respect to overtime, but I will not 
waste one dime of it," Duffy said. "We have to constantly look at ways to 
be more effective with our resources."

The strategy -- which started a little more than a month ago -- underscores 
one of the most vexing aspects of the fight against drugs.

Police and residents know very well where illegal drugs are sold and who is 
selling them. But the process of collecting enough evidence for an arrest 
is so cumbersome that the dealers can move between locations, leading the 
police on a perpetual shell game.

With this strategy, Joseph said he'll simply knock on the door of a 
suspected drug house and tell the people inside that the police are 
watching them.

"Legally, there's only so much we can do," he said. "But at least this way 
we can go up and say, 'We know what you're doing and you know why we're 
here.' "

Joseph said it's difficult to perform such tasks during a regular patrol 
shift because officers are tied to their radios, driving from one 911 call 
to the next. He noted that at the time he and the other overtime officers 
were checking the records of the men in the alley, there were nine calls 
awaiting a response from a patrol officer.

"If I had to answer them, I couldn't have made that stop," he said.

Duffy said the initiative works toward the department's top priority of 
reducing homicides and violent crime. So far this year, there have been 26 
homicides in the city -- 16 since June 1.

"It will be very expensive," Duffy said "But I feel you cannot quantify 
human life."

City Councilman Tim O. Mains, chairman of the Jobs, Finance and Governance 
Committee, said he supports Duffy's efforts to curb the illegal drug 
activity. But Mains said he expects the chief to pay for increased overtime 
spending from other parts of the Police Department's $56 million allotment 
of the city's $349.8 million budget.

"We're not a deep-pocket government," Mains said. "We don't have endless 
streams of cash."

Mayor William A. Johnson Jr. said he's watching Duffy's overtime spending 
to be sure the chief stays within the department's overall budget. The 
mayor said city residents have told him that they have noticed the 
increased police presence and they are pleased with what they see.

"This is something where we have to square our legitimate fiscal concerns 
with the demands for service we're getting from the community," he said. 
"(Duffy) is mindful of the fact that he's going to have to balance this 
before the end of the year."

Police Investigator Ron Evangelista, president of the Locust Club, the 
police officers union, said he's pleased with the strategy because it puts 
more police on the streets -- one of the union's top goals.

"I'm glad he finally listened to the union," Evangelista said. "We've been 
saying for years we need this."

But Evangelista said he's concerned that Duffy will exhaust the overtime 
budget, and the money won't be available when it's needed at the end of the 
fiscal year.

If that happens, patrol shifts could be short-staffed if an officer calls 
in sick and a supervisor doesn't call in a substitute to work overtime.

Evangelista also questioned the timing of the initiative and said he hoped 
it isn't intended to boost Johnson's November re-election bid.

Duffy said politics played no role in his decision to launch the program. 
He said he conducted a similar, but smaller, initiative last summer when he 
spent $110,000 to place details in the high-crime areas.

He said the decision to begin the program now was prompted by the surge of 
summer violence that included the shooting death of a 10-year-old boy 
outside a suspected drug house on Whitney Street.

"I felt it was necessary to pull out all the stops to increase the uniform 
presence in our neighborhoods," he said. "The citizens of this community 
are crying out for more uniform visibility."

Dan Hoffman, vice chairman of the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood 
Association, said he has already noticed a difference at the corner of King 
and West Main streets, where officers keep groups of dealers from setting 
up shop.

"When (police) are there, the drug dealers move along," Hoffman said.

The dealers return as soon as police leave, but Hoffman said he believes 
the police presence sends a strong message that neighborhood residents 
don't want the dealers there and will report them.

Duffy said he has already seen anecdotal evidence that the initiative is 
working.

One recent homicide -- Duffy wouldn't say which one -- appears to be the 
result of a dispute between two dealers fighting for shrinking turf, he 
said. And members of the vice-narcotics units have said it's getting more 
difficult to make undercover drug buys as the uniformed officers put more 
pressure on the drug trade.

"We are creating a great sense of frustration among drug dealers," Duffy 
said. "We're seeing a tremendous displacement of the drug activity. It 
doesn't stop it, but we're impacting how the market operates."

Peter Stummer, owner of C.H. Morse Stamp Co. on South Avenue, said he too 
has noticed the increased police presence and a sharp decline in drug 
activity at the corner of South Avenue and Alexander Street.

"You wonder how long they can keep it up, because the drug dealers are 
resilient," he said. "But anything they can do to put a thorn in their side 
is good."

Duffy wouldn't say how long he could sustain the initiative. But he said he 
doesn't plan to end it anytime soon.

"They say the drug dealers will just wait us out," Duffy said. "Well, they 
better bring their lunch."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom